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Southward Bound
  • Holly and Karl

Southward Bound

A 264-day adventure by Holly Read more
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  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl
    1

    Volcan Pacaya

    April 3, 2016 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We decided not to climb 3976 m Acatenango because the weather didn't seem very promising, so we left Antigua with Joe and Antoine and headed for the smaller Volcan Pacaya in the hopes of seeing some volcanic action. The afternoon ride there involved some steep climbs and descents that made for slow progress, but provided a few good opportunities to chat with locals and compare bikes and loads as we pedalled. We arrived at the base of the mountain near dusk and were encouraged to camp at local guide Antonio's place for the night. As we ate dinner Antonio convinced us to use his services as a guide for one more early morning volcano adventure the next day.

    We started up the road at 3 am the next morning, roasted some marshmallows at a vent in the cooling lava at 4 am, and got to a high point on an old lava flow at 5 am. High winds and thick fog made for a quick turn around, but Antonio brought us through a lava tunnel, which was pretty cool, on the way back down. We got a nice view of the big volcanoes around Antigua as the sun came up, and were back down in time for breakfast at a normal hour. Joe even managed a quick ride around the yard on a bony pony before we got back on our bikes and started out on part two of our day.    Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    A New Frontera

    April 4, 2016 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    After our alpine start and volcano adventuring, and a few more dirt road descents, we were hot and tired by 1 pm, so were excited when the Bomberos of Barberena welcomed us to stay with them for the night. We spent the afternoon eating and relaxing and the evening watching as they responded to numerous emergencies. The next day's ride had some wonderful smooth descents, and some truck assisted ascents... but the heat was getting to us as we neared the El Salvador border so we took an extended lunch break at some pools in the tiny hamlet of Aldea El Coco. Yet another smooth border crossing took us over a river and into El Salvador. The climb back out of the river valley in the hot afternoon got us to Lago Llano El Espino, where some friendly restaurant owners let us camp on the shores of the lake for the night after a delicious first dinner in El Salvador.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Ruta de Las Flores

    April 5, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    As is often the case, our intended route to Santa Ana changed in the colourful town of Ahuachapan where we were convinced that the longer hillier Routa de las Flores was worth the effort. We passed some heavily loaded firewood carts as we climbed the first hill, had a lunch/juggling break in Apaneca's nice central park, and rolled on towards more beautiful volcanos adorned with patchwork forests of coffee and shelter trees. As we started into the last big hill of the day we came to a coffee processing facility where the smell of coffee drew us in for a sample, but the giant map of coffee farms and little roads around the volcanoes really caught our interest as it looked like there was a way to circumnavigate Volcan Santa Ana on dirt roads through coffee plantations. We reluctantly got back on our bikes and started up again, enjoying beautiful views over the valley as we climbed. We camped at a church outside of Los Naranjos and had to stake our tents well for the first windy night in a long while - at least it made for a comfortable sleeping temperature!Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Lago Coatepeque Crater Ride

    April 6, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Accessing and navigating the roads through the coffee fields seemed challenging, so we eventually opted to stick to paved roads and do the big loop down through the town of Santa Ana and back up toward the volcano. Karl's bike computer rolled over the 15,000 km mark as we rode out of Santa Ana, so we celebrated with ice cream... how typical! We climbed back up to the crater rim above Lago Coatepeque, which granted us beautiful views in both directions. Once again, we used the clouds as an excuse to skip climbing Volcan Santa Ana and turned our bikes down a wonderful descent on new asphalt back to the highway. We found water, ice cream, and WiFi at a gas station, and eventually decided on one of the many routes we could take to the coast.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl
    1

    Back to the Coast

    April 7, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    After another night of chatting with locals and their kids at a church in the small town of Chilata, we decided to split up to try two different routes to the coast. Antoine and Joe took the adventurous route up onto a high ridge road, while the two of us opted to descend to the coast sooner and ride the winding "Sun and Beach Route" to La Libertad. We got a 6 am start since we knew it was going to be hot on the coast, and quite enjoyed riding up, down and around the numerous coastal headlands, especially since surprise tunnels made the little hills even smaller. We made good time to La Libertad, pushing to stay ahead of the heat, and then luckily managed to bump into Antoine and Joe after a quick tour of the Malecon. It sounded like we may have made the better route choice...Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Beach Day!

