From: San Christobal To: Hue Hue Tenango, Guatemala
More beautiful mountains. Breathtaking. So green and clouds hanging lower than we were riding. Flying above the clouds is quite different that riding above the clouds. Slow going for most of the ride and endless pick-ups jammed with people in the back. Everyone is at least amused to see us. I do get the feeling that moto traveling is not terribly common. Its interesting the number of horses, goats, donkeys and cows that we have seen tethered nest to a highway. All thru Mexico and now Guatemala. we pass animals munching by roadside. They are tethered and usually only one at a location. I assume the owners are making use of the free State grass. I guess when you see that most homes don't even have grass in their yards its understandable that the critters eat out.
Harold and I stopped at a village on the way to the Guatemalan border named Teopisca. We met some very nice people and as we were leaving, the town was having a children's halloween parade. It was great fun. I had a nice visit with a restaurant manager that knows a bit of English. But the mountains take "the cake" and tomorrow we will nearly cross Guatemala traveling thru more majesty.
More and more beautiful mountains. Except for "chicken buses" coming around a curve on two wheels! In this part of the world buses are in great quantity as most people have no cars. Many of the buses are highly decorated and have paint jobs that rival a NASCAR car. Apparently they are individually owned. The buses fill to the brim with individuals and the top of the bus is loaded with stuff. In mountain curves that should be taken at 10-30 mphs they typically come screaming down at over 40-60 mph. Remember that's on curves. And don't get behind one going up. . . they belch the blackest smoke I've seen.
Guatemalians are beautiful people and very friendly. Every where we go they come over to us and smile and test our Spanish ineptness. We've discovered that at borders there are individuals that make a living "helping" you with the paperwork in the crossing process. This our second crossing was pretty smooth with the "assistants".
Days 10 and 11
From: Hue Hue Tenango To: Antigua, Guatemala
I had no idea what was in store for us when we reached Antigua. With a major active volcano and two others a short distance away overlooking Antigua's busy tourist streets we decided to stay two days. The number of foreigners here is astounding. Harold and I have walked for what seems like miles on the extreme cobblestone streets and loved it. A couple of the best meals have been had here. Although we didn't take in any tourist attractions, there are a number of them ranging from ruins of ancient churches to the volcanos themselves. For visitors that like warm American hospitality mixed with their latin experience, I would recommend "Casa Rustica" owned by Darryl Hicks a bike enthusiast who had internet, cable and small bar in the center of town. casarusticagt@hotmail.com. We will sadly leave tomorrow for the Honduran border. Our hotel bill was $10 per night for a basic room with private bath. For more info on Antigua.
1- Darryl Hicks of Casa Rustica jokes with Harold.
2- A group relaxing in Antigua's city plaza.
3- At a restaurant we met these bikers who were a very friendly group.
