Tikal, Flores, Antigua, Guatemala

We crossed the border into Guatemala and started on a bumpy but not impassable road to Tikal. Before hitting the ancient ruins in Tikal, we spent a night in Flores a colonial island town not far from Tikal. Apart from Alex getting an electric shock from the shower our stay in Flores was comfortable and relaxing. When we hit Tikal we were refreshed and ready to see everything. We set up camp in the national park where the ancient city is located. The heat was unbearable as we were setting up camp and luckily a cold change came through before we went into look at the ruins. On our way into the ruins we saw spider monkeys and ant bears but thankfully, none of the wild cats or snakes, that do live in the park. The ruins were the most spectacular we have seen so far, and we sat in the ancient squares looking at these incredible buildings against a stormy grey sky wondering what the ancient Mayan lives´ were like. Tikal was one of the major cities at the time and the site is one of the largest Mayan ruins. We camped the night in the rain, which was more cheerful than it sounds considering the relentless heat of recent days. The next morning we finished exploring the ruins and found a huge ancient sky scraper. We ventured to climb the slippery ladder that took us to the top of the pyramid in the mist above the rainforest ceiling of tree tops where there were brids flying by, we looked over the whole city of ancient ruins emerging from the thick jungle. We wondered how many lives were lost building this steep enormous pyramid (pictures to follow).

We spent Easter in Flores and watched the locals spend hours creating beautiful elaborate pictures out of coloured sawdust and flowers on the roads. The humour and spirit of the people was incredible considering what the Guatemalan people have suffered in recent decades. An easter parade walked through the streets over the sawdust works of art in the evening and finished at the church. A peaceful and memorable Easter.

Next we headed to Antigua and planned to stop at Semuc Champey, a beautiful area of natural swimming holes and limestone. This journey was our toughest yet, we thought we had seen bad roads but we had experienced nothing like this. We ended up on a bumpy track carved into the edge of a mountain range that went on and on and on. The ¨road¨ did not have enough space for more than one vehicle so everytime a truck came the other way we had to wriggle our bike over to the side of the road to let them pass. The altitude of the road was increasing and it was a long way down. We were passing through what seemed like an endless mountain range where a few tiny villages without electricity or running water were the only signs of life. Locals looked at us like we were aliens and we were getting used to seeing people stop in their tracks and stare at us open mouthed. We were quite inadvertantly very much off the tourist trail. We were both wondering how we ended up here, we swore we would never do it this tough, but we were there, the real deal adventure motorcylcing, a little more than we bargained for. Our adrenalin was pumping and Alex drove incredibly well, his concentration was unwavering for the whole six hour ordeal, the bike did not fall once. Drenched in sweat and faint we finally made our way out of this nightmare by dusk when in the distance could it be a glimmer of sealed road, ashphalt never looked so sweet. We found a small town near Coban and stayed in the only hotel and enjoyed two days of sleep and rest.

Next we made it to Antigua and found that even this 100km journey on a sealed road took a whole day. We rode through a thick fog that was almost a white out, luckily that was only brief and we made into clear skys by the afternoon and hit Antigua by five. Antigua is every bit as beautiful as it promised to be. A gorgeous historic village surrounded by volcanoes.

Next stop? we aren´t too sure Lake Atitlan, Guatemala or perhaps we will head into El Salvador.

Hopkins, Belize

After Punta Allen we knew our time in Mexico was drawing to a close and it was kind of sad, Mexico has been warm, fascinating and surprising. After our reviving time at the beach we headed south to the Belize border. Along the way we met two fellow motorcycle travellers on their way down to Costa Rica. One owned a motorcycle store and was taking the trip with one of his employees to test the bikes he was selling. This friendly Costa Rican gentlemen informed us that he in fact held the record for being the first latin american to travel from north pole to south pole on a motorbike. He also had a newspaper article about his current journey, it reminded us of the film `motorcycle diaries´. It was great to meet a fellow traveller with such a passion for adventure and motorcycles. We had the honour of riding with him and his companion for some time and we will definitely pay him a visit when we make it down to Costa Rica.

We stopped for a night in Bacalar a small town by a large lake, we spent the night camped on the porch of a hostel, dwindling finances have encouraged us to make good use of our tent!

The next morning we woke early and filled with some nervous energy we set about packing and preparing for the border crossing, the first of many to come. Crossing a border is always a little scary, plenty of people give you warnings, the trouble always seems to be in the next town the next country the next port, or so people seem to say. Despite warnings we wanted to explore Belize, where at least the main language is English...hooray!

