No Return Ticket – Just a Ride Report /w Pics

[cavebiker]

Gracias, Honduras:

We finally make it to Gracias. They have had torrential rains in the area the last few weeks, probably creating all the deep ruts we experienced. But for sure, this stretch from La Esperanza to Gracias is a fantastic ride and highly recommend for adventure riders. It’s a beautiful and unique part of Honduras.

Gracias is a pretty and small mountain village complete with cobble stone roads and street food vendors. Hotel Posada del Don Juan has courtyard parking and is right on the main street coming into town. This is a good spot to spend a night or two and explore the area.

The ride across Honduras toward Copan Ruins is fantastic. The shape of the landscape here is interesting with various sized coned shaped hills. They remind me of the glacier ‘mounds’ found in Wisconsin. I’m thinking these hills must be formed by volcanic activity to be so perfect in shape.

We pull over for a gear adjustment. This is the second person that passed by with a bundle of fire wood balanced on their head. We passed several other people carrying wood on the highway, some with a bicycle and some on foot. Wood is used for heating homes and cooking here.

We turn off the main highway at La Entrada and start to climb towards Copan ruins. We pass fertile farmlands, forests and hills on our way toward the ruins and the Guatemala border. Soon we start to see people in palm roof huts setup along side the road. They’re selling fruit and some are yelling out to us. One kid ran out onto the road at us with a pineapple in one hand and a machete in the other, yelling! Yeah, we assume he wanted to sell us the pineapple……! |)

The village ‘Copan ruins’ is small and very cool. Coffee shops, hip bars and restaurants surround a clean quiet central park. One hotel in our guide book sounded good, it lists parking and a roof top terrace.

Two blocks passed the bridge we hang a left and pull into the Hotel Brisas de Copan, $35 a night. We are two blocks from central park. The rooms are big and have a balcony over the street. The food and coffee is fantastic here but we are paying real money now. Several bars in town have good ‘happy hour’ deals.

 

[cavebiker]

Copan ruins:
The Mayan ruins of Copan start 2 kilometers from town, it’s an easy walk.

Model of the site.

The grounds here are huge and spread out. While looking from the top of a pyramid Heidi and I theorize what the different areas were used for and what the people must have been doing here a thousand or more years ago. What happened to these cities and the people who use to live here? Why did they leave?

The structures are huge.

One of the largest ‘playing field’ in the Mayan world.

What game did they play here? No one knows but for sure this was a place where distinguished people met.

Center court seats. I picture dignitaries sitting here.

I envision a Jaguar being released from this hole to an awaiting gladiator or human sacrifice. I can see the roaring crowds.

 

[cavebiker]

Copan is unique and famous for the carvings and hieroglyphics found here.

God of Wind & Storm:

This is the only known hieroglyphic pyramid of the Mayan world. The pyramid is covered with a tarp for protection.

Every step is carved.

Two thousand years old.

The surrounding jungle is beautiful.

Parrots fly around the ruins.

Sorry dude, we have no crackers…..

 

[cavebiker]

Guatemala Border Crossing:

During breakfast this morning the owner of the restaurant below our hotel said she used to guide tours for Belize to Tikal & Copan. We ask about the road to Tikal. She tells us the roads are in good shape all the way. That has our interest up. This route would be all new Guatemala to us and should shave off a few hundred miles compared to the Mexico route. I was concerned about the roads in Northern Guatemala. The last 25 miles before Belize is bad. We still are not sure the route we want.

Copan to the Guatemala border is 25 miles up twisty mountain roads. The beauty of the scenery gets better the closer we get. I did some on-line research for this border crossing. We can do customs here and the rest sounds low-key, just the way we like it. I run down our ‘pre-border’ checklist. For a ‘money changer’ I have $100 in US bills and $20 in Honduras Lempira. The exchange rate is in my head and on a slip of paper. Last night I made two copies of the bike title, my passport and drivers license. All my Honduras customs papers are in a plastic baggie along with my passport, original title and copies. That’s it. We stash our daily stash items and are ready to hit the road, just like any other day. Except, we both can’t believe we will be back in Guatemala today.

