Hot and Sticky

The ride to the Guatemalan border is a little over 6 miles and so we arrive in the cool of the morning. The exit of Honduras is straight forward and so would be the entrance to Guatemala, except for the recently installed computer system. The computer works but nothing will print. If they can’t print the permit for the bike then you can’t get in the country. For the first couple of hours there is no movement. Bikes and Trucks are mounting up and there are now forty to fifty people waiting to get processed. Richard ends up on the wrong side of the counter behind the iron cage trying to fix the problem as they are talking about sending for an engineer! With a bit of luck and patience it gets fixed and the process starts. We lodge one guy at the counter and keep feeding in the documents to ensure we don’t get jostled out of the way. The truck drivers are patient and after another three and a half hours we are in.

The colour and vibrancy of Guatemala cannot be more obvious than in the market at Chichicastanango. It is the largest indigenous market in Central America. The locals are here to trade and exchange and also to sell to the few tourists that make it here. As a group we stand out somewhat as we are slightly taller than the average Guatemalan, who seems to be under 5 feet tall.

The riding in Guatemala is stunning and the mountainous roads are lined with green and beautiful lush scenery which is very memorable. We are only here a short time before we cross to Mexico and the final border crossing before the USA. The Guatemalan side is in the middle of a market and so Guatemala remains colourful, vibrant and bustling to the end. We enter Mexico into the Chiapas region, which only ten years ago was in the middle of a revolution. Our destination, San Cristobal De Las Casas was taken by the Zapatista rebels at one stage of the conflict. San Cristobal is now a bustling town with a strangely large number of good Argentinian Steak Houses. Some of the group take the long stairs to the church overlooking the town, which helps walk off some of the steaks!

After a day riding along the coast we had in land to El Tajin, some of the largest ruins in Central America, originating from the first century and built by the Mayan and Teotihuacan Indians. With 12 “ball” Courts and several pyramids the site is extremely impressive. The stories of the ball courts vary about how the game was played and who played. However the constant theme is that the outcome for the losers seems to have been very bad!

Inland and through the mountains towards to the former hippy hangout of San Miguel Allende. There are still quite a lot of artists, writers and poets around, as well as one of the most stunning and unique churches in Central America. The plaza is not only home to this great church but also to a small bar serving some of the best Margueritas of the trip so far. The town is surprisingly quiet. All becomes clear when we realise that Mexico is playing Venuezala at football and the match is televised. We didn’t let this stop a good night out at a favourite local bar with great local folk music. The band plays wine is drunk and the Mexicans draw the football so its not too bad a night for them either.

On a day off in Zacetecas we have time to do some final preparation for the USA crossing which seems to be the most bureaucratic of the trip so far. We need all sorts of forms and permissions authorised before we take our foreign vehicles in. Zacatecas is another bastion of colonial architecture and also has a Ski lift. Well they call it the Periferico and it goes up to the top of the hill overlooking the town and provides stunning views. Most people spend the day updating bits of maintenance and cleaning on the bikes and enjoying the city. Gunter even walks up the hill just to shame the rest of us.

A big days ride follows as we move north to Parral. A town famous as the location that the USA assassinated Pancho Villa. Allegedly of course. The American riders with us seem certain it wasn’t them, and as we have no Mexican riders we defer to their claims of innocence. And so our timw in Mexico is drawing to a close. We have a few more days before we cross the border and head for Tombstone, Joshua Tree National Park and then Hollywood. Rumour has it the Arnie the Governator will be there to welcome us personally? However its probably just a rumor….