The paper work was not as bad as we feared and the relaxed manner of the border staff was immediately endearing. Belize is a former English colony and was originally partially populated by retired pirates and their African slaves. At present there is a large population of African descendents, known as the Garifuna community. There are also Asians, Lebanese, Europeans and Mayans. The diversity of Belize is a large part of what interested us about the country. As soon as we crossed the border the landscape changed and there was a lush green quality to the terrain and the lakes seemed to be perfectly still, their surface was as smooth as silk. Even more charming were the friendly locals, we took a wrong turn and dozens of people were stopping us to tell us we had gone the wrong way. We made a road stop for some lunch and a large group of locals of African descent were eating at the road stop. They were so warm, funny and relaxed we knew we had made the right decision in coming to Belize. The bike attracted a lot of attention and one man told us, in the thick Jamaican accent common in Belize, that BMW stands for bad man wagon, which was hilarious, especially in that accent. He then told us to take care and be safe. Another Belizan later told us that BMW stood for Bob Marley and the Wailers, we liked that one too!

We had decided to head to Hopkins, a Garifuna community in the south of Belize. The road was long and for a large part unsealed. The afternoon was advancing and the sunlight was softening. We were in the midst of miles of dense tropical rainforest on a rough road and at times our speed was not far off walking pace. We knew the jungle was full of wild cats, snakes and other exotic creatures and the passers by were few. We had no water left and the balance of our bike on the red dusty road was precarious. We were longing to reach our destination but the road did not seem to end. Finally ahead we saw a grey black surface! at last a paved road. We finally made it to Hopkins at dusk and found a wonderful lodge run by Dutch/German lady, Ingrid, immeidately I knew we would be in for a treat. Her lodge was a civilized oasis full of all the comforts from home that you miss. We stayed in beautiful rooms and were invited to have dinner with Ingrid and some of her friends. The meal was prepared by one of Ingrids friends, a top chef working in a local resort and we still think fondly about that meal, it was one of those memorable meals. The meal was matched only by the company, we met a fascinating group of people who had all wound up living in Belize for one reason or another. Another interesting local was an artist who was painting signs in the courtyard of the lodge and who had lived in many different parts of the world and who had cycled over large parts of central america. This trip has been so incredible because of the people we have met. Thank you so much for your hospitality, it makes all the difference!

After spending a couple of days in Belize it was time to make tracks for Guatemala!
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Next stop: Guatemala

Campeche, Chichen Itza, Tulum & Punta Allen, Mexico

After surviving illness in Palenque we were finally well enough to move on, we had to head north through the Yucatan Peninsula to pick up some vehicle documents in Cancun, so we decided to see the sights and enjoy our final days in Mexico. Campeche was a great little town on the way north, it has a long history of being attacked by pirates so there is an ancient wall, still standing in parts, around the city that used to extend out to the sea. The houses are all so old and colorful and the place has a slow easy colonial charm. The pirate history is all very charming and kind of exciting now, but it must have been terrifying at the time. The city was a wealthy trading port, so it had a lot to offer pirates.

Cancun to pick up our bike documents. Chichen Itza was gorgeous, these proud ruins fill you with a sense of grandeur and awe. We had to fight the crowds but it was impressive nonetheless. Our next stop was Tulum, here we stayed in a greaAfter Campeche we headed off to Merida, but we didn't really get a chance to see it at all as we wanted to make tracks for Chichen Itza thent camping ground called Tribal Village and we met the nicest bunch of people, it seemed that everyone there was from a different country, age group and walk of life. Each night there was a shared meal around a long table under a thatched roof that served as the restaurant and it was great to hear so many interesting stories and get to understand a little about so many peoples' lives. We met a great couple who seemed to be the life of the party there at the "village", they work in the entertainment industry and they had a thousand interesting stories to tell. Another couple were basically professional travelers and they had years ahead of them to fill with adventures and experiences. Meeting people like this is really one of the best things about travel, so many different lives are possible. We also enjoyed the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean and saw a town in ruins right by the sea. Tulum was an awesome stop.

Next we took a dirt road down to Punta Allen. The drive was glorious: stunning beaches totally deserted for miles. Eventually we camped down on this beautiful beach, it was the kind of place that makes you whole again. You just had to relax in this sandy little town the pace was hypnotic and it was here that we turned a corner and really felt ourselves relaxing into this trip and opening up to what it has to offer us.

