Many people have commented that we need water wings or scuba gear for this trip. While it is entirely true that we have commented about the rain, it is not a continuous thing. It just seems like the adventures have been happening around it.
A quick recap:
USA – ten minutes of rain while we are at a gas station.
Mexico – 2 minutes while at a market and a great thunderstorm, while in the comfort of a room with a great view.
Guatemala – maybe an hour, can’t remember where.
El Salvador – rained just as we got our hotel sorted in La Libertad. Rained hard the next morning all the way to the Honduras border.
Honduras – rained at the border then cleared up.
Nicaragua – Rained as we came into Leon.
Costa Rica – rained at the border, then again as we entered La Fortuna. Rained big-time from San Jose to just before the Panama Border.
Panama – rained a bit at David.
So looking back we actually only got good and wet a couple of times. The side benefit is that it is usually very light and usually still a hundred degrees outside. We probably could have stayed dry in most places by choosing to get a hotel a bit earlier or lunch a bit later.
In ten thousand kilometers it is amazing that we have only really been caught in one big storm – in Costa Rica while climbing out of San Jose, heading over the mountains and toward the ocean. (Incidentally, this is where we saw a perfectly good jetliner parked beside a river in the jungle. No idea how it got there or why!) The flooding in Nicaragua was caused upstream from where we were, so we got wet from the bottom up on that one.
The rain that I encounter during my commute from Calgary to Red Deer every week is a lot more unpleasant!
We are still laughing. We knew this was the rainy season and it has actually been far less unpleasant than we were prepared for. The Ural continues to allow us an opportunity to experience our world through the smells, the sights and the smiles of the locals.
Oh, I have stopped chastising Tracey for bringing her hair dryer – I have been using it to dry my boots out!
Entering Costa Rica, it is immediately obvious that this country is different from most of the others in Latin America. In a region of the world historically plagued by internal strife and civil wars, Costa Ricans are proud, peace-loving, and have no army. Roads are in good shape, homes are water-proof and have floors made of something other than earth, and shops carry more than the basic essentials. And that is only what we notice in the first half hour.
Over the course of the afternoon and early evening, Miles tackles a rough, muddy, partially flooded road taking us along the northern shore of Lake Arenal to the tiny farming community of La Fortuna where we arrive a couple of hours after dark. Another sign of the country’s prosperity arrives as I begin to search for a place to stay. We are surrounded by swanky resorts. After using my best negotiating skills, I come up with a rate of a mere $75 per night (half the usual rate). This seems absurd now that we have become accustomed to decent accommodation for under $20. We continue the search. Miles spots a hotel that he somehow senses is the place for us. He’s right. Pulling into the driveway, we are greeted by the biggest smile we have seen in days. Miles develops an immediate rapport with this hotel-owner and the two of them quickly negotiate a price of $21 per night including breakfast. Seems like a deal.
We enjoy dinner at the hotel restaurant, sharing a bottle of wine and some fun conversation with our host, Florian. He barely speaks English but is eager to learn. Our Spanish is really quite pathetic but Florian is very patient with us. We have quickly gained an affection for this warm and welcoming man who has made us feel very much at home. He quickly taught us the expression “Pura Vida!”,Costa Rica’s unofficial slogan. Over the next few days, each time that we ask Florian how he is doing, “Coma estas?”, his response is always, “Pura Vida”. This is symbolic of the easygoing nature of this country’s people, politics, and personality.
Before retiring for the night, we undertake the challenging task of laying out all of our gear to dry. Miles’ feet have been treading water in his boots for hours and my gloves are beginning to grow mold. We use every possible hanging spot in the room and then sleep in dense humidity as we are surrounded by wet clothes, boots, and bags.
In the morning, we are blessed with sunshine and head into town visiting the central plaza, Catholic church, and some unusual shops. When it’s time to head out, we find our Ural parked in by a van. There is nothing to do but enjoy a cold drink while we wait. “Pura Vida!”
Now we are off to the Rio Fortuna Waterfall. As we head into the lush rainforest, I am hoping to see some of Costa Rica’s famed flora and fauna. I’m certainly not disappointed. During our hike down a steep path to the waterfall, we spot spectacular flowers and a tremendous variety of plant life spreading from the forest floor to the tops of the canopy. The trunks of the tall trees are hosts to all sorts of vines and bromeliads and other plants grow out of every crevice. Although we hear plenty of bird and animal noises nearby, we don’t spot any wildlife – other than several people enjoying a swim at the base of the waterfall.
On awakening the next morning, we enjoy the hotel’s amazing view of the Arenal Volcano. This is one of the world’s most regularly active volcanoes with frequent powerful explosions sending cascades of red-hot lava rocks down the volcano’s steep slopes. What we didn’t realize until arriving here is that the top of the volcano is almost always obscured by cloud and fog, so unless you embark on a dangerous climb, you are unlikely to see any of the activity. But on this clear morning we were lucky enough to catch a rare view of the top of the volcano spewing smoke from the hot lava rocks within.
