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**PaulNomad** · #61 29 Aug 2014

Moving on again I headed for the Pacific Coast this time through one of the narrowest parts of Mexico. I loved Puerto Escondido a couple of months ago and was hoping that Salina Cruz might match it, but unfortunately I found a massive oil refinery dominating the coast and businesses.
It was already late so I headed along the coast and found a string of beachfront restaurants but none had accommodation. The place had a rundown feel to it and appeared to be under the control of the petroleum companies. I rode back to the highway and found a ‘love’ motel where I negotiated a nightly rate (normally hourly?) and ate an overpriced meal in the attached restaurant. It was a hot night with just a noisy fan so I had an uncomfortable sleep with three showers during the night to cool down. I left first thing in the morning.
I rode towards San Cristobel De Las Casas, through a windy area

I climbed back into the mountains and stopped at a reservoir

then took a walk down to a river with a waterfall

and finally pulled up in a lovely town on a river called Chiapa de Corzo that had a very old structure in the middle.

I once again found a budget hotel just by riding around, with good secure parking behind a locked gate. Walk, food, sitting and watching people, this seems to be my evening habit in a new town. There was an increase in the number of Indigenous people selling all sorts of crafts and clothing. I had passed into the state of Chiapas and I had been told that around San Cristobel was the highest concentration of Indigenous people in Mexico.
Once again I only stayed the one night and it was less than 100kms to San Cristobel, so I took the mountain road and was greeted with some of the most amazing views of the trip.

High up in the mountains were small towns of Indigenous folk and what really amazed me was the agriculture. These amazing people farm fruit and corn on incredibly steep slopes that a normal person would not be able to walk on. And the agriculture goes for miles and miles through multiple little towns winding high into the mountains. Every slope has trellises or corn planted to the roadside and perfectly distanced between the plants.

A lonely tree

Towns built on sharp ridges

Elderly men and women with hunched backs were carrying timber and produce along the roads and tracks or were working the fields along the slopes. Such hard work, such a difficult lifestyle. Fortunately for me it was warm and sunny but here it is not likely to be like this often, with some clouds starting to build around the peaks. The place fascinated me.

Eventually I wound my way to San Cristobel and stopped in a recommended hostel that offers motorcyclists a free night. Yes please! I stayed at Rosscos Backpackers for three nights (16.742712 -92.639587), walked the city endlessly and made some new friends.

**PaulNomad** · #62 30 Aug 2014

I looked at a map in San Cristobal and noticed that the road to the Guatemala border was less than 200kms and it immediately made sense to me to head that way. The decision was easy and obvious. It was time to move on from Mexico, the place I have enjoyed for four months now. I was excited to go to a new country and started turning my mind to Guatemala and the people and places I would see.
I decided to ride the 200kms slowly to the border town of Cuauhtemoc and take a hotel so I could do the border crossing first thing in the morning.

When I arrived I met Chris and his son Dexter travelling on a Suzuki V-strom 1000

loaded up well and heading into Guatemala to volunteer at a place where they do up old bicycles for distribution to communities. They entered Guatemala straight away. I could have done the same, it is a very quiet border crossing but I stayed until morning.

The Aduana office was opening at 9am according to what I was told in the afternoon before, but by 8.30 it was open and operating. I was in a hotel across the road, a good cheap place to stay but expensive to eat, so at 9am I was in the office and ten minutes later I was out with my temporary import form cancelled and the $US300 deposit in my hand in cash. I walked next door and had my passport stamped out, another two minutes and I was away for the five kilometre ride to the Guatemala border.

Two hundred metres before the border was a shanty town of stalls selling the full range of artesenales, clothing and food with hundreds of people milling along and across the road, making it a narrow path to get through and lucky not to take any casualties on the road!

The border was a large metal gate where I was stopped and the bike fumigated with a guard and his backpack spraying Ziggy like a weed. I paid the 16 Quetzales ($2) and rode ten metres to the Immigration office where my passport was stamped in. I rode another 30 metres to the Aduana office where the friendly and helpful officer spent twenty minutes filling in forms, taking copies of my licence, passport and registration, then without checking the numbers on the bike issued me with a temporary import sticker good for 90 days. I was riding into Guatemala just before 10am. I hope all of my border crossings are this easy. I suspect they won’t be. I didn't want to push my luck with the armed guards by taking photos.