Mexico City & Palenque, Mexico

Well you may have noticed that on our next destination section on our blog Mexico City had a question mark next to it. After stopping for two nights in Toluca, a town just outside of Mexico City, we had decided that the big city thing wasn´t for us. We headed to a BMW dealership in the outskirts of the city to look at getting a new front tyre. While we were there we met a Mexico City resident and fellow GS rider, Andrew, who was horrified by the thought we would miss out on seeing his city and he immediately offered to spend most of his Saturday showing us around town. We were so excited it was one of those things that happens on travel documentarys and you watch it and think, ¨sure yeah, but if I go there I´m not going to meet all those interesting people¨.

We were delighted at the prospect of having a local guide so we took Andrew up on his offer. He also had a BMW motorbike and he found us a great little hotel where dropped off our cases and then we followed his darting and weaving in and out of the notorious Mexico City traffic. The city was amazing, 20 million people live in this city (Andrew seemed to know about a third of them by the way!) and the energy and intensity of it were palpable. The Saturday markets were so full of colour, life and atmosphere, we could have stayed there all day, but we moved on to cruise through the main city square, which was huge and teeming with people. Again the architecture, history and culture in Mexico have been major highlights. This country has so much heart and soul. We then spent the afternoon having lunch with Andrew´s friends and it was the best meal we have had since we´ve been in Mexico. Andrew was so generous and welcoming and we are so thankful that because of his kindness we didn´t miss out on seeing the world´s biggest city. That night we were absolutely exhausted we crashed in the hotel and woke to the sound of a roaring lion, the hotel, for some reason has a pet lion? wierd I know. It made us miss our cat!

We spent another day in Mexico city relaxing in the park and checking out one of the many museums. In the park we noticed that wrestling masks are really popular? I don´t know why. The next day we decided to hit the road and head east. At first six months seemed like forever, now it hardly seems like enough time and there is so much to see. We spent one night in Cordoba and another by a lake in Los Tuxlas, a beautiful area. We wanted to live there, start a farm, grow lavender and maybe keep bees... it was that kind of place. Yesterday we had a huge day driving and went all the way from the lake area to Palenque (about 500 kms). Right now we are staying in little cabanas in the rainforest right next to Palenque. We saw the ruins today but were a little too tired from yesterday´s riding to really take it all in.

The open hearted friendliness of the Mexican people has made our stay here so much more enjoyable. When we were in Toluca so many people were so kind and interested, a special thank you goes to Carlos from Honda who took so much time to help us out.

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Next Stop:
Heading east before we make our way down into Belize.

Morelia, Mexico

We finally left the Baja peninsula and took the 18 hour ferry ride accross to the mainland arriving in Mazatlan. Getting the bike on and off the ferry was an interesting experience, but it was easier than we thought it would be. The ferry ride was smooth and we were lucky enough to have a four person cabin to ourselves so we slept well. We arrived feeling OK and decided to drive south without stopping in Mazatlan. I (M) was feeling a cold coming on, but thought riding would be OK, as all I do is sit there really. Well it turned out to be a much longer day than we thought, we missed the tolled highway and took the free long winding single lane highway down south. We wanted to make it to the coast, so we pushed a little too hard to finally make it to Chacala Beach. When we arrived it was late, we were absolutely exhausted and my sore throat had blossomed into a full fever. After more than eight hours on the bike, preceded by an eighteen hour ferry ride, we were not feeling too great and I (M) was kind of hysterical. We had both just had enough by that point. We could find nowhere to stay in this tiny beach town of only 200 people and so we pitched our tent on the sand and after getting chased by a territorial rottweiler and having my(M) childhood fear of dogs revived we both eventually fell into a deep sleep. We spent a few days at Chacala Beach while I was convalescing. Camping right on the beach was quite a privilege, at home you would have to book a campsite like that months in advance.

We then moved on, travelling inland to Guadalajara, a fairly large city of 4 million people. We stayed in a fancy hotel, for the bike´s sake of course! We went out to check out the town and were really impressed with the beautiful architecture and lively squares. There was a free rock concert on the night we were there and there seemed to be life, laughter and beauty everywhere. I didn´t know what to expect at all, but the atmosphere was warm and architecture was so historic and beautiful.

