continued from before!

near Xela, Guatemala. Jan 29, 2016

So the plan is to ride to the base of the volcano on the first day, climb and return on the second. No camping gear to make it faster.

At 4 emblems, one must be pretty badass. This guy drove bakwards for 1.5km to a construction site...

Speaking of which, i think they would need to lift that machine up to get it out. Doesnt look light.

After a little mishap involving getting a room at the wrong town, napping and then realizing I have 1 more hour of biking, I made it to the right place. Before I went down a road to take photos, a taxi diver yelled at me:
"Don't go, you're gonna die."

I returned to chat with him later, he worked at USA for few years and to my amusement he swore at everyone in English, haha.

2am, drinking a mix of powder oatmeal with a little instant coffee and I start pushing my bike up. Super amazing feel with the stars and the moon and.... a dog from town which started following me.

It was tough pushing but it seemed rideable on the way back. By 4 I made it onto a windy ridge. Dog still with me.

By 5, I chatted with some locals who had a get together. They offered me a shot of whiskey that I could not refuse, warmed me right up. They didnt offer the dog whiskey though.

6am, I lock the bike. Too difficult to carry it anymore and the whole sky is starting to turn orange.

The dog, whom I called Matt Damon was with me the entire time. I am not sure if he came to guide me or just to pee on every rock around the volcano crater. I promised to adopt him if I ever decide to ride with a dog.

There it was summit of Tajumulco, highest peak in Central America.

The ride down was spectacular and aside from one rock section all rideable.

I lost my friend after the summit but found him later in town. Treated him to 8 sasuages which I do not think he chewed at all, just swallowed whole and then to the remainder of my bread.

On the way back to Xela, I decided to take a minibus part of the way. Flagged one down and hopped in. In addition to the driver there is also a guy handling luggage, attracting customers by yelling out and...
Apparently stealing cameras.
I did not find out it was gone from my top tube bag until the minibus accelerated away. I searched my backpack, framebag. No camera. The little bugger must have taken it while he was on top tying the bike down.
There was a big downhill in few kilometers so I decided to try and catch the bus. Started pedalling like a madman, cars were still passing me.
Downhill came and I just flew down, cutting across pothole filled switchbacks in the opposing lane and finally I see the minibus.
I get behind it and start waving, that doesnt work so I get next to the driver window and yell "alto, alto."
He pulls over, I look at the guy who handles baggage:
"Donde esta mi camara?"
He mumbles something and goes on top and takes it out from the inside of a car tire. I wonder what i would have done if he didnt.
I snap this shot of the minibus as they drive off and sit on the road to relax, my heart still bumping from the chase.

I guess I am too far down to go back up the hill so I keep going. Climbing out of town I ride alongside a man bringing bread back to his house. He goes to town on bike every month and we rode most of the 1000m climb together.

Just to give you an idea of the bus drivers here, a big lineup after a slow water truck, one of them goes whizzing by and blowing his horn. Shortly after this photo, a car on the other side comes down and he forces his way into the lineup.

Then I found a cyber cafe which had decent computers and put together a video, 1.5sec per day from Williams Lake, BC, Canada to here. (Hit play below).

I planned to stay longer at Carl's roundhouse but traveling blues hit and the next day I packed up and was off toward lake Atitlan.

Spotting a stolen surly troll, set up for touring at a village made me really nervous. Maybe this guy was not the one who stole it as he did not mind me taking the photo.

Sadly the clouds were already here so I could not see the lake. I still need to drop from 3200m to 800 and then back up to 2500, so another day at least.

The road descended along a valley, it was very rough and I was happy to be going down and not up.

Ah... the delights of vertical farming. I often wonder how can one possibly, safely bring down a bag of corn down that hill?

The silence of the lambs... err sheeps... err they were just wearing masks for the dust, maybe I should too?

Then I got into the clouds.

A man stopped to warn me about the road ahead. He said to go right because people on the left ambush cars and steal. It would get dark soon and if I turned right i would definitely be riding in the dark. Camping, was absolutely out of the question - no flat ground at all and getting off the road would involve getting over a lot of bushes and plants. I just bolted down the road on the left.

I think if there is a worst day of my trip, this would be it. I was too worried about security isues and finding a place to camp to enjoy the nice descend. Seeing the stolen bike did not help. I ended the day in a dirty auto hotel for $10 and had to get up few times at night to remove crickets from the room, I dont know how they got in but they were loud. Can't think of any other day that has been tougher, even riding and camping at -30 felt like a piece of cake.