I had a wonderful morning riding through the stunning mountains of Guatemala.

Small villages one after another rolled by nestled in scenery of peaks and valleys stretching in all directions.

It was a postcard at every turn and typically it is impossible to capture the beauty with my little camera and hard to find places to pull over where the scenery is best. The road followed a river that was flowing strongly through the rugged valleys with villages nestled on its edges and I wondered how many dogs, cows and children had been swept away over the ages.

At one point there was a convoy of vehicles full of indigenous folk, traversing a cable suspension bridge over the flowing river.

A crazy little town looked like it was recovering from a local market or fiesta

The stunning scenery continued for a couple of hours riding.

**PaulNomad** · #63 30 Aug 2014

After four months in Mexico it's hard to sum up in a couple of paragraphs because my experiences were so diverse.

Should you go to Mexico? Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should you believe anything negative you hear about Mexico? Absolutely NOT!!!!!!!!

In four months I did not have a single negative incident or experience due to the perceived dangers in Mexico. The people were warm, friendly, welcoming, generous and with an awesome sense of humour. I felt welcomed and looked after everywhere I went.

I was so immersed in the life and culture I haven't written up all of my experiences. There were so many wonderful people starting with Norelisa and Antonio in Chihuahua City where I couchsurfed for three nights and was introduced to the very normal people of Mexico.

The beautiful Ortega family from Puebla who took me in for eight days over Samana Santa, fed me every two hours, included me in their family fiestas and community events, fun rides, culminating in a community procession.
My two beautiful friends Brenda and Diana

My good friends Felipe, Fausto and Lana who taught me to ride like a Mexican, Introduced me to tons of people, put me up in their hotels and continue to be supportive friends.

James and Arturo in Orizaba showed me the best hospitality and friendship and some great riding through the area.

Many other people on the way enriched my time in Mexico.

The roads and riding are spectacular. From the new roads and challenging old dirt roads in Copper Canyon, The Devil's Backbone from Durango to Mazatlan, The mountain roads from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido and many many more. Mexico has improved my riding skills by an order of magnitude.

However Mexico has millions of topes - speed humps. It has no shoulders on the otherwise beautifully sculptured winding roads, especially important when trucks, buses and cars come around blind corners on solid lines on your side of the road.

Unfortunately I have to say that Mexican drivers are basically shit with little concern for their own or other's safety and speed limit signs are simply roadside bling. You do get used to the madness and I did learn techniques to avoid the regular stupidity that I saw. Still there were days...

There were a lot of 'buddies' on the road for me. Get back on your side of the road buddy. Stop pushing me out of my lane buddy. Stay there buddy. Bit of space please buddy. Buddy where did you learn to drive. Buddy I'm on a 300kg bike not a 125. Buddy!!

The food is fantastic and changes as you move through the country. I ate at markets, roadside stalls, small family restaurants called Fondas. The food was always delicious. I can't give a favourite because I would always try different things. Never disappointed. I had a couple of stomach issues but less than my four weeks in the US.

I was fortunate with the weather and had probably two days where the rain particularly stopped my riding. I stopped for a month in Puebla where it rained every afternoon but I wasn't out in it.

Would I return to Mexico? In a heartbeat!!!!!!!

Thank you Mexico for everything. I love you guys

and I hope the naysayers choke on their own vomit

. Actually that's a bit harsh. I hope they go and visit and allay their fears by meeting the great people of Mexico.

PN

**PaulNomad** · #64 6 Sep 2014

It takes a bit of time to get used to the roads and driving habits in a new country. Whilst generally the traffic so far seemed a little slower and less aggressive than Mexico, it became apparent that the large coloured and decorated buses loaded with passengers, commonly known as chicken buses, rule the roads.

On three occasions I was forced off the road by them coming head on towards me while they were overtaking. No apology, no trying to avoid me, just flashing high beam and loud horns telling me to get the **** out of their way.

Hmmm lesson learned. Ironically I was the one stopped by the police at a random licence check. All was ok and I mentioned how dangerous the buses were driving and yes, they agreed they are dangerous. Thanks guys.

