The Americas 2013

Today was a rest day in Antigua. I spent the day reading up a little about the history of the place and walking around the sites taking pictures as its a really beautiful little town.

Courtesy of Wikipedia…”Antigua Guatemala (Ancient Guatemala) was founded on March 10, 1543 by the Spanish conquistadors although it was originally named Santiago de los Caballeros. For more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost States of Mexico.  On September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Antigua Guatemala, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city’s architecture was ruined.  Again, in 1773, the Santa Marta Earthquakes destroyed much of the town.  In 1776, the Spanish Crown ordered the removal of the capital to a safer location, where the modern capital of Guatemala, Guatemala city, now stands. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).”

Much of the city has not yet been repaired and many of the buildings that were destroyed in the abovementioned earthquakes have been left standing in the exact same state that they were in post the earthquake. These ruins have become major attractions for Antigua as they speak to a simpler more elegant time…

I was up just after sunrise to start capturing some of the images..

Rooftops of Antigua with the Volcan de Agua, the prominent and one of three that surround the town, in the background.

Beautiful old colonial architecture..

The spires of the Escuela de Cristo, one of the intact buildings.

The church of San Francisco, mostly intact.

Central American buses are old yellow US school buses painted up in crazy paint schemes. No 2 are alike!!

Pensive vendor woman at the entrance of the church of San Francisco..

Inside the ruins of the former Santa Clara Monastery..

The ruins of the former El Carmen Church..

The 3 images above are the ruins of La Recoleccion. Its really interesting to see how it all fell apart in big chunks rather than crumbling into little bits and the pieces of original glazed stone mosaic that are still intact after all these centuries.

La Merced.

The arch in the main street of the town which also shows how the volcan de Agua looms so large over the daily life of this town.

Tomorrow I head for Tikal in northern Guatemala where I will spend 2 nights exploring THE pre-eminent Mayan Ruins in existence today!!

Knowing that I had another border crossing to do again today, I was on the road out of Copan by 07h30 to the border only 10km away. Expecting this to be an expedient exercise because of getting there so early and beating the crowds was naive of me. Whilst it was indeed quiet on arrival and immigration was a 2 minute affair, the Honduran customs inspectors were having a leisurely breakfast, and continued to do so for nearly an hour after I had arrived there! So much for a 24 hour border post. You gotta love this part of the world! Guatemala immigration and customs were efficient but for the long queue at the bank to pay for the insurance so although I was at the border post by 07h45, I didn’t get out of there and on the road to Antigua until 10h00.

Short 300km run today…

Hotel Yat Balam in Copan. I really enjoyed this little 4 roomed hotel. Mine was the one on the top right!!!

The roads from there to Antigua were mostly pretty good and the last 100km towards Guatemala city was fast 4 lane highway and I arrived in Antigua shortly after lunch.

I am spending two nights here at a great little boutique hotel called Posada de Angel which is in the centre of the town and is once again an old house renovated into a hotel. Tomorrow I will get up early to explore the town and take pics but today I have to catch up on work emails etc.

The pool in the courtyard of Posada de Angel.

I got up early to spend the day exploring the ruins of Copan and then the town itself. The ruins being one of the southern most Mayan civilisations is unique in its preservation although since its discovery and excavation from the jungle about 120 years ago there has been much deterioration due to climate and human impacts. The attempts to separate vegetation and manmade structure after 1000 years of copulation must be a massive exercise and even then, its still hasn’t been entirely possible as can be seen from the pictures below. I spent 4 hours walking around taking pictures notwithstanding the heat. A really beautiful and tranquil place!!

The Macaws that fly around here are all wild..

What everyday life supposedly looked like at the time..

Many people have emailed me over the last couple of years asking what sort of camera I am using for a journey like this because the picture quality is so good, so I have decided to say a few words in this post to show you what my criteria for a Bike travel camera has been.  The assumption is that I am carrying a massive DSLR camera but that’s not correct.

Because space is at a premium on a bike I looked for a small, light and rugged compact camera. Insofar as picture quality is concerned, most people lean towards big Megapixels and although this can assist when cropping etc, I find the key lies in the combination of pixels and high optical zoom (the amount a camera’s lens can zoom in) that can be further enhanced with the digital zoom (the amount that you can zoom further into the image once captured). The combination of high Megapixels and a high optical zoom will often provide the versatility to produce fantastic quality images from a compact camera from most of the reputable camera brands like Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax etc.

My particular choice for this trip was a Samsung WB850F that came with the above mentioned features of 16.2 Megapixels and 21x optical zoom plus a host of other nice to have features all for roughly R4000! The camera is only about 100mm long by 70mm high by 30mm deep but the lens at full zoom protrudes out about 100mm beyond the 30mm depth of the casing.