At the border everything is mellow. I park the bike and have to walk around to find a money changer. I changed my Lempira first, I get a good rate. Next I ask how much for $100 US. I didn’t like what I hear and asked him to repeat it. He punches out 600 on his calculator. I smile while shaking my head and saying “No Way” The changer looks up at Heidi and smiles then punches out 700 on the calculator. I say “OK, lets do it” That gives him about four bucks, a fair commission. I find it easy to forget about changing money after a long customs process. That’s why I like to do it first thing. I take a deep breath, survey the area while asking the changer where the immigrations and customs buildings are.

We are in and out from this border in less than 30 minutes. I think a record for speed and ease of passage. The biggest drama here, for Heidi at least was when a young dog was lying in the middle of road in front of the customs building while an 18 wheel truck was moving in. Heidi is in a panic yelling and stomping trying to get the dog to move but it was too content with the middle of the road. Heidi covered her eyes just before the 18 wheeler moved over and onto the on-coming traffic lane to avoid the dog. She exclaimed to some ‘money change’ guys next to her about the crazy dog “Perro loco” They exclaim back “Chica loca” We all have a good laugh……

Guatemala:

We have 3 hours before we need to make a decision about the route. We stop for coffee and juice while looking over the guide book. The book mentions good roads in Northern Guatemala toward Tikal. We discuss putting the bike on a ferry at Puerto Barrias and sail it to Belize. About half way through our cappuccinos we decided to ride north into Guatemala toward Tikal then into Belize. All Right. I like how we make ride decisions. The plan is to have a plan that is designed to change. The further we ride and the closer we get, the more we know. Plotting this out yields almost infinite wisdom at a point closest to a destination. More importantly it indicates greater wisdom the more you ride. We love discussing new ride plans and scenarios. The possibilities are endless and it’s just fun talking ‘what if’ with your ride partner.

After turning toward the Caribbean we could feel the temperatures start to rise. There are more palm trees and banana trees now. Fruit venders are selling along side the road in palm roof huts. This is a new Guatemala to us.

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We ride over a tall and long bridge over the river ’Rio Dulce’ then into the town Rio Dulce. Judging by the map I thought this would be our best bet for finding a hotel before Tikal. And that’s our goal today.

We checked out 2 hotels before we looked at Hotel Emy’s. This is a great hotel for bike travelers who don’t mind a little tropical garden paradise surrounding a pool. Hotel Emy’s also has one of the best restaurants in town with a bar.

Heidi likes it….

We take a walk into town. Guatemala, Enjoy…..

Local motorcycle shop

The smell is burning plastic. Hmm?

We like the vibrant feel of this town.

There’s a lot of produce and street food in Rio Dulce.

This could be a record for ‘variety at one stand’.

The streets in Rio Dulce are filled with vocal music.
“pollo, pollo frito,…… pollo, pollo frito,……”
As I pass closer. “pollo, pollo frito, ……cheeeken……”

Great chicken tacos are made here.

Mainstreet Rio Dulce

I enjoy going down by the docks, I think it’s in my blood. Heidi and I plan on cruising a sailboat to the Caribbean someday. It’s magical to me being part of the rhythm and flow of a new port of call. Heidi and I talk about the sailboat anchored in the harbor, talking about ‘what if that were us?’ ‘We would be doing this and that right now’. We watch a dingy glide across the bay under sail. I tell Heidi “I want a sailing dingy for our boat” She agrees as long as it also has oars and I do the rowing. That works for me….

Rio Dulce is one of the safest hurricane holes in the Caribbean. That brings in a lot of cruising sailboats who moor here for the season, which is now. All morning we watch long local fisherman and local families arriving by boat. I assume the families live on the lake somewhere and are just coming in for the day to shop or whatever.

The woman in indigenous dress and her husband came in with two children in that brown canoe at the top. They spread their fish catch out while a guy in a white shirt from shore picks each one up spreading them out then I assume quoting a price. The guy in the white shirt always wore a stern look on his face. I’m sure the reason he takes so long to examine a small catch of fish is because of his desire to be as fair as he possibly can to these families. He may deal with them several times a week.

 

[glider]

Great pics and story too. Makes a person appreciate what they have here a little more when you look at the living conditions elsewhere.

Thanks for posting your trip for us to share.

 

[cavebiker]

We enjoy a slow morning preparing for the ride to Tikal. Coffee and water and that’s it, we are ready to roll. We will look for food somewhere up the road today, wherever…...