The ride to Lake Atitlan the next day was a downhill winding road with a few photo opportunities and spectacular views of the surrounding volcanoes.

I wound my way to a town called Panajachel on the northern side of the lake. A popular tourist spot it was fairly quiet with a lot of hotels that appeared empty. I managed to negotiate a room for two nights for 100 Quetzales ($13) a night with a nice hidden spot for Ziggy and killer views of the lake from a special open room on the second floor.

I stayed for three nights. On my second day I took one of the public boats straight across the lake to a little town called Santiago nestled between the two volcanoes.

There was some week long festival happening and it was a lot more crowded with a labyrinth of markets selling food, clothes, art and everything else.The people here are very small with most not reaching my shoulders so it was easy to see my way ahead through the crowded mayhem amongst boisterous haggling, spruking vendors and background explosions of fireworks.

Twice I was blocked up by a small group of people, both times a man and three or four women and I could feel hands searching for my pockets. I knocked the hands away when I realised what they were doing then barged my way through them to break their blocking of my passage. Fortunately I have zippers on my pockets and they only managed to partly open them and nothing was stolen.

After finding some good coffee

and knocking back another 150 requests to buy things, I walked through the steep residential area and took in more views of the lake and volcanoes.

The next day I rode up to the highlands and half way around the lake, visiting a number of small towns and taking in the scenery. The roads were rough and potholed for much of the ride so I was on my guard but travelling without luggage makes it easy. It was nice to have a day exploring but there were some serious storm clouds looming so I didn’t go as far as I would have liked.

**PaulNomad** · #65 7 Sep 2014

I rode along the same road into the mountains as yesterday to leave Panajachel and turned off towards Antigua.
I stopped for lunch at a small town along the way and while I was eating a solo rider stopped on a Triumph Tiger 1050. We started talking and I met Manuel from Guatemala City who was out for a Sunday ride. He was returning to the city and knew a good back road to San Andres Itzapa and said he would show me the way. The small winding road was crumbling and full of potholes but it was an exciting ride with runners and cyclists sharing the route. At one point the road was completely washed away and we had to divert around a gravel road and through a small river crossing to start climbing up the other side of the hill. It was a great hour and a half ride through some more small towns with the typical Sunday markets until eventually we reached the turnoff to San Andres Itzapa

I rode into the bustling town with markets in full swing. I had no idea how to find Chris and Dexter, so I pulled up in front of some stalls and asked where to find Internet. As I was talking, Chris and Dexter walked up with surprised looks on their faces.
‘When did you get here?’
‘Just now’
‘We are just returning from the markets and I saw your bike.’
I followed them to the workshop and met a group of cyclists that were staying and building machines.

I stayed for two nights and helped around the place where I could and enjoyed the company of other travellers. One has to admire cyclists travelling long distances.

**PaulNomad** · #66 7 Sep 2014

I rode to Guatemala city to look for the BMWMotorrad shop. I was in need of new tyres pretty soon and approaching my next service schedule. I managed to find the BMW car store and they directed me to the motorcycle store.

When I arrived I spoke to them about tyres and they had #Heidenau K60 Scout’s in stock and could fit them immediately.

I am impressed with this tyre choice. I had previously done 13,000kms on a rear Heidenau in Australia but it had squared off in the middle due to most of that distance being long, flat and very hot. By going with light gear and lightening the weight of the bike where I could and the many winding roads on this trip I completed 20,000kms with rubber to spare. There were some times of harder riding in Mexico and there had been lots of long flats in the US so I vowed to ride even more gently on these tyres and aim for 25,000kms.

While I was waiting for the tyres to be fitted a Guatemateco guy started to chat with me. Meet Cisco. He rides an #F800GS so we talked bikes and travel.
‘You are travelling for three years? How can you afford that?’
‘You know. No house, no wife, kids are grown up…’

We swapped details and said we would keep in touch. This was one of those ‘chance’ meetings that becomes a defining moment in which direction I will head.

It was approaching peak hour when I left the workshop to ride the hour and a half to Antigua but I found myself quickly in traffic gridlock heading out of the city. Against one of my own rules I joined the throng of motorcycles splitting lanes and it was so commonplace that the cars for the most part move to the side of the lane to give the bikes room.

