After spending a couple of weeks in the mountains of Guatemala, oftentimes shivering even when wearing both our merino wool base layers and our down jackets, it seems almost overwhelming to be back at sea level, sweltering in the moist heat that surrounds it. The change was inevitable though when we made our 2000 meter descent from Iztapa, Guatemala to the coast in El Salvador. Saying goodbye to the volcanoes of Guatemala. Left: Downhill run out of San Andres Iztapa.…
After spending more than a week in San Andres Itzapa, holed up at Maya Pedal, Rebecca and I plan to resume our travels tomorrow morning. In some ways, it will be tough to leave. We've had an incredible time here interacting with our new friends and it's nice to, once again, be involved with something greater than ourselves. Time marches on though and Patagonia isn't getting any closer! Highlights of our time here: Being involved with the construction of various…
During one of our most recent rides, I mused over the word home. We read about cyclists shipping items that they no longer need back home, or returning there after their travels are finished. We know a number of people who are, just now, going home for the holidays. Where is our home? You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you, and decide where they grow. — Henning Mankell When we sold our house…
One of the things that I love about our cycling trip is how, by leaving our schedule and routing flexible, we find ourselves being presented with extremely rewarding opportunities. How we ended up at Maya Pedal is a great example of this. It was simply through a chance encounter with a social media acquaintance, Dave Renfrow, that we found ourselves first invited to visit Maya Pedal in San Andres Itzapa, and then later, being drawn into the great work that…
It's not too often that one gets a chance to see a volcano erupt. It's even less common to be able to spend the night near the top of a volcano while watching an adjacent one erupt over and over. Fortunately for us, just such an opportunity is available for visitors to this area of Guatemala and as you might imagine, we jumped at the chance to take part. Volcán Fuego is a very active volcano in Guatemala and several…
It was five days ago that we made the 56 km run from Santa Cruz to Lago Atitlan and since that time, we've enjoyed several days off the bike. Fortunately, these rest days were for much more positive reasons than the food-poisoning-induced day off that I described at the end of my last post. The ride should have been simple enough: just climb 500 or so meters and then coast downhill to the lake. If only it were that easy.…