Florian and his wife bid us a fond farewell with a final and enthusiastic “con mucho gusto”. We head south and into Talamanca Mountains. Reaching higher altitudes, we are once again driving through cloud forests where we face steep climbs, pouring rain and avalanches. But we make it through and in the western foothills, we arrive at our home for the night, San Isidrode El General. The next morning we are off again and heading south on a route that follows the Pacific Ocean. Despite the heavy rains, we enjoy views of the lushly forested mountains tumbling into the Pacific. On the banks of the many rivers flowing into the ocean were mangrove forests and swamplands and we watch pelicans and herons flying above, feeding along the silted banks, and nesting high in the canopy. A fitting end to our time in this eco-rich land.
Tracey
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Hundreds of Smiles and Miles stickers laid out to dry.
Lesson One: The best way to improve our Ural’s braking ability is to leave a wet towel hanging off the back to dry, allowing it to drop into the driveshaft while zipping along. Stops the bike much more quickly than the brakes. There is a side benefit as well – a nicely polished driveshaft.
Lesson Two: The world is full of information, sometimes accurate and sometimes not. Honduras is a country we were warned about by every fellow traveler- military shakedowns for money, corrupt police, and unfriendly people. Nobody seemed to have a good story to tell. Well, some lessons you just need to learn for yourself.
We were leaving town one morning when two motorcycle police pulled in behind us. They began to follow us and eventually slowly passed us on the right, continuing down the road. My spidey senses started to tingle. I made a quick detour for unnecessary fuel… eventually, we pulled back onto the road and continued…about two kilometers down the road on a blind bend with jungle on both sides, a motorcycle was parked across our lane and two policemen lay in wait for us…one of them motioned us to stop and we thought the gig was up…slowly he looked around and approached us…. he extended his hand to mine and said “Welcome to Honduras! We just saw you back there and wanted to tell you to have a safe trip and enjoy our country” Then he went around to shake Tracey’s’ hand and we were off. This same scene was repeated less than an hour later with the same results. Honduras treated us well.
Lesson Three: When the rains come – make tracks. As the tropical storms battered the countries in different ways we learned to keep going. Other travelers chose to wait. Waiting allowed the water to build up – with bad results. We drove over many landslides, including one while it was happening. Being stuck on the wrong side, when there is only one road leads to…. being stuck. By shifting our routes and plans to take advantage of good spots of weather, we were able to be rained upon but always continue. As we learned later, other travellers were stuck for as much as 5 days in various places due to ‘waiting it out’. Waiting it out means waiting until December.
Our biggest ongoing lesson is still ‘people are people’. Guarav Jani, the Indian film maker, said to us one time “Reach out with your hand, put it on the other person’s chest and feel their heart – it is the same beat as yours. That person is not a newspaper or a government. That person is the same as you.”
We are reminded of the power of his statement every day, it is a message we will always carry.
We’re rolling down the road in Guatemala, heading toward the El Salvador border, and Tracey comments again on the fabulous roads, the smells, and the scenery. The road is bordered by huge shade trees and flowers fill the ditches. The road itself is a great gently curving country drive that puts us in a very peaceful mood – a great start to the day.
The border crossing is again very simple and the officials are happy to zip us through the process and get us on our way. More great roads await! El Salvador’s’ coastal road winds along spectacular beaches continuously hit by huge surf. The road dashes back into the mountains just to give us an up-close view of the volcanoes.
El Salvador is a wonderful, cheap and friendly place that will require a second visit, but now the clock is ticking and we simply aren’t able to spend as much time here as we would like. We hit the tail end of a tropical storm in Guatemala and a second one is on its way and causing huge problems on our future route.
The view from our hotel in El Salvador.
Crossing the border from El Salvador into Honduras.
After a quick three-day tour of El Salvador and Honduras, we arrive in Nicaragua to learn that the highway has washed away and we can not get through.
Making our way along the flooded road.
The officials stop us – “No puede pasar“. We can’t continue on the road, but we offer ”Hey, can we go up and take a picture?” “No problemo”. We work our way along the road as water floods up to the highway on both sides. It is a disheartening experience to watch this already poor population having their homes and only possessions under water and to see their animals wandering hopelessly along the road.
Homes under water.
Horses trying to find dry footing.
People continue to stop us and tell us to go back. We persevere.
Finally a local missionary group stops us to say the road is blocked just ahead and invites us to join them for lunch. A great lunch of fresh shrimp followed by an enlightening philosophy discussion. We are continually impressed by how people are dedicating their time, skills and lives to help countries in need. Thanks to Dave Pulzetti and the crew from Beyond Partnership for welcoming us and sharing your knowledge of Nicaragua.