Three-quarters of an hour later I was climbing the winding roads into the mountains and down the other side - carefully with new rubber - towards Antigua. It was well and truly dusk by the time I arrived and I was met with cobblestone roads, one-way streets, hundreds of accommodation choices but the first three had no parking for Ziggy.

Eventually I found a hotel that was comfortable with great parking behind a metal gate, but it was 165 Quetzales with no Internet. Still it ticked the most important box of secure parking and I stopped there for one night. Finding food was a bit of a chore as the hotel was a good two kms out of town so I found some pizza and called it a night.

**PaulNomad** · #67 15 Sep 2014

I headed out earlyish to find some breakfast and a good coffee and rattled my way over the cobblestones

to the main square and had a nice bowl of oats and a full plunger of coffee at Café Barista. This is the view

This became my morning routine for the next few days. There are lots and lots of motorbikes in Guatemala.

This is Ziggy trying to blend in.

I rode in circles for three hours going from hostel to hostel and some hotels. The hotels wanted too much money and the hostels had no parking. I finally settled for one that let me park in the foyer but I had a funny vibe about it as soon as I walked in. Should have listened! Hostels are really just new for me on this trip. I like the quietness of a hotel room with Internet and privacy but I am becoming more aware of my budget and realizing that I am not really travelling as cheaply as I planned. I tend to forget to worry about it.

The staff were nice but maybe the price of a bed reflected the clientele. I stayed two nights. The police summed it up

I did take a couple of hours of Spanish conversation with this local guy Marcos which I hope will help my Spanish along.

**PaulNomad** · #68 15 Sep 2014

My next accommodation effort was double the price ($10 a night) but seemed a bit more promising with a private but very small room. Unfortunately I was placed between two toilets and every doorway was made of metal, so it resembled a prison during the night. The drunks would arrive back loudly at 3am clanging their doors. Everyone cleaned their teeth at the basin outside my window. At 5am there was a mix of people getting up to catch their bus to another destination or a tour, but also there was a group of Guatemalans who seemed to like getting up at 5am and hanging around talking at the top of their voices in the hallway.

During the day I got out and caught a local parade,

then went for a ride around some local towns.

A communal laundry

Local markets

and the ever present volcanoes

The first night at this hostel I thought it was just that night and things would change. However the second night was worse. I had been to the market and bought a papaya for lunch and sat in the common area to eat. Almost immediately I felt a bit bloated and flushed. I went to lie down and spent the next four hours in a sweat with severe nausea. Finally I vomited my life away.

That got me up but I was still feeling bad. I went to bed early but noticed my mattress had a big sag and with the banging and clanging of metal doors, the toilets flushing and doors slamming, the cleaning of teeth, the noisy people at all hours; I experienced my worst night I can remember.

Funny that I have no photos of this period!

Somehow feeling marginally better in the morning, I packed the bike and rode back to Guatemala city.

**PaulNomad** · #69 15 Sep 2014

What a breath of fresh air I found at Quetzalroo.

It was early Sunday afternoon and I had chosen this hostel because of a recommendation by a rider on Horizons. Fortunately it was a mere one kilometre from the BMW shop where I was booked for a service Monday morning. The first thing I noticed was that the hostel was ultra friendly, it felt like I was staying at home with the owners Annemarie, Carlos and Isobel and there was a giant poster of Uluru on one wall in the common room along with an Australian flag and an Aussie Olympic flag hanging off the ceiling. One of the family’s sons is married to an Aussie girl and they feel really connected with Australia. I felt really connected with them.

Still feeling unwell I lay down for a couple of hours. Annemarie was an angel, fussing over me, trying a couple of medicines, and doing what she could to make sure I was comfortable. Everyone at Quetzalroo was friendly and chatty. There was a lot of laughing and Marcos took groups out cycling, to the wrestling, out to dinner. He was the run around guy. They were so focused on the client it struck me as the perfect hostel. I stayed for three nights as I waited for my bike to be serviced.
I made some new friends like Dr Anna and it was just the place I needed.

Meanwhile at Bavaria Motors my special bike was waiting for me - a 1961 Boxer. My year!!