    April 8, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    We missed meeting up with Karl's Aunt Jodi, who came down to El Salvador to a friend's beach rental house a month before we got there. Luckily for us she very kindly treated us to a couple nights of accomodation at Rancho Tranquilidad when we finally made it to Playa San Diego. What an amazing treat to relax poolside for a day with a beautiful kitchen and air-conditioned rooms. Antoine cooked up some delicious meals including crepes loaded with fruit from the passing fruit truck, and we did a lot of reading and relaxing (and Karl still managed to find a way to be helpful by cleaning the pool in his snorkel gear!). Thanks Jodi!Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Mandatory Siesta

    April 9, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    We reluctantly left Playa San Diego and our sweet beach vacation bubble early the next morning to try to get some miles done before the heat really set in. We made good time to Zacatecoluca, ate pupusas (El Salvador's favourite dish of fried tortillas stuffed with cheese and beans or meat) and ice cream in the park and topped up water before we set off again. Our heat window had passed though and we were now riding into a hot headwind at 40 degrees or more and it was all we could do to make it 11 km to Rio Lempa at noon. With fingers crossed we descended to the river and were overjoyed to find it not only full of water, but populated by locals who were also struggling with the heat. We ditched our bikes and lay in the water for an hour before taking naps in the shade. The temperature had dropped sufficiently by 4 pm so we got back on our bikes and rode into Usulutan where we were welcomed to stay at one of the nicest fire stations we have seen all trip.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    A French Connection in El Salvador

    April 10, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Another early start got us most of the way to a Warmshowers host's place in San Jose Hualoso before the worst of the heat the next morning. Karl's lingering stomach bug flared up so he had a hard time with the only hill of the day, but we still arrived at Jose and Maria's big house by 10 am and were soon relaxing in the shade and being plied with cold drinks and delicious food. Jose's mother had taken him and his 11 siblings to Montreal during the civil war in the early 1980s, so he grew up speaking French, and when he decided to return to his home country he did it by bicycle, so is excited to host passing cycle tourists. We spent hours listening to stories about El Salvador's tumultuous history and broken political system, and sharing cycling and life stories from Canada and Central America. We also got to join Jose for a trip to San Miguel where he buys everything from concrete to toilet paper to maize for the small stores he runs in two adjacent communities. We really enjoyed our time with Jose - he is definitely an example of someone who is working hard to achieve his dreams, including building a beautiful home for his extended family and passing cyclists. A full day off the bikes relaxing in hammocks gave Karl a chance to work through his stomach issue so he was feeling far better before we had to ride in the heat again. We had one more extravagant crepe breakfast (with real maple syrup from Canada!) and we said goodbye at 7 am.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Leaving El Salvador with New Looks

    April 12, 2016 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Our morning ride got us to La Union where we found a cool Internet cafe and had a hard time leaving. We looked into taking a boat across the gulf straight to Nicaragua, but decided we ought to actually ride through Honduras. There was a beauty salon just across the street from our Internet perch, so the two of us got our hair cut for a total of US $7 before we were ready for an afternoon push into Honduras. We stopped at an air-conditioned gas station near the border and spent our small change pigging out on pop and chips before checking out of El Salvador in good spirits and with new looks (no more beard for Karl, that thing was getting a bit ratty!)Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Honduras Hospitality

    April 13, 2016 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    The crossing into Honduras was fairly straightforward. You provide your fingerprints (?!), pay US $3, get a passport stamp and off you go. We enjoyed a cool evening ride to a small town where we spent the night sweating in our tents as the temperature only dropped below 30 degrees during a 40-minute torrential downpour. The next day we rode through another small rain shower at sunrise, and spent the rest of the morning rolling over small dry hills, drinking hot water from our sun-baked bottles. We found an air conditioned cafe in Choluteca where we could cool down, and bought a huge watermelon to rehydrate before we headed to Warmshowers host Jamie's house. It turns out Jaime is living in another part of Honduras now, but his mom Carmen happily receives cyclists, providing great hospitality. After we washed up and each hand washed a large load of laundry we were treated to lunch and ice cold juice. We spent the afternoon relaxing and chatting with Carmen - who is originally from Spain, but met her husband, a Honduran, while he was studying in Spain, and eventually moved back to Honduras with him and raised their 5 children there. An early dinner, and early to bed, and we were up early ready to brave to the heat again before sunrise the next morning.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Hola Nicaragua!

