After fighting headwinds through most of the Yucatan. Nice to arrive and to see starting the day I would have a strong tailwind going South.
Salbutas. I was taking a break, bought some water here. The nice fellow pictured, gave me some Salbutas to try (food of the Yucatan/Quintaa Roo area)
First time having an actual (functioning) tent to sleep in again, wow the good life. I was actually excited and looking forward to camping, while riding earlier in the day. Thanks Peter.
As I cooked dinner, Lupe brought me a potatoe dish to try with homemade tostadas. Tasty
My dinner companion
Pancakes, good fuel for a day of riding
Lupe and Santiago, proud new owners of an OSS tent. When I stopped to ask them about camping off the side road just ahead, she immediately mentioned I could camp on their property. They even have a grassy area that they keep fed with water because they get so many traveling cyclists passing through, that end up camping at their place.
New gloves, SO much more enjoyable to ride with. Thanks Mom.
This is the third time I met up with Rodrigo (to the right). I met him orginally in Michoacan, Mexico, saw him again in San Cristobal, then here riding towards Belize.
It never ceases to amaze me how helpful most of the people I come across. I stopped here after an exceptionally long day to get to Lake Bacalar, in order to try and have my last night in Mexico extra special. I stopped for something to eat, we started talking and I was mentioning how I was looking for somewhere to camp (it was already dark). The woman on the right mentioned they have a community building/area, right next to the lake, that I could camp at for free. She even drove me over a few km's down the road to check the place out. Muchas gracias!
Definitely a special way to end my time in Mexico. Sunrise.
Turns out bike patches seem to work pretty good to patch the holes in my tent that have started accumulating
Last meal in Mexico, torta. After 6 months, finally getting into another country.
Funny the whole way down from Cozumel, I never once saw a sign for Belize, only for the city Chetumal (which is directly next to Belize). It wasn't until I was right next to the border that I saw a sign.
Paying my exit fee. Left Mexico on day 179 of 180 in my visa. If I was a day later, I would have been fined $1500 pesos.
Muy bien
When customs noticed I had this, they said I couldn't take it, so of course instead of throwing it out, I chowed down
Very exciting, just after entering Belize
Lots of sugar cane
The legendary Toyota Hilux diesel. I heard of these a long time ago, but it wasn't until entering Belize that I started seeing them (among lots of other types of diesels), as well as through Central America
The other time I saw a double rainbow was a little more than a year ago in Alaska.
First night camping in Belize, on a farm of sugar cane, bananas, and corn
A lot of the land is very well maintained in Belize, they really make use of the lawn mower I noticed.
Break in the shade at Carribean tire, nice folks, gave me water and coffee.
The roads are terrible in Belize, mostly in the North. Just very rocky and rough, not good for cycling. Makes for some slow going.
Nice local guys, curious about my trip, and bought me a beer. Thanks!
He may not look like it, but Slim has a real friendly demeanor and a broad smile.
These two were too funny. They saw me riding, and started yelling out to me and ran across the road to talk to me. They wanted to get pictures with me too...
I have never seen such an awesomely constructed fence. Just beyond, I saw a man standing in front of his pick up truck, who seemed to be really excited seeing me pedaling, motioning with his arms and a big grin on his face... I had to stop and talk with him.
Ray and his son, avid cyclists and compete regularly in the big races in Central America
A turbo diesel For Ranger, four door... I have been frothing at all the different mid-size diesel trucks that I keep seeing
Belize City
View from my room
Staying at a "Guest house", cheap, get my own room and share a bathroom
View from the back, with the "swinging" bridge in the distance
Curried chick and rice, good Belizean dish
Bread pudding
Getting on the ferry to Caye Caulker island. Thank you Caye Caulker Water Taxi for the discount!
Bike is so much lighter without a few things
Camping in front of the hostel
"The split", a divide in the island that was created when a massive hurricane swept through. Now it's a great place to go for a swim.
They spray insecticide for the mosquitoes, reminded me of what I heard it was like in the U.S. a long time ago. Nasty
Belikin, the Belizean beer. They make a real good stout. First one I've had in a long time.
One of the guys at the hostel caught some fish and lobster. He offered me some, and on one was having any... I was happy to indulge.
