06/22 I’m just tearing through the countries now. Hola Guatemala! The pants exchange went fine this morning but my plans for an early departure were foiled. It was funny because I actually woke up on my own at 5:45am. Still had to hang around until the store opened at 9am.
The border crossing was a little messed up. The lady who took my departure fee seemed surprised that I didn’t have a stamp on my passport for my bike. She waved me through but I figured I’d better ask this time. At the customs counter in Guatemala they stamped me in for 90 days and said I didn’t need to get anything special for my bike. Works for me. I found a guy to exchange my Belize dollars for some Guatemalan Quetzals and was off.
The first couple miles after the border crossing are unpaved and I thought I’d be riding on gravel all day. I wouldn’t have cared because riding on gravel isn’t as hot as riding on blacktop; you just top out at 10 mph because it’s bumpy. The gravel eventually gave way to smooth pavement which turned out to be a good thing because it started getting a bit hilly. There were a couple more sections of gravel along the way but only for a mile or so. It’s been a long time since I climbed over 2100 feet in a day but I didn’t do too bad thanks to some well-placed little towns where I could get some cold water. My handy new umbrella also provided some shade at one impromptu stop where there were no trees.
The scenery is pretty nice looking. The land doesn’t seem to be nearly as developed (crops) as Belize. There are lots of cows and horses running around. The people I passed all waved and I had lots of honks and thumbs up from passing cars. The kids that saw me all yelled “gringo” which was cute. One kid yelled, “Give me a dollar!” in perfect English. The garbage situation isn’t bad at all. Couple bad places here and there but nothing like what I’ve seen. One thing they do differently here is they sell water in plastic bags the size of sandwich bags (1/2 liter maybe). My skills at opening the bag and dumping the water into my bottles without spilling any is going to need some work.
Staying at the El Muella for US $25 (AC/internet). It’s right on the shore of Lago Peten Itza. Tried some local beer called Gallo. I like it. 
Good sunset over the lake to end the evening.
GPX Track
| Mood: | Good | | Weather: | Sunny/Hot |
| Wind: | Light | | Wind Direction: | |
| Avg Speed: | 10.5 mph (16.9 km/h) | | Top Speed: | 32.5 mph (52.3 km/h) |
| Total Ascent: | 2150 ft (655.3 m) | | Max Elevation: | 961 ft (292.9 m) |
| Distance: | 50.4 mi (81.1 km) | | Total Distance: | 13413 mi (21586.1 km) |
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Leg 2. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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“My skills at opening the bag and dumping the water into my bottles without spilling any is going to need some work.”
Couldn’t you just hold it on an angle and puncture the bottom corner with a knife? It would kind of make a funnel. My wife makes icing bags like that (well, with scissors).
Oh – and the sunset picture over the lake is amazing. Beautiful place.
Yeah the problem had more to do with finding a level place to hold the bottle while I’m doing all this. This was on part of the road that was gravel. I’m kicking myself for not getting a lake view room with a balcony that has a hammock on it.
That sunset picture needs to be enlarged and framed. Great capture!!
Thanks Megan.