The crew from Beyond Partnership.
After lunch, our challenge begins in earnest. Water floods across the road and our first sight is of a full-size semi and trailer on its side, pushed off the road by the current, water rushing around and through it. The army is there, as well as curious villagers, stranded trucks, the odd bus, and now us……….
Driving to the starting point of the road closure, we notice a semi truck with a flat deck trailer waiting to get through. Guess where this story is going? In my ‘poco’ Spanish I convince the driver to let us lift the Ural onto the trailer – and make a run for it through the invisible road. He agrees, for a cost…. A whopping four dollars. Ten local villagers help us lift the bike onto the trailer, and some hop on themselves.
We make our way aboard a flat-bed trailer.
Tracey hanging on as we make our way through the deepening water.
Our truck tentatively approaches the edge of the water. Two army soldiers in a commandeered local tractor probe the road ahead and lead us across a flood plain where there is nothing to see but treetops and covered homes. The water has washed away the edges and sometimes the entire lane of the road and created instant rapids and holes deep enough to swallow vehicles.
The road washing away beneath us.
We come to a guard rail sticking out of the water and realize that it is actually the railing of a bridge; the river is high enough to have covered the bank and the bridge. We pass a stranded ‘chicken bus’ and another semi on its side – this would continue for almost eight kilometers before we reach higher ground over an hour later.
Trucks crawl along on the very questionable road as they pass others who didn’t make it through.
When we reach dry land, everyone in sight lends a hand to lift the Ural off of trailer and we are on our three wheels once again, and headed for Leon.
I saw this expression on a bumper sticker in Guatemala and just couldn’t resist using it.
As Miles and I left Huehuetanango and began heading toward the central highlands, we stopped at the type of restaurant that has become our favourite – located on the side of the road and made up of a few small tables, plastic lawn chairs and a huge wood-fired stove, all covered by a giant blue tarp. The meal turned out to be one of our best yet. For Miles, a “Plato Tipico” consisting of heavily salted steak, plantains, cheese, a quesadilla and longaniza sausage freshly made by the chef with wonderful green herbs. For me, Chicken soup loaded with vegetables. The experience was made even better by the soft and cuddly cat who was sheltering under our table and nestled into our feet.
Tracey enjoying a bowl of good old-fashioned chicken soup – Guatemalan style.
Our journey continued with a climb into heavy fog. As we were now approaching the most populated area of the country, we began to see more signs of Maya life and crafts, particularly weaving and embroidery which were obvious in the traditional dress of both women and men. The beautiful traditional clothing is made by the women in a riot of colours. Almost all of the women were in traditional dress but many men dressed similarly. Two of the most prevalent types of clothing are a corte, a piece of material 7 – 10m long that is used as a wraparound skirt by both women and men and the faja, a long woven waist sash that can be folded to hold whatever needs to be carried.
Our plan was to drive to Panajachel on volcano-ringed Lake Atitlán, considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. However, the road to the town had been closed for a few days so we weren’t sure we would get there. Our uncertainty grew as we approached. The fog thickened, the rain became heavier and darkness arrived earlier than expected. But the road was open so we struggled through and made it to our destination.
We spent the evening exploring the main street of the village and were followed by a couple of young peddlers who would not take “Non Gracias” for an answer. One young boy just kept asking for “one chicken” indicating that he’d be happy for us to buy him a meal if we weren’t interested in buying what he was selling. After he had walked along side us for some time, talking non-stop, Miles finally gave him some money and sent him on his way. Even during dinner, the peddling continued with three different street vendors coming right up to our table in the restaurant. Fortunately they disappeared quickly. However, the five dogs who joined us at the table were not quite as quick to respond. They came and went throughout the meal.
The next morning we woke to find Luca, the hotel guard dog, keeping a close eye on our bike as he was laid out directly behind the bike soaking up the sun.
Luca on guard.
Luca off duty.
Our morning stroll took us to some spectacular views of the lake and its surrounding volcanoes and into the Catholic church. Hidden behind its almost whitewashed exterior, the church’s interior was filled with so many flowers that the smell was intoxicating Long lengths of pink and gold fabric were draped from the ceiling creating a warm and celebratory atmosphere.
When we spotted a small chocolate shop that looked like it was straight from my favourite Johnny Depp film, I couldn’t resist a visit. I enjoyed a yummy hot chocolate and indulged in a bar of chocolate infused with cloves to be tucked away for an afternoon snack – it didn’t last until afternoon. Shunning the movie set atmosphere, Miles headed to the local grocery store for some pure Guatemalan chocolate made in San Pedro La Laguna across the lake. This was not quite as enjoyable. As Miles said, “it is a cross between chocolate, fudge, and matchbooks”. That sums it up quite well.
