Chisec

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4y

Panamericana adventure
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- Jan 12, 2020
- ⛅ 25 °C
- Altitude: 239 m
- Guatemala Departamento de Alta Verapaz Chisec 15.81167, -90.2883315°48’42” N 90°17’18” W
Day 127
The rolling Gringo
January 12, 2020 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
5am - wake up call by hundreds of birds in the trees next to our hotel. But as we had a long day ahead of us, this was a good reason to get up early. We left Sayaxche, passed some rainforest where we could hear monkeys again and had a first stop in Las Pozas, a busy little market town, to have some bread. The route had been VERY hilly, right from the beginning, so we had burned our breakfast calories already. Afterwards, there was a long straight stretch of 30km with no curve - still rolling up and down though.
When passing the villages, the kids all called us "gringo". It was funny at the beginning but kind of annoying after the 100th times. It must also be the first words kids learn as even 2-year-olds screamed "gringo" as soon as they saw us. We felt a little bit like in a zoo, because once one kid saw us, they called everyone else in the house and neighborhood to come out and see us. I fear it will be like this for another 11 months or so...
Once the straight part ended, the scenery was stunning, turning mountainous again. The road was still rolling: 50m climb, then down, then up again. At some stage, we needed a break and were happy to find a guy who sold melons. Even though we paid a tourist price, we still very much enjoyed the fresh fruit!
We arrived early in Chisec where we wanted to stay for the night. Hotel options weren't too good. In the end, we decided to stay in a run-down, but very cheap one. Thus, we could better spent the money on food. I think we also looked quite hungry: at the bakery, the guy put more bread in our bag as we ordered (no extra charge) and in the restaurant they gave us bananas for breakfast on the way. The people here somehow know what we need 😉Read more
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Ruta Maya
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- Dec 3, 2023, 2:36pm
- ☀️ 29 °C
- Altitude: 237 m
- Guatemala Departamento de Alta Verapaz Chisec 15.817278, -90.29131315°49’2” N 90°17’29” W
Day 31
Rest day - Santa Cruz Verapaz
December 3, 2023 in Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
We are staying at an odd gated resort just on the outskirts of a pretty uninspiring town. There are quite large grounds - pictures taken by somebody else as John and me take the rest day literally and do nothing much at all other than eat and drink! We can be using as much as 4,000 calories a day and it’s just not possible to get enough food onboard to replenish what we are using - particularly as we are somewhat bored of the scrambled eggs, tortillas and black beans that are served at breakfast! We have a good coffee for once and then I have a pizza at lunch - first time I have felt like eating much in the last couple of days - no idea why. It takes an hour to arrive and I have to ask for it 3 times ! Everyone else has finished by the time I get mine. I clean my bike and don’t do an awful lot. I hadn’t slept well the night before as someone had been beeping their horn for about an hour from 1-2am - initially beep beep beep and then moving to a continual beep as they sat on their horn. I am assuming they were locked out of the complex and were trying to get someone to open up !Read more
Traveler Take care Catharine ... maybe you need more rest... if you haven't felt like eating much you could be overdoing it 💙
12/5/23Reply
Traveler Probably right !
12/5/23Reply
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Ruta Maya
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- Dec 4, 2023, 1:06pm
- 🌧 27 °C
- Altitude: 237 m
- Guatemala Departamento de Alta Verapaz Chisec 15.817151, -90.29128315°49’2” N 90°17’29” W
Day 32
Day 23 - Santa Cruz Verapaz to Chisec
December 4, 2023 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
A relatively short day on the bike and the first wet day. We were soaked within about 30 minutes ! It was a shame we had to concentrate so hard on the roads because the scenery would have been amazing. It dried up as we arrived at lunch - early. The afternoon was through village after village - houses built into the hillside or alongside the road. Very basic - most of them just wooden structures with a few rooms and concrete floors. Coffee plantations on the sides of the hills and lots of rainforest. There were a few areas of cleared rainforest but not on a massive scale. John and I stopped for an ice cream at a tiny store - there were about 4 kids there watching so we offered them an ice cream too - they were incredibly shy at first but then one by one accepted - I had to tell them to get on and eat them as they were just holding them in their wrappers and would have melted. We then felt guilty and offered all the ladies there one as well - they were all part of an extended family. The toddler grimaced when he first tasted his and then decided he quite liked it!
We arrived at the hotel about 1 - big bed that pretty much fills the room - pretty basic with 2 large Alsatians outside ! It started chucking it down about 3pm and has not stopped so the washing we have done will probably not dry ! It’s humid but pleasant sitting outside the room in the covered hallway listening to the rain !Read more
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