We hit the road again the next day and arrived at Morelia, the travelling was much easier this time, as we found the paid highway and stuck to it. We have been absolutely blown away by Morelia, the history and beauty in this town defy description. The entire historic centre has been declared a world heritage site by UNESCO and you can understand why. The Baroque style architecture and old buildings constructed from a beautiful pink stone are so beautiful and ornate. Historic museums are plentiful (all free as well) and we have just been walking through the streets drinking in the beauty, sitting in the cafes and feeling like we are in a relaxed hip version of Paris. This is a town focused on the arts, there are free concerts and performances all the time. When we first arrived we saw a free dance performance and then a jazz concert, followed by a fireworks display in front of the cathedral. There is just so much soul and warmth in this place. Unfortunately Alex has now come down with the cold I had so we are spending a few days here until we are ready to hit the road again.------------------------------------------------------------

Next Stop: Mexico City (?)

Los Barrilas, Baja California, Mexico

Having made our way down through Baja we have now reached the southern tip, and are about to embark on a ferry taking us and the bike to mainland Mexico tomorrow.

Southern Baja has been a fair bit warmer and we finally got our shorts out and took a walk down the beach yesterday, which was really nice. Some of the previous nights have been so cold that we had to take out our sleeping bags even though we stayed in a hotel. I guess people here are not quite used to the low temperatures we have been experiencing in the last week or two and don't seem to leave motel rooms with warm blankets or heaters.

Since our last post we have moved on from San Ignacio to Mulegé where we stayed for two nights to take a bit of a break and get some cloths washed. We moved on to Loreto and then made our way to La Paz to book our ferry tickets. La Paz is gorgeous, incredible crystal clear blue water and beautiful bays that are unspoiled by any sort of development. We stayed in a really comfortable motel in La Paz after a scary mouldy motel that we suffered in Loreto.. it had a wake you up in the night kind of bad smell!

We met a really interesting guy, Will, in La Paz who works as an adventure tour guide....how does a person get that sort of work I hear you ask?, well like most of the best things in life he told us that he kind of fell into it. He managed to juggle holding down a regular job with his adventure tours on the side and he was incredibly well travelled and interesting person.

When we were in San Ignacio we met a really nice and unsurprisingly Oregonian :) couple Jim and Nancy; we have met dozens of people from Portland, Oregon, USA since we have been here, we doubt there is anyone left in Oregon at the mome

nt! We then ran into them again in Mulege and they explained that they were on their way down to stay in the house they had just bought into in Los Barriles. They kindly invited us to join them for a few days if our travels took us down that way. So we dropped them a line when we were nearby and they have so generous and openhearted, fed us home cooked food and made us feel at welcome in their beautiful beachfront home. They also took us to their church service and the whole congregation prayed for our journey and safe return, we had a few tears in our eyes. After the service a few couples came up and told us about their motorbike trips, which wa

s really interesting and encouraging.

People everywhere have been so generous and caring towards us in our travels we feel really looked after everywhere we go. When you are so far from home on a trip like this one, that sort of generosity makes all the difference.

Los Barriles is a beautiful beach town popular with windsurfers and kite boarders most of whom are retirees, the fitness and activity level of these retirees puts us to shame! We have had a unique opportunity to rest and recover here in luxury, the generosity of our hosts has been extraordinary! Thanks so much to all the wonderful people we have met.

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Next stop: Mazatlan, Mexico

San Ignacio, Baja California, Mexico

We can truly say that our trip has really started now. Baja California is just like we imagined the rest of our trip would be. We are beginning to wonder if the the Mexican mainland and beyond can live up to the standards set by beautiful Baja.

Every day we ride through a completely different landscape, from barren desert plains to green valleys with blossoming flowers, to little oasis towns complete with date palms, a tranquill lake and an old missionary church on a small townsquare (San Ignacio). In between are winding mountain roads, seemingly endless stretches of open and straight highways with a small town every hundred or so kilometers. It is like a one thousand kilometer long national park. We drove through a forest of giant cacti and huge boulders that seemed to stretch on for miles. It is impossible to describe the beauty of this place, the perfect silence of the desert and the stunning scenery are really food for the soul. We feel so satisfied it will be hard to leave these roads behind.

From Calexico we crossed the border into Mexicali, where we accidentally drove into Mexico without stopping for our visas :) After rectifying that little oversight we set out to San Felipe where we stayed the night. From there we cut through the peninsula to the west side to Ensenada. The day after that we continoued south to El Rosario were we met a really nice couple from Portland, Amy and Shane, who were just planning their own big trip accross China and Siberia. Good luck, b.t.w. :). We had a great dinner and compared notes on what drives you to take a big adventurous trip and leave it all behind!

