Our last four days of traveling from Lanquín to Santa Cruz could very well be described as going for a hike with our bikes, that's how much walking we did. It also made our relationship with bridges much more clear. There seems to be virtually no end to the incredibly steep Guatemalan hills and our legs and lungs have been getting a significant workout. The only reason we managed to make it as far as we have in that period…

I have found that the days that involve the greatest amount of suffering for us are ones where we underestimate how difficult the riding will be. It is our expectations of the upcoming ride more so than the actual challenge itself that creates our mood. It is in this way that our ride from El Estor to Lanquin presented us with a significant amount of suffering. "I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations."…

From the time that we first started planning our cycling trip south, we had always imagined that we may, at some time, be able to connect with some of our sailing friends along the way. We were particularly aware that our friends David, Janice, and Steve had chosen the Rio Dulce area in Guatemala as their hurricane hole for this season. On several occasions, we had discussed the idea of hooking up with them but the question in all of…

To read the details about our trip to and from Tikal, please take a look at my last post. I'd also like to express special thanks to Mark and Paul for their donations that came in after my prompt in the last post, and thanks as well to those who have been using our Amazon affiliate link and search box (see right-hand sidebar) to begin their online shopping. Your support is sincerely appreciated!!! Note: All photos were taken with a…

Having spent so long in Mexico, — just shy of 6 months — it seems strange to now be riding through Guatemala, an entirely different country. It may have been even more surreal had we simply ridden across some arbitrary line in the sand as we did when we crossed from the United States to Mexico. As it was, the river we crossed to arrive in Guatemala made the country change infinitely more defined, even though it was only a…