To the Highlands

We were sure glad to have a roof to sleep under because it rained all night in Cobán, and it was still raining in the morning as we packed up our stuff. We hit the bike shop again to get Karl's back wheel trued, then donned our jackets and shoe covers and headed out of town. Our route took us on the main highway toward Guatemala City for the first 15 km of the ride, and traffic was heavy with a narrow shoulder, which felt all the more dangerous with the wet road. We were glad to turn off toward Santa Cruz Verapaz onto a smaller road, and thought we may have ridden out of the rain cloud. However, after San Cristobal Verapaz we were back on a dirt road, and back in the rain. The mucky road was covered in potholes, and very soon we too were covered in mud and grime as we pedalled down and down to the Chixoy River. Having lost 800 m of elevation, we now had to climb back up 1200 m, but across the Chixoy we were now in the state of Quiche, and back on paved roads. The hills were steep as we climbed up past villages where we heard more Spanish than indigenous languages, and where people seemed to be less poor. We rolled into Chicaman around 5 pm and quickly found the Bomberos where we were able to put up our tent on their rooftop patio and chat with the friendly firefighters before heading to bed.Read more