    April 14, 2016 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    We were surprised to see two bicycle tourers on the road ahead of us as we pulled out from Carmen's at 5:30 am. We caught up, and then spent the 2-hour ride to the border chatting with Genevieve, from Australia, and Michel, from Quebec. They started their trip in Prince George and were heading to Patagonia. We compared notes on the routes we had taken and the highlights of the trip, and before we knew it we were at the border. We still had some lempiras left and hadn't tried the local dish of baleadas, so stopped for a snack, while Genevieve and Michel pedalled on. The Nicaraguan border crossing was the most confusing so far. We waited in line at immigration, only to find out when we got to the front of the line that we needed some kind of health ticket from another office ('Do you have a fever?' they asked, then gave us a stamped piece of paper when we responded negatively), before being taken into a small air conditioned room and required to pay $10 US and $45 Cordova (something like $1.60 US), with no possibility of paying only in one currency. From this office they sent us to customs, who sent us back to immigration, and eventually we were just told we could leave, after a couple of sweaty, confusing hours of waiting in lines. It was after noon when we pedalled away from the border, only to see a truck wreck right at the exit - we learned from the guards that the brakes had failed, and the truck had plowed right into the security booth area, but luckily the driver only sustained minor injuries. Trucks, and the reckless buses barrelling down the road then pulling off suddenly to pick up passengers, are probably the biggest danger we face while riding each day. That said, the boys do get a good kick out of getting truck assistance up hills when conditions allow. Our first impression of Nicaragua was that it is dry dry dry. We passed many dry arroyos in our first few kilometres to Somotillo and many more over the following days. Getting money in Nicaragua proved just as challenging as the border crossing, as there were no working ATMs in Somotillo and businesses that would have let us do cash advances didn't have working phone connections while we were in town. We ended up just changing a bunch of the US dollars we had left and filling up on watermelon and ice cream before pedalling on.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    And Then There Were Three

    April 14, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We had debated going to Somoto Canyon, as Karl's cousin had recommended it to us, but with only a week left we couldn't quite muster up the interest to ride back up to 1000 m in the mountains when the beach was calling. Joe decided he was up for the detour and the climbing, however, so we said our goodbye over lukewarm watermelon and cold drinks at the turn off to El Sauce. It seemed so appropriate that the road quickly turned to dirt, as Joe is a seeker of dirt roads, who briefly sojourned along the pavement while riding with us over the last few weeks. We shared some good riding, great food and good laughs with Joe, so it was sad to see him go. We carried on toward the coast with Antoine, and quickly came upon another couple of bike tourers, Luz from Chile and Sylvain from France, who were riding from Patagonia. We chatted under the shade of a tree, and heard of their stressful crossing from Columbia to Panama by boat through Carti. We rode on through the afternoon, but when the wind picked up just as we rolled over 95 km we decided that was enough for one day. We stopped to get drinks at a tiendita, and asked if we could put up our tents. As usual we were welcomed to stay, and spent the evening among the chickens, pigs and cows, getting offered fruit, tortillas and coffee by our generous hosts. We also learned that this is another sugarcane growing area, and got to see multiple semis pulling strings of 5 empty trailers down a haul road parallel to the highway.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Quiet Coastal Nica

    April 15, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    It was time for some relaxing on the beach, so we headed to Jiquilillo, a quiet fishing town with a tiny bit of tourism, and just the ticket for a bit of surfing and lots of lounging. We landed at Rancho Esperanza, and took advantage of the many hammocks for some siestas before hitting the waves to try a bit of boogie boarding to get us started. We headed to a BBQ at sunset, but didn't make it too long before the tired eyes set in given our early start to the day - catching up on sleep was also high on our list of things to do while in Jiquilillo!Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    And Then There Were Two

    April 16, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We woke up and waited for the optimal surf tide, then headed to the beach. Antoine provided some tips for us beginners and we managed to ride the wash in a few times. We still have a long way to go before we win any championships, but took a little solace in hearing other surfer types complaining about the waves "closing out" and being hard to read. Antoine chefed up one more lunch for us to share and then packed his bags and set off in the afternoon heat, bound for Leon. It was sad to see him go and be back to just the two of us after all the great adventures we shared. We hope to see Antoine one day soon in Whitehorse. After he left, we continued our relaxing...Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Kayaking in The Mangroves

    April 17, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Our shoulders were sore from paddling surfboards, but we thought we could manage a kayak tour in the Padre Ramos Nature Reserve the next day. We followed our guide through farm fields, under mango and cashew trees, and out to the calm waters of the estuary, where we boarded a double kayak - a change from our usual 'single occupancy vehicles'. We paddled down a large channel past mangrove trees and various species of birds, then through a series of narrow channels that brought us to a small hill providing a view over the 8,800 hectare protected mangrove forest. We learned about the 3 species of mangrove trees and the few shrimp farms that operate within the protected area, then wiggled our way back out through the mangrove roots to the little rancho where we began. It's always fun to change modes of transport and landscapes so drastically, and we learned a lot too.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl
    1