The actual captured images are each about 8 megabytes in size providing enough pixel intensity to enable me to crop and rotate images in order to extract the best of the picture. Thereafter, I usually compress the picture to about 300-500kb for purposes of posting it to the blog.

Here is an example of the Optical zoom and then the digital zoom. Note that these pics have already been compressed for the sake of the blog and therefore some picture quality is automatically lost but you will get an idea of why a high pixel and optical zoom combination provides the ability to produce great shots on the move from a compact and cost effective camera..

The first 3 images are captured using the optical Lens zoom only and without the use of a flash..

0% optical zoom..

50% optical zoom..

100% optical zoom..

Once downloaded to the computer, you can further crop and zoom in using the digital zoom and this is when the high volume of pixels and optical zoom starts to count..

100% optical zoom PLUS 50% digital zoom..Already compressed to about 500kb for purposes of the blog and very usable for this medium!!

100% optical zoom and 100% digital zoom and still no pixilation although picture quality has deteriorated to the point that its not desirable to use for the blog. So for comparison..

0% and 100% of 100% using the max optical and digital zooms. The bug was approximately 2 metres away from the camera when the 3 images was captured.

And there you have it, a powerful compact camera will deliver your needs on the move without having to lug around a massive DSLR, but that said, bear in mind that I am not taking professional photos, just ones for my own memory and for a good quality blog.

Tomorrow I leave Honduras and head into Guatemala to another Unesco registered town called Antigua where I will spend 2 nights.

I left the hotel by 06h30 in order to miss the Monday morning traffic of Tegucigalpa, (pronounced Teg-oo-see-galpa) the capital city of Honduras, and was glad I did because by the time I hit the outskirts by 07h00 the gridlock heading into the city was already manic.

Another 400km day…

I made a statement yesterday that Honduras didn’t hold much visual appeal; this statement was premature and I withdraw it. Tegucigalpa is in the mountains at an elevation of 1100m so its cooler but as a result also has a different microclimate to what I experienced coming into the city yesterday. The route north and inland towards the Caribbean coast and the Guatemalan border is mostly mountainous and lush jungle or forest. The roads heading north are mostly pretty good although there were stretches where the phrase “pothole” would be better described as “sinkhole” and although I had 400km to cover again today the ride was mostly fast, cool and beautiful.

Beautiful Honduran countryside…

Jesus is big in these parts…

I am spending the next 2 nights in the most beautiful little town called “Copan Ruinas” in the North west corner of Honduras about 10km from the Guatemalan border! It looks and feels like I have stepped back in time 200 years or onto the set of an old western and the little hotel I am staying in; “Yat Balam” helps to complete this picture. The town of Copan sits next to one of the southern most Mayan ruins called Copan which I am going to go and explore early tomorrow morning.

Little street in Copan in front of my hotel. I will have more and better pictures tomorrow…

Honduras has turned out to be an interesting country to visit. Its one of those places that seldom features on a bucket list although it has a lot of natural beauty and Copan itself is CERTAINLY worth visiting. The country and its people are quite aspirational although there is a lot of poverty here much the same as in a lot of south and central America. Honduras, like Costa Rica, is also quite “Americanised” with tons of Pizza Huts, McDonalds, Burger Kings, large Malls and all other sort of Americana being common and prevalent.

The Fat girl got a well deserved wash today….The kids were so excited to wash her they were almost willing to pay me to do the work!!!

No pics today because the ride from Granada ,Nicaragua to Tegucigalpa, Honduras was brown, bland and uninteresting. The less used border crossing I elected to go through was quiet and efficient on both sides and I was in and out in an hour.

450km ride from Granada to Tegucigalpa…

Nicaraguan roads turned out to be pretty good although I made a point of not riding the Pan-American because my experience is that its always congested with trucks and the road as a result is often a mess because of this. Choosing “secondary” albeit paved roads has proven to be good because they are often shorter, mostly in better condition and less congested.

Honduras unfortunately doesn’t have much visual appeal thus far although the people I have met have been super friendly and English is widely spoken.  Tomorrow I head for the Mayan Copan Ruins in Northern Honduras on the border with Guatemala and will no doubt have loads pictures thereafter.

No riding today but I got up at 6am to go walk around and take photos before the heat of the day sets in which is just unbearable. Granada is small, colonial and cute with the typical multi coloured little houses that sit row upon row. Interestingly, although the outsides are small and nothing to look at, a glimpse through open windows reveals large deep spaces often with big atriums, patios and swimming pools so although some streets may look impoverished, the inside of these homes tell a different story.

The outside of Hotel Los Patios which is a typical external facade in Granada although this one is neat and freshly painted…

The pictures below are various street scenes of Granada early on a Saturday morning….