**PaulNomad** · #70 15 Sep 2014

Meanwhile Cisco had been in touch and told me about a BMW motorcycle convention up in the north towards Tikal. He was leaving first thing Wednesday morning with a couple of other BMW riders and invited me to join them. I had little information and didn’t know what to expect. I met him at 6.30am on Wednesday some twenty-five kilometres outside of the city.
We rode for an hour and a half back to the southern side of Lake Atitlan where we met up with the other guys. We ate a good breakfast but I was still a bit tender in the stomach.

We hit the road through Panajachel again and headed north. We stopped for lunch in a small town and again at a bridge for a break and some more photos

before finishing the 400km day with 30kms of dirt road.

We stopped by a lake near the motel for some photos.

After a quiet night in a motel at Chisec we were away by 9am for another 300kms. I liked riding with these guys. Cisco and Mike were probably a bit quicker than me and I was probably a bit quicker than the others, but we rode well as a group with no-one really too fast or too slow. We stopped a few times and eventually came to a ferry crossing at Sayaxche.

After the crossing it was straight roads for another 50 or so kilometres to reach Santa Elena, but included a good strong tropical storm overhead that had the local small bikes crammed under shelters.
I still had little idea what the convention was all about until I arrived. In total there were 130 bikes, 95% being BMW’s with a couple of KTMs, Ducatis and a sprinkling of Japanese bikes.

And some special guests

This was their annual convention and it is a big formal affair with serious sponsorship and a serious turnout. Cisco somehow weaved his magic and had me attend as an honorary guest and I spent two days meeting people who said,
‘So YOU’RE the Australian.’

I was a bit of a celebrity not only for being from so far away but also being on a three-year RTW trip.

This was beyond the thinking of most of the guys buying big adventure bikes.
‘What about your family?’
‘How can you afford it?’
‘How can you be away from home for so long?’
‘Are you married?’
‘Where did you start your trip?’
‘Where are you going next?’
‘You FLEW your bike?’
‘You’re going to AFRICA!?’
These were the main questions thrown at me over the weekend as I met people throughout the convention.

I missed the ride to Yaxha, the key outing of the convention because I was still sick. Almost all of the bikes went and it was a big affair with media, official photos and a big group of riders. Meanwhile at the doctor’s I was diagnosed with an intestinal infection and given four different medications to get me right again. Consult and drugs - $26.

The antibiotics started kicking in quite quickly and after resting the remainder of the day I surfaced in the evening for an official dinner where I could actually eat and was in a better shape to meet and talk with people. I had a couple of official mentions as coming all the way from Australia and my story preceded me with everyone I met. They were a great group of people and I felt very welcomed and included. It was a fun night with music and dancing after dinner.

I felt well enough for the ride the next day and I was keen to see the destination Tikal.

I took the dirt road option with a smaller group of riders. We were taken to a refreshment stop at a restaurant down the bottom of a step and narrow gravel road with loose rocks and ruts. Ziggy lost her front footing at one point with a big rock that got wedged in front of the wheel, steering me to the edge of the road facing some bush! I had to switch back and forth with the handlebars to move the rock and get back on the track.
We reached Tikal around midday and were put into mini buses to be ferried into the sites.

We had a couple of hours wandering around and most of the group ended up meeting at ‘Templo IV’ the tallest of the pyramids, with spectacular views over the jungle and the rest of the site. There ended up being quite a group of us and it was a fun and funny time at the top of the tallest pyramid.

It was a really good event and I found it interesting how surprised people were at the voyage I am on. More so people were surprised at the mileage Ziggy has done – 70,000kms. To me it is just the beginning and I expect to put 200,000kms or more on her before I’m finished. Many of them have simply not been exposed to the longer distance travellers yet have the latest bikes with all the Touratech gear without realising the real purpose of these bikes. Maybe this is something I can be more involved in as a demonstration of what is possible. Gotta love a free feed or two as well!

Thanks to the organisers of BMW Motorrad Club Guatemala for your great hospitality.

**PaulNomad** · #71 25 Sep 2014

Seeing I had missed the ride to Yaxha that was my destination. First though I went to El Mirador on the other side of Lake Peten Itza where there was a beautiful view of Flores Island.