This area of Northern Guatemala is filled with small cone shaped hills covered in vegetation. I expected a more desert feel to the area.

In a lot of these small towns you really have to look hard to spot the restaurants. This place was a score with a huge typical breakfast for just a couple of bucks.

Flores, Guatemala:
Another great hotel with parking security. Aldea Maya Cabanas across from the airport, two blocks down a dirt road. It’s a little on the pricy side but the pool is super and we are close to the island village, Flores.

We walk up to the main road and catch a Moto Taxi in no time.
“Flores por favor”
“Si, Flores”

Here we go….

Flores is an island so you have to cross this bridge to get there. We looked for hotels in Flores first but didn’t see any with parking.

Flores has a number of lake side bars and restaurants. Most of them have a posted ‘happy hour’ time. We met a lot of travelers who are from all over here. This is a good spot to watch the sunset and talk.

The Ride Continues…….

 

[cavebiker]

Off to Belize.
We stopped for lunch somewhere between our hotel and the border. The place on the left doesn’t open until 9:00AM. We were directed to the tables next-door. Two full typical breakfasts of scrambled eggs, ham, refried beans, tortillas, coffee and juice; 40 quetzales, ~ $5.60.

There’s a school across the street. Kids work on desks outside.

A student hammers on a typewriter at the store near us.

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Guatemala – Belize Border Crossing:
The 15 or 20 miles of dirt road before the Belize border is in rough shape. I’m sure the deep ruts are from the recent heavy rains. At least today the road is mostly dry.

When the traffic stopped I saw that a line of trucks were in front of us. At a border crossing a biker always rides past the line of stopped and parked trucks and up to the front . Heidi knows this drill. I swerve around and past the trucks as soon as I have an opening.

Locals were swimming in the river below. Belize is looking good…..

I park the bike at the border gate and start to run off to the Guatemala immigrations building. Heidi yells out “Your parked out too far!” I try to assure her that no one will try to squeeze between these trucks and the bike. When I get back Heidi says 5 or 6 cars squeeze passed, inches from the bike. I get ‘reminded’ that I need to pay more attention to where I park the bike…..

We get in and out of the Guatemala immigrations and customs process in ten minutes. On the Belize side the entire process took even less time. At customs everything gets entered on a computer and I receive NO paperwork for clearing in the bike. Riding up to the final gate chief without papers felt weird. The chief asks us “Do you have any fruit, nuts or missiles” We pass into Belize with ease. Again this sets a new record for ‘speed and ease of passage’. Belize, Oh yeah……!

 

[USMCCWO5]

Cavebikers;
Well, I must say this is an awesome trip. I am sure you are enjoying the thrill of each new day. I finally caught up with your logs. I can't wait for the next install.

Go Packers.

 

[cavebiker]

Belize:
Western Belize sounds good and the village San Ignacio sounded like a good place to set up a ‘base of operations’. There are jungles, waterfalls, swimming holes and Mayan ruins all around here. We ride into town and look at a few hotels. We next ride out of town. About a mile over the bridge Heidi sees a hotel sign indicating a pool and internet.

We ‘score big’, hotel Aguada; restaurant, bar and the pool has lawn chairs. The courtyard is filled with tropical plants and a pond. There are birds and huge iguanas everywhere. The bike is good here and so are we.

It’s a 4 or 5 mile hike to a swimming hole we read about. This is where two rivers meet called ‘Branch Mouth’.

We could see a distinct line in the water where the cleaner and greener water from the river on the left meets the darker and browner river on the right. We reminisce about a time years ago when we boated to where the Chippewa River of Wisconsin joins the Mississippi River and the similarities in the separation line.

5 miles across this bridge is a Maya ruins site. We will do that another day.

Sign in English and Garifuna

 

[cavebiker]

Maya site ‘Cahal Pech’:

From top of the center pyramid.

The structures are complex and interesting here.

The buildings are lined with rooms, platforms and passageways.

To me, these are bedrooms in the front and back of this building. Each room is complete with a bed platform, some are king size, some medium and one small. Some rooms have a small arched closet and some have small passageways leading off somewhere.

This room has a dark passageway leading off to who knows where. Bats live down there now.

The front of the main plaza.