I got going from Hotel Villa Caletas early this morning because I was uncertain of what to expect at the Nicaraguan border post. I was in very high spirits because Costa Rica really is very beautiful to drive through. The coastal areas are lush tropical jungle and as you move inland towards the Nicaraguan border post it becomes dry, almost exactly like parts of Africa including potato bushes, thorn and mimosa trees and their accompanying scents which brought on a tinge of nostalgia for home!

Another 400km day..

At the border posts, one either hits it lucky because you get there before the big tour buses or straight after in which case the borders can be a nightmare. Mine was the latter today!! And to add insult to injury you pay for EVERYTHING!!!

• You drive up and customs gives you a piece of paper to be checked as you go through the border process-$1!
• You go forward 5 metres for vehicle fumigation-$3!
• Before you join the very long queue for immigration at passport control you have to pay a “municipal tax”-$1!
• You stand in the very very long queue for passport control in 35C heat but there are no immigration forms available? That’s because the immigration “agents” (aka Joe public with an official looking badge around his neck) have them all and will sell them to you…yep, that’s right, you pay for the immigration form!!-$1!!
• When you eventually get to the front of the mass of people that loosely resemble a queue and are drenched with perspiration, passport control stamps you in-$12 for the privilege of visiting Nicaragua!
• Then you join the queue to get your original customs form stamped-$5!
• Then you go outside to find a customs inspector that is hiding away somewhere that will sign the stamped customs form…when you find him!-$0!
• Then you join the queue to buy compulsory vehicle insurance (at least its on site and not in another province!!)-$15!
• Then you join the queue at customs to get the temporary importation permit, however, when you get to the front you are advised that the customs form is missing the police stamp and that needs to be done before they will issue the permit so off you go on another “hide and go seek” expedition until you find him…sleeping under the bus..I kid you not!!-$0!
• Then you re-join the queue at customs to get the temporary importation permit-$0! How lucky am I?
• Then you look for the customs inspector and the police again for their stamps-$0!
• Now you can leave!! two and a half hours and ten kilos in perspiration later!! You gotta love the Turd world!!

As I left the border post on route to Granada on lake Nicaragua where I am spending the next 2 nights, the differences between Costa Rica and Nicaragua were immediately obvious! Whereas Costa Rica is affluent and well looked after, Nicaragua (or what I have seen of it thus far anyway) is in a state of disrepair and the charade at the border post gives one a sense of it relative to my entry into Costa Rica just the day before.

The ride through Beautiful Costa Rica…

I was interested to discover during a chat with hotel staff at Villa Caletas that Costa Rica abolished its own army in 1949 in favour of healthcare and education. The results are obvious and progressive as this small country is thriving and beautiful!

My entry into Nicaragua also came with Central American GPS software failure. My GPS can see the route I am on and will direct me to turn left and right etc but displays no map with zoom of less than 50km which is pointless when trying to navigate around a city. Fortunately Granada is small and finding the hotel wasn’t difficult. Insofar as my hotel is concerned, I booked a little place called “Los Patios” using booking.com which I regularly do, however, as I found myself driving further and further away from the “centre” I was thinking “bugger”!! On arrival, the facade is small and disappointing in a street that looks like downtown Khyalitsha, however, on entry, the place is amazing. It used to be the home of a Danish family that have converted it into a Hotel and left their “Scandinavian chic” design stamp! Beautiful little place for 2 nights.

Hotel Los Patios…

Dinner was at a little bar on the main street and WOW, does this place rock on a Friday night!!

Granada main street..

Another Saffer hiding on the other side of the world!!

I was sad to leave Boca Chica this morning because the place is so beautiful and I would have loved to have spent an additional night however, Jacqui arrives to meet me in Tulum in Mexico on the 13th so I have to get through all of Central America by then and therefore I have limited time.

Central America is quite a small area although occupied by 7 countries excluding Mexico. Each country as a result is therefore only a few hundred kilometres long and wide and therefore blasting through them in a day is achievable although not what I would like to do as it defeats the purpose of a trip like this!

My 400km Days Ride..

The ride to the border took a little over an hour and then I had to deal with more of the Panamanian bureaucratic bullshit of immigration and customs. The idiot at immigration EXIT asks if I have a yellow fever card?! I explain I am LEAVING panama so I’m not sure what the relevance is at this late stage but I have one to show him if he insists? He does! Moron! Whilst Panama itself is quite pretty and Casco Viejo is being beautifully uplifted I wont be hurrying back there! Its amazing how a country is often perceived by the quality of ones visit. All of this said, my entry into Costa Rica was like a breath of fresh air scented with Lilies! I was in and out of immigration and customs within 15 minutes (including a little desk that sold the compulsory insurance right at customs!!) and was warmly greeted and sent on my way.