There were 11kms of dirt road leading to Yaxha national park and once inside there was warm and humid tropical forest lining the edge of Lake Yaxha. Q80 was the entry fee regardless of whether you camped so having stocked up with a bit of food and water earlier I headed in.

The Mayan site was extensive, and beautifully maintained by the government, and it was the first time I had come to a Mayan ruin and really felt the essence of this ancient culture. It had only been excavated in 2003 – 2008 and was a complete picture of Mayan life from ceremonial temples to domestic habitations. I was here on my own, the place was largely void of tourists and I had time to walk quietly through the 160Ha site. It is set in lush jungle with howling monkeys screaming, fighting and chasing each other in the trees overhead. The roaring of the monkeys echoed throughout the site.

I spent a couple of hours wandering around before riding the short distance to the camping area at the edge of the lake. Elevated cabanas overlooking the water were perfect as I strung up my hammock and cooked a nice camp meal of pasta. I was the only visitor.

The ‘Super’ full moon was still lingering and made a bright night with the sound of howling monkeys seeing off the last of the light. I think they should be called growling monkeys because they growl more than howl. It was nice to be back in the hammock with just the sounds of the jungle to fill my ears.

**PaulNomad** · #72 25 Sep 2014

Yaxha is one of the sites with ruins but there are a couple of others, Nakum and Naranjo. I had seen a sign to Nakum yesterday so I packed up and headed to the turnoff.

The 17km track for one vehicle wound into the jungle and through some rocky hills then onto the flats where I started to encounter some deep ruts from vehicles driving through the mud. Fortunately it was dry so it was just the ruts and a few holes I had to contend with. It was fun and Ziggy pushed her way through it with ease.

It was beautiful jungle.

Then the inevitable happened. I came across a deepish hole and in the split second I had to decide which side, I took the deeper side. As the front wheel was climbing out of the hole I gave a little push with the throttle and the front wheel kicked into the air at a bit of an angle caused by the lip of the hole. It landed awkwardly and I was just a bit off balance and over we went

I unclipped the tank bag to give me better access to push with my hip and lifted with the handlebar technique. Up she came with a grunt (from me) and a push of the hip on the tank, Ziggy was rubber-side down again. A quick drink and straightening of mirrors, there was no damage to bike or rider so we continued on.

The rest of the ride to Nakum was fun and much of the same with some close moments of imbalance but I arrived in one piece without another fall.

Nakum is a seldom visited site.

I was the only one there besides three workers who told me that they do 20 days on and 10 days back with their families. There had been no other visitors for a week. I had the site to myself and camped in the same type of elevated cabanas.

These were the most impressive ruins I have seen so far. Not from their size or majesty but it showed to me the real everyday life of the Mayans. Having it to myself to wander around was great and I tried to picture myself 1200 years ago sitting in this same place.

They rangers told me they had been fishing in the river and invited me over for a fish soup and tortillas. They were all young guys, away from their families and not paid much. It was a very quiet evening and once again the sounds of the jungle sang me to sleep. The workers' kitchen

In the morning the rangers were not around the camp so I packed up and rode the 17kms back to Yaxha. Once again I had a spill during a moment of indecision as to which rut to follow.

**PaulNomad** · #73 14 Oct 2014

I left Yaxha and headed back towards Santa Elena, making a turn towards Poptun, a small railway town with a farm called Finca Ixobel. It is apparently well known and has been a halfway stop for backpackers since the 1980s.

I opted for the campground and set up my hammock again. The only other people were a couple Charles and Christine who were on a two and a half year trip (so far) from Argentina heading north in a Toyota Landcruiser with a special living module built onto the back.

They were great to talk with about countries, border crossings, attitude of authorities. The same type of conversation I have with other motorcycle travellers. They are definitely the same type of travellers, just on four wheels. They stayed two nights and I ended up staying three, spending the last day chilling by the beautiful pond/swimming hole behind the camping area.

It was a stunning and peaceful spot and I could see why it has a good reputation. They provide a kitchen with a great menu including home made bread and vegetarian options. The food was delicious and plentiful, and great value. The three nights with meals cost me $50.