    Sunset Surf

    April 17, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After lounging away the afternoon, we hit the beach for one last sunset surf, this time on boogie boards. The waves were much 'dirtier' at low tide, which made the bigger ones feel a bit scarier, but we still had fun surfing the wash under the setting sun. Then we treated ourselves to a tasty fried fish dinner to finish off our relaxing beach vacation.Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Reunion in Leon

    April 18, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We were up early to hit the road from Jiquilillo before sunrise. Despite a couple flats and some 'traffic' (bike traffic jam!) in Chinandega, we made it to Leon by 11:30 am and checked into a hostel, happy to wash off the sweat from the hot morning ride. As we headed out to pick up some groceries later in the day we noticed a couple of bikes in front of the hostel across the street, and it turned out to be our friends Matt and Michelle who we had met back in Mazunte, in Mexico. For the rest of the afternoon and the following day we excitedly recounted stories from the road over delicious fruit-filled meals as we relaxed at the hostel together. And lucky that we had their help with the fruit, as it included a massive 20-pound papaya!Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl

    Our Last Day 'Behind Bars'

    April 20, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Back in Belize Karl was offered a Tombstone Park Ranger job. He's been hoping to work in parks in the Yukon since moving to the territory, but the timing never worked out with all the summer trips he's been on over the last few years. So it seemed like this time it was appropriate to prioritize work (for a change!) and accept the position, even though it required an April 25th start date and would result in us not reaching our intended destination of Panama. Holly hummed and hawed about continuing the trip alone, but finally decided that it wouldn't be as fun to push on without her trusty travel companion, just to make it to an arbitrary destination. So with flights out of Managua to end this trip, and hopes to continue south to Patagonia at some point in the future, we plan to start the next leg of the journey back in Nicaragua when we are finally ready to continue onward south.

    We started our last day of biking with a sunrise ride in good company. However, after 20 km of pedaling with Matt and Michelle, our routes diverged and we wished them well in their final two weeks of biking to San Jose, Costa Rica. We followed the road along Lago Managua with Volcan Momotombo and Volcan Momotombito in view. We spent mid-day at Lago de Xiloa, enjoying the cool water during the heat of the day, before making our final push to Managua.    Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl
    1

    Managua for Cyclists

    April 21, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    We were welcomed in Managua by Warmshowers host Darling, who is an avid advocate of cycling in Managua and dreaming of an upcoming cycle tour north to Mexico. We enjoyed touring through the lit up 'treed' streets with Darling by bicycle and getting a taste of quesillo and her favourite natural ice cream. We also hit up Fusion, the cyclist friendly bar where Darling and her friends host regular cycling events, for a few celebratory end of tour drinks. Darling helped us immensely in sourcing two bike boxes and tools from local bike shops so we could disassemble and pack up our bikes, and we are so glad that we got to meet her and experience Managua's liberal, pro-cycling subculture. Thanks to Darling for such a nice last couple of days in Nicaragua!Read more

  • Holly and KarlSouthward BoundHolly and Karl
    1

    Packing Up and Shipping Out

    April 21, 2016 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Luckily for us, the often challenging task of finding bike boxes was made much easier in Managua by our host Darling. She had recently hosted a cyclist who had flown his bike to Managua to start his trip and left one bike box with her. She then called around to a few bike shops and found us another box from a shop 5 km away. All that remained was to go pick it up, and we figured we could find a way to carry the box on our bikes after watching another cyclist fashion backpack straps for his bike box back in Mexico. It certainly made for a wide load, and was a little hard to manage in the wind, but ridiculous sights like Karl riding with a 5 foot box on his back are common on the streets of Central America, so drivers just gave us a wide berth and moved on to avoiding the next traffic hazard.

    Packing bikes into boxes is never a fun task, and really marks the end of a trip, so is a bit sad as well. Fortunately, after we finished the job we managed to connect with Joe, who just rolled into Managua from the mountains, for a fun last evening of stories and reflection. We also managed to offload leftover fuel and bits of gear that Joe could use as he continues south towards Ushuaia. Our 8 am flight the next morning meant we said goodbye to Darling before 5 am as our taxi driver lashed his hatchback door over our bike boxes. We were off to the airport and the fast way of travelling back north...    Read more

    Trip end
    April 22, 2016
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