Lunch break!! 

Costa Rica is SUPER beautiful and like I stepped onto another planet relative to Panama notwithstanding that they are neighbours. I made a lunch stop at a remote little place along the coast and looked up and saw a tree full of red, yellow and blue Macaws making a racket! I am definitely in the rain forest!! The entire ride north was through lush jungle along the coast. Road conditions were primarily good and I am spending the night at a hotel called Villa Caletas in Central Costa Rica which is set high up on a mountain top overlooking the pacific and is a hidden gem! This is a place I would definitely love to spend an extra night at however for the reasons mentioned above I have to get back on the road tomorrow and I am heading to Granada on lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua so have another border post to do. I will however be spending Friday and Saturday night there to get some rest and some laundry done!

All 3 images above are at Hotel Villa Caletas..

I was up at 06h30 to pack, have breakfast and be at customs promptly at 9 so that I could hit the road to Boca Chica as soon as possible. By 08h50 as I waited for the gates to open it was already 33 degrees and I was in my full biking gear and feeling like I was in a sweat lodge!

I went in at exactly 09h00 and by 11h00 I was still waiting notwithstanding many pleas to hurry up! The Latin American wheels of bureaucracy turn very very slowly in this place!!!

By 11h00 the heat is unbearable. Imagine a 35 degree day and then you wrap yourself in a thick wet blanket and carry on with your normal activities! That’s what it felt like when I stepped outside with a spring in my step and an importation permit in my hand, however, the joy was to be short-lived! Hopped on the fat girl and she wouldn’t start? Fuel range indicator says she still has 95km of range worth of fuel on board so what’s up? Turns out the range indicator is faulty!, so borrowed a container from the gate guard at customs and took a taxi to the nearest petrol station to buy fuel. Head back, popped the fuel in and she fires up! Pheeeewwwww!! The problem is that it is now 12h00 and I still had 400km to do and unsure of upcoming road conditions not to mention the unbearable heat!

Fortunately, the roads turned out to be double carriageway for the first 250km and then a pretty decent single lane road thereafter and I made it to Boca Chica by around 4pm. I am spending the night at a great little place called Boca Del Mar which is right on the waters edge and brand new as its only been open since July 2012. I have a sea facing room with my own hot tub which I definitely took advantage of!

Hotel Boca Del Mar which is fantastic!!

The Hot tub and a beer were both necessary after today’s events!!

And, for Peta…the critter I nearly stepped on in my room tonight!!!

Something that occurred to me today whilst I rode is that I may have provided an impression that the boat trip from Cartagena to Panama was lousy! Although the sleeping conditions, cleanliness, overcrowding, food and manner in which the bike was secured left a lot to be desired, in retrospect I really had a good time. To be clear, this cruise was no luxury outing although it never purported to be one either but the group of people onboard were great and notwithstanding the basic conditions, I would recommend this route to other travellers rather than flying.

Tomorrow I head into Costa Rica.

Whilst I originally thought that the customs process in Panama city would be a quick exercise as it has been in most countries, this turned out to be an exercise that took the whole day and at the end of it, I still didn’t have the temporary import permit for the bike!

On arrival at customs I was told I would need insurance. Ok, this is no surprise, “so where do I get it?”! One would think that there would be a little office at customs that sells it but for the life of me I cant understand why there isn’t one. The same thing happened to me on entry into Ecuador and it is such a massive waste of time. The company that sells the insurance is on the other side of town, an hour away!!! Ok, so I leave the bike at Customs and take a taxi rather than running the risk of getting completely lost in the city. Its now about 1pm and I sit down in front of the lady who is processing the paperwork in order to issue my policy, and then her system freezes! Not just HER system, the whole company! Crap!! So I go downstairs to get something to eat and come back an hour later and the system is up and running again, she issues my policy but I notice that she has a few crucial details incorrect so the whole process has to start from scratch. Its now 3pm and customs closes at 4pm! I get to customs with 10 minutes to spare and am praying that someone there will be able to quickly issue the permit, but hell no; Its nearly home-time and “pens down” are at 3:30pm and out of the door is promptly at 4!! NO “excepshiones”! Bugger, a day wasted and I need to come back tomorrow. What makes this all the more aggravating is that I am only going to be in Panama for another 2 nights (tonight included) so I have wasted a day dealing with the worst of the bureaucratic system!!!

On the plus side, I arranged to meet David whom I met on the boat from Cartagena for dinner which was great. We met at the rooftop bar of the Tantalo hotel and then had dinner at the restaurant. Both the restaurant and bar are fantastic and worth a visit if in Panama.

Tomorrow my plan is to ride about 400km east towards Costa Rica and spend the night at Boca Chica on the Pacific coast, that is, assuming I have an importation permit!!!