I decided to go to Rio Dulce next and it was a pleasant ride with a mixture of mountain curves and long tropical straights and it was easy to see that the coast was not too far away. When I arrived in Rio Dulce it was gridlocked with traffic and markets. It was hot and humid and the middle of the day so I decided to duck out of the main street and take another road I had seen leading to the river. This led to a small town with more shops but all of the access to the side of the river was blocked with private property. There was only one place to access the river but they wanted Q15 for parking and I was only there for a quick look. I decided that Rio Dulce wasn’t going to work for me so I took a road that led to Coban.

It was actually a giant loop of several hundred kilometres to go right around to Coban then back to Semuc Champey and I hoped that this road that split through the middle of the loop would save me some time. Wrong. It started well with normal paved roads through small towns then there were some rocky gravel roads that became more frequent.

These led to some nice stretches of concreted road surface, which in turn suddenly ended and became rutty, rocky climbs and descents into the mountains. Recent rain caused small streams and ruts and puddles across the road in places, then as the road continued, I found myself climbing on narrow rough gravel roads with a drop to my right and cars and trucks coming the other way.

The whole trip went for over 100kms with a good eighty on this type of rough mountainous track. The last twenty kilometres was a crazy climb through two small towns high up in the mountains, culminating with about ten kilometres of concreted road.
I came to the turnoff south of Coban and enjoyed the winding descent on highway to the city centre. I looked around for accommodation and ended up finding a large guest house/hotel that had been operating since 1880. It had a beautiful garden, long established by the owner’s grandmother, with comfortable beds in large and well appointed rooms, including a shower with pressure AND hot water. All for $20 a night.
Sometimes I just don't remember to stop and take photos!!!

**PaulNomad** · #74 15 Oct 2014

I have been noticing a bit of a problem with Ziggy. She has been going through engine oil at quite a rate after having not used a drop between oil changes for the last two years. When I had the service two weeks and 2000kms ago they topped up the oil and now I had to top it up again. A few times I have started her to a rattling sound in the front that goes after a couple of revs on the throttle. The recurring brake light problem was back again especially after some time on rough dirt roads. I’ve decided to go back to BMW at Guatemala City to get it looked at.
So after finding some oil and topping up half a litre, checking and finding no oil leaks, I headed towards Semuc Champey. I had been told there was a bit of gravel road to get there. Also I was keen to follow up the recommendation for Utopia, a hostel in the area. It was a fun and scenic ride into the mountains on well-maintained bitumen, winding along the side of a mountain

until…suddenly there was a hairpin turn and a winding downhill, loose-rock and gravel road. It was ok and well maintained and wide enough for two vehicles, good for the cars and buses coming the other way.

A glimpse of the road from above.

The road wound its way down and down becoming steeper and narrower in places and finally not getting any wider after the small town of Lanquin.

Eventually it became a crumbly single lane winding down then up with each becoming steeper than the other. Some of the downhill sections were so steep they had a pair of parallel concrete strips for car wheels. One driver in a four wheel drive started driving up the strips as I was coming down. It was gravel and a drop off to my side so I had nowhere to go off the concrete. Finally he veered off the strip to let me pass. The vehicle after him blindly followed and simply smiled at my annoyed blaring of the horn in his face.

At this stage I was too glued to the bike to stop and take photos.
After about twenty kilometres of deteriorating road and near misses with vehicles coming the other way I saw a sign for two kilometres to Semuc Champey and one to Utopia the other way. Excellent.

I took the Utopia turn and incredibly the road became worse. The surface was rough and sharp stone and the ascents and descents became even steeper with sharp and blind corners.

This was some of the better road

I was in first gear on the footpegs going up and down. The road narrowed and wound through some micro villages and local Mayan people were walking along the road that was lined with tall corn plants. I wondered if I had missed the turn and I was feeling that if the roads became any worse I would be past my limits. Every precipice before a descent was like looking over the edge of a cliff. Finally after a particularly loose and challenging ascent I came to a right hand turn to Utopia. The last challenge was the steep driveway. I made it!

I hope it really is Utopia after that ride. Without doubt the most challenging and scary ride I have ever done.

**victorWP** · #75 7 Dec 2014

Hi
Will you come to Spain on the future?

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