It was already hot by 7am and by 8, I had to get in the shade for a break.

Pickups and mnibuses hauled locals to and from villages, interestingly they both had two things in common: capacity - "one more" and the drivers were always on their phones.

As I made my way up through small communities, it was obvious not many tourists pass here. People would gather to look at me, kids would run along. These 3 followed me while I pushed my bike for a kilometer.

Then... I see young chaps, maybe 16-17 walking down. One of them with his hand behind his back. I uncock the bear spray and keep pushing the bike, it was obvious he had a gun. Or maybe that was just me thinking the worst. Maybe his back really hurt.
I say "buenos diaz," and smile. And we pass each other.
I strongly consider flagging a pickup to get out of this area but I don't see another one until 2 hours of pushing later.

I crest the top and before I know it I am looking at the blue waters of the lake. Not bad.

Staying in San Marcos for a day to meet a friend from tree planting. Kate has been here for a month studying Spanish, I hope to do some lessongs and video editing in fall 2016, depending on how things go.

We end up doing a guided hike to Indian Nose for the sunrise.

During which, I decide on my next destination: Acatenango.

The boat ride over the lake was just, Rough. With a capital R. My bike was constantly being thrown up and down but at the end I did not see any damage, I swore that I am never getting on a boat like this with deadhorse again.

It was hot, I started cycling on the road out of town and two hours later I realized it was the wrong one.

Backtracked in no time and the right road turned to be much more quiet and better shaded.

By 4, I decided to look for a spot to camp and these fellows just pointed to a singletrack through a cornfield.
"Vista de lago," they said and I took off.

And a view it was but even better - i was able to pile some grass and large leaves to serve as a sleeping mat.

Looks like there is always a volcano going off somewhere.

The road was rather interesting. These old schoolbuses do drive through this.

Always beware when buying tubes. Also, very sadly the 26" bike components are not cheap at all here. I was quoted few times prices 2-3 times more than what it would cost in Canada. A little dissapointing but I found I had a friend coming back to el Salvador from Canada so I wont have to ride without an arm and a leg.

I continued my way to Antigua where I planned to hike Acatenango with a friend but she preferred a $40 guided tour due to rumors of robberies on the volcano trail. Looking at some info online, I found a room at La Soledad and went to sleep early, I'd have to start at 2 if I wanted to see the sunrise.

The first part was though the forest engulfed by mist, the strong wind shook the trees and plants showering me with water, this one I decided to do without the bike, as I was already pretty tired. At the top I joined some 150 people crawling up the crater. There was apparently another road which cuts the hike time down to an hour. Listening to a group of tourists talking about the trail was incredibly funny.
"Can we stop here and see the sunrise," "its so hard and the rocks are slippery."

The last part was rather steep and sandy and it seemed like a traffic jam. I discovered that if you move fast on all 4's you can save a lot of energy and move super fast. I pretty much ran the last bit and overtook about 30 people.

On top, shivering and staring at the steadily brighter orange to the east, watching Fuego to the southwest spitting fire and looking for that typical pyramid that the rising sun brings. I love moments like these.

On the way down I met a mountain biker who was scouting the trail for descend, his friends had his bike on their car further up. I know what you are thinking, and I asked him too:
"Why aret you riding the 140kg San bernard up the trail?"

I rode into Antigua and me a friend who has been cycling from Banff but is taking a break here to study spanish.

Riding toward Santa Maria de Jesus, I get pulled over by tourist police and they tell me I am lucky they found me. Apparently tourist robberies are common on this road.

I turn around and ride back to town to sleep at the police station. Super hard ground and no grassy spots.

Next day I decide I've had it with Guatemala and security issues and head for the coast. The northwest part looks nice but I also really need to stop sleeping on the ground and meet my friend in El Salvador where I have my sleeping mat. I love doing things people say I cant do or going to remote and wild places that are "too dangerous" but this is different. Losing money, gear or the bike would make things incredibly difficult.

Coast was hot and flat. I have not gone this fast for a long long time. Its been a while since I watch how far I go but google maps says its approx 160km

What looked like 2-3 days on the map was a mere half day. I exchange my Quetzales for $19 usd, what they use in El Salvador and ride in.