Going diving at the "Blue Hole", waiting for the boat to pick us up.
Everyone frantically stowing gear before we pass the reef and motor through the surf
Thank you Big Fish Diving for the discount on my dive!
Pounding waves, the boat was pitching up and down... There were a few of us feeling sick in no time, and I knew the best place was just to sit at the back of the boat.
Passing the first Atoll, calm clear waters, more surf to pass after another reef
I had never seen reef passes or atolls such as these, out in the middle of the ocean. My eyes were scanning for surfable waves.
Amazing to think that some people live out here, hours from the mainland. You can't exactly walk around the corner to get some eggs or milk.
The sick crew
The Blue Hole. What an incredible dive.
One of only two openings in the reef to enter or exit the blue hole
Lunch on the island
Almost 130ft, definitely the deepest dive I've ever done
After three dives, heavy surf to pass through on a long boat ride - the aftermath
The captain was all serious all day
Young Scottsman Colin, also staying at the same hostel and that I dove with
Ah the island life
Aftermath of when a dog tried to climb onto my tent in the middle of the night
Motor stalled taking the ferry back to the mainland. He's whacking the starter trying to get it to turn over.
So close to the city, but still so far.
With only one motor, we limped our way to the harbor, then this boat towed us in the rest of the way
Bumping our way against the stuff in the harbor
And other boats...
Apparently the only one of it's kind left in the world, the swinging bridge in Belize City is something to see, especially when they try to move it, like here. With the hurricane approaching fast, only a couple days out, they're trying to open the bridge to let the sailboats move toward safer water.
They use the tractor, after unlocking the bridge, to pull the bridge a bit, then use some of the local strong men to finish turning it.
Apparently it's rare that they move it, quite a crowd showed up to watch
They only got it this far. Some locals said they don't maintain well enough, and isn't turned very often, so it's fairly rusted. (I was curious how the guys turning it in the middle would get off if they were successful, I guess just jump on a boat below?)
Nice people at the Guesthouse, Smokin Balam
They gave me a bunch of oranges when I mentioned I had been feeling sick. I woke up with a sore throat the day before diving on Caye Caulker, and would feel sick off and on for the following weeks. I probably contracted mononucleosis, and had to ride numerous times not feeling well.
Racing out of the city, and away from the incoming hurricane
I asked about evacuation locations for people from the island. I didn't want to camp and take any chances with a hurricane approaching. A very nice fellow directed me to the local community building where I could stay the night.
One of the guys that works at the place invited me over to socialize with some of the local guys
They gave me a plate of some homemade Belizean food, jonny cakes, stewed beef and local avocados
Really nice guys, this gentleman's wife made me the delicious meal
After a bit of some Belizean rum, and some punta (type of music in Belize) he couldn't help but start dancing
As always, the local people always worry about me, and said I would be safer staying at the constable's house. Thanks Franco!
The avocados are massive, and really different here
One of the bridges that my friends had mentioned would be flooded over if they had sufficient rains from the hurricane. Turned out the hurricane moved North, and was a calm night, and following day
Hand powered cable ferry across the river, near the border of Guatemala
Bye Belize, thanks for the great memories
A wash for vehicles, I've seen this, and people washing vehicles by hand at some border crossings. Maybe for insects, I don't know.
Customs of Guatemala
A lot of the border crossings are defined by a river crossing
Camping at Radio Mopan
Julian always working hard
My new friends in Melchor
I mentioned to Julian that I misplaced my cup (I found it) he gave me this one. Even when I tried to give this back to him when I found my cup, he wouldn't take it back. Worth the weight.
Extremely rare actual Maya dagger, with the point fully intact. They said this is valued somewhere around $15,000 USD, I don't know, but I was careful not to drop it.
La familia de Radio Mopan, buena gente. Muchisimas gracias por todo.
After four days off, back on the road, feeling a bit better. Quiet road which was nice, but after hearing about two microbuses that were robbed just within the past week on this road, my eyes and ears were open.
After a day of riding, going for a refreshing swim in the lake
Look closely, you can see my tent to the right, camping lakeside
The island of Flores. It's small, and there's a bridge that goes to it, still interesting to see.