The view of Lake Atitlán as we leave Panajachel.
Travelling out of this area, we saw many examples of the typical Guatemalan home – a one-room house of brick, concrete blocks or traditional bajerequ (a construction of stones, wooden poles and mud), with roofs of tin, tiles or thatch. In the countryside, in villages, and in towns, most of the country’s Maya majority live in this type of house, grouped close to several others who make up an extended family.
We made our next home in Antigua, nestled between three volcanoes which are clearly visible over the red tile roofs and church bell towers that dominate the small city’s skyline.
Antigua.
Antigua is an enchanting blend of colonial-era architecture and rugged cobblestone streets. The town was founded in 1543 and served as the colonial capital for 233 years. Most of the town’s buildings were constructed during the 17th and 18th centuries when the city was a rich Spanish outpost. Although not all of the buildings from this era have survived, several impressive ruins have been preserved.
A new friend in Antigua.
Each day of our stay in Antigua, we spent time at Plaza Mayor, a popular gathering place like most central squares in Latin America. The plaza is filled with villagers selling handicrafts and shoe shining services and was a great place to grab a shady seat and watch the parade of life pass before us.
Miles getting his boots shined on the Plaza Mayor.
The plaza’s famous fountain has been the centre of the city since 1738. We got a kick out of the voluptuous ladies carved around the sides of the fountain and providing a steady stream of water shooting out of their breasts.
Fountain in Antigua’s Plaza Mayor.
On one side of the park is the city’s cathedral with its’ ornate white façade. Only a small part of the church is currently in use and the remainder lies in ruin.
Church on Antigua’s central square.
We toured the ruins one morning with a personal guide, Armondo, who is a mason participating in the restoration of the cathedral for 6 months each year and conducting tours of the cathedral during the remaining 6 months of the year to raise funds for the restoration.
Antigua’s cathedral undergoing restoration.
On our first evening we enjoyed a dinner of typical Guatemalan dishes including kack ik, a turkey soup which seemed particularly appropriate for Thanksgiving weekend. When you order this dish, it sounds like you are gagging – “I’ll have the kack…ik” – but it’s actually delicious.
We spent the next morning wandering through the Mercado Municipal where local residents come to do their shopping among the numerous stalls connected by narrow passageways.
Basic household goods, flowers, vegetables, grains, spices and many live chickens are sold here along with some crafts and textiles. It was a great place to just soak in the sights and sounds.
Something unexpected on display at the market.
We were once again staying in a lovely but extremely inexpensive hotel, Casa Rustica, and enjoyed meeting the hotel owner, Daryl, as well as a regular guest, Harvey Brewer, both natives of Kentucky.
Relaxing at Casa Rustica.Relaxing at Casa Rustica.
Harvey is very involved with a medical mission based in Antigua and spends about half of each year in the city. We thoroughly enjoyed spending a rainy day with him learning about his missionary work, wandering through a craft market, enjoying the hotel’s garden courtyard, and weathering the ongoing power failures that hit the city throughout the day. This was a sign of things to come as we prepared to head into El Salvador and some severe weather.
Apparently it rains in Guatemala. Apparently it rains a lot.
We cross the border from Mexico into in La Messilla, Guetemala and instantly the world changes.
The road is different, the architecture is different, the landscape is different.
We have arrived here at the end of the rainy season. It shows. Landslides are everywhere. We scramble over at least 40 of them.
Landslide debris recently cleared from the road.
While circling volcanoes and canyons, we climb to over 10,000 feet altitude several times. Eventually we reach Huehuetenango and are met with roads ten feet wide – labyrinth-like and magically going from two-way to one-way to “No Way” with no warning. One road becomes so steep that the Ural runs out of steam and stalls. This is followed by a reverse sliding pirouette as I try to get the engine fired and get in control again, before we end up upside down.
Disaster averted, we find a spectacular hotel nestled in a hidden alley. La Chacra de Joel is a bungalow with a square garden courtyard viewed by each room.
La Chacra de Joel.Miles relaxing at La Chacra de Joel.
One unique feature is the roving guard dog on the roof, continuously repeating his route around the perimeter of the hotel. It is here that we meet the first of the many missionaries we will meet throughout Central America. Sammy Winters has been visiting and living in Huehuetenango for almost twenty years. He spends an evening with us, explaining his passions and goals – an inspiring story of creating clean water and a midwife program that has greatly reduced infant and mother mortality rates. Sammy’s message is not about ‘thumping bibles’, it is a message about doing the ‘right’ thing and helping people learn how to improve their world.
We hear this message many times from many missionaries in the coming days – missionaries who also help us to overcome some serious challenges.
Smiles & Miles 