Diesel microbus, like the ones that were robbed. This one took me to Tikal to see the ruins.
Lots of military and police after the robberies
Wild turkey
My friends from the microbus, we ende up walking the park together. I don't remember any of their names. The girl on the right is from Japan, speaks some English and Japanese of course. The guy on the left is Italian, speaks some spanish, some french, and basically no english. The guy in the red shirt is French, and doesn't speak any english, and virtually no spanish. So if the guy in the red wanted to tell the girl something, he would tell the italian guy in french, who would tell me in spanish, then I would tell her in english. Interesting...
Ceiba
Tikal, Guatemala
Warm smiles and beautiful clothing
Walking through the jungle, hearing howler monkeys
Toucans
A lot of areas walking on the type of stone they made the ruins from
San Benito
Lots of motorcycles in Central America
...and lots of rain (it's that time of year...)
Plants are real green through from the rain
So much now, people just sit and stare
Even in the morning, curious what the crazy foreign cyclist is up to
Massive dirt airport
Sugarcane juice
And the machine to make it. The guy made this contraption
Raw cane, ready for juicing
I prefer the dogs when they're like this, not running and barking trying to bite me and my stuff
Friends in a small village that I camped near late one day
Strange animals I've never seen before, alive and dead
Rio Dulce and Guatemala's largest lake, Izabel. Everyone, including the military stopped to enjoy the view
Lunch with Narcos, or whomever is carrying around oozis and other guns
Been a while since I've had such a nice place to camp at by myself
Charging my ipod during a snack break
Ahhh if only diesels like this existed up north, all the domestic companies in the States would go out of business
Get some serious thunderstorms, basically on a daily basis
Tu lo sabes!
Bad roads and uphill makes for a long day
When I asked to camp on their grass, they let me stay in their empty house
Tire bulge since the border of Belize/Guatemala, looked like it was getting worse
So frustrating riding on roads like this
and nearly getting run over by police and other drivers
What I have to work with, these are parked trucks, always lots either side of the border
Taking a day off again, feeling under the weather
Nice folks at the place
My new love, pupusas, food of El Salvador, beans, cheese, and plenty of sauce
Yeah, that snake can kill you
Culprit for the bulge in the tire, that ended up cutting the tube
Now I'm sporting my spare, with knobbies, ready for offroad
More pupusas
Arriving late in Santa Ana, needed to get groceries, only had a short time to get out of town. I met Miguel at the gas station, asked him about camping somewhere, he mentioned a park near his house, but ended up just camping on his front lawn
Camping in a neighborhood, that's a first
Super helpful guy, I still had quetzales I needed to change (should have at the border), in the morning he took me to downtown to find someone to change it. Gracias amigo!
Climbing up the hill to get to Sonsonate. Bad idea loading up with groceries, started feeling pain in my knee again
Looking back towards Santa Ana
Mizata
More pupusas...
When I asked about who had made the paintings, I guess it was the guy's nephew, who died in the surf a few years back.
Yucca. Delicious, tastes like potatoes
The biggest live spider I have ever seen. I stopped my bike on the side of the road to take a break on a hill, then look up and see this
Yep that's a boogie board
Max, the Irishman, and Sammy, the Salvadoreña, she lived in Ireland and that's where they met
Outside shower
Punta Roca, La Libertad, El Salvador
Driving around San Salvador with Andre
Bolas de Fuego de Nejapa
Very intense, and very dangerous. More than once, the fiery balls went astray and landed in the crowd
Marco and Andre
Barbeque
Going with Andre to surf Punta Roca
Andre took photos of me, thanks bud!
Getting a beer after
He's got some 30 year old rum we tried, wow smooth
Drink of El Salvador, Chaparro
A bed and a TV, the good life
Good El Salvadorian coffee
Andre's mom gave me a bunch of goodies for the road: coffee, creamer, tea...
A tasty healthy lunch Andre prepared
Here's some photos from a couple of the dives the day I went diving from Caye Caulker. It was a cheap underwater camera, but nonetheless think it's worth a look:
Had a couple extra photos, was trying to show the hurricane heavy rain I was getting, but maybe you can barely tell that I'm wet.
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