After a very cold night in El Rosario, during which we slept in our sleeping bags inside the motel, we continued to Guerro Negro. Just before making it there we had our first fall when we crossed a sandy slope that led back onto the highway and hit a hole. Nothing much happened but it wasn´t very pleasant none the less so we won´t need to repeat that too often, hopefully. The bike is just so increadibly top heavy so that we decided to avoid any serious offroad travel where possible.

After dusting ourselves off and having a nights rest in a fancy hotel in Guerro Negro we set out for the oasis town of San Ignacio. We are writing this entry from San Ignacios beatiful old town sqauare just across from a rustic and beautiful missionary chapel. Last night was our first night camping and we found a beautiful lakeside spot. At night we looked up at a billion stars and saw the black outline of the palm trees above us. Heaven!

Calexico, California, USA

Just a quick update for today:

We have departed Los Angeles and actually managed to fit most of our stuff onto the bike. It looks like a pack mule now, but it still got plenty of power which is great for the American highways. Anja and Harro were really nice in that they let us use their place to store all those things that we couldn't find room for.


Right now we are in Calexico, just a stones throw from the Mexican border which we will cross tomorrow morning. We had a really nice day riding past Salton Sea today, it is a really interesting kind of smelly inland sea surrounded by desert like terrain, with few buildings or people, in fact it is largely deserted. We stopped in at an eerie cafe called "Ski Inn" it looked like the dust settled there 50 years ago and hasn't moved since, intriguing! Ski Inn was located in a dishevelled looking town called "Bombay Beach" we had to stop when we saw the name. As soon as we got off our bikes a man sitting out the front smoking started singing "he's a travelling man" and asked us where we were headed, he was originally from the UK but had been in the US 56 years, he spent his summers in this strange desert town near the "beach". The roads were covered in sand and mud and the houses seemed to caravan style huts. It was a fascinating place. Apparently no one knows why it smells like it does, it is a mystery!, the mexicans say it is punishment, who knows? We can't wait to get into Baja tomorrow and get into the 'real' stuff :)

P.S.: Thanks Marco - we did manage to find the store :)

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Next Stop: San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico

Los Angeles, California, USA

Well it has been just over a week now and we are almost ready to head south, in fact we are hoping to head down to Mexico on Monday or Tuesday of next week. The weather here in LA has been a bit wet and we are waiting for the sun to come back again so we don't start off our journey by getting drenched.

We have found our bike!, which was actually the easiest part of this preparation phase. The second day we were in LA we met up with Lillo in an Italian restaurant called La Piazza, we had contacted him earlier from Oz. Lillo has been an absolute star. He agreed to delay showing the bike to anyone but us after he heard of our trip. So he cancelled all other buyers and agreed to wait until we made it to LA.

Sitting in La Piazza was surreal, we couldn't believe that after just one day we were on the other side of the world in LA looking at buying a bike to take us down south, we felt like we were living a film, it is amazing how much life can change in such a short amount of time.

The bike turns out to be exactly what we wanted: A 2004 1150 GS Adventure, fully kitted out for the trip. Lillo had some massive aluminium panniers fitted and made some other really nifty modifications that make the bike perfect for our purpose. Pictures will follow soon.

Lillo and his friends have been really helpful in getting the other bits and pieces organized. With their help we sorted out insurance, a camera and the route for our first leg down to Baja. One of the trio (Marco) is about to head to Panama himself , so hopefully we get to meet somewhere along the way. Really great guys, thanks heaps for all your help and good wishes!!!

We were lucky enough to meet with some family friends on short notice. Anja, Heinz and Erika are originally from Germany and were close friends of my grandparents (although the connection between our families goes back even further then that) and moved to California in the sixties (Heinz and Erika) and seventies (Anja). When I first came to California as a 13 year old we stayed with them and I spent a lot of time with their son Thomas.

We all met at a revolving restaurant in downtown LA and had a great night catching up together. The next day Anja helped us tremendously with the final pieces of equipment that we needed: protective bike clothing. Afterwards we went to the famous Griffith Observatory (as seen in countless movies) and to Hollywood boulevard before heading to Anja's home where we had a chance to read a diary that was written by my grandfather and given to Anja's parents as a gift. I learned about the tragic fate of my great uncles, both of whom drowned before the second world war. When we were reading the diary it was describing how one of my great uncles went missing on the Weser river on the 22nd January 1939, we gradually realised that is was the anniversary of his death on the day we were reading the diary, so it was exactly sixty nine years since he had died.

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I must say the locals here have been cheerful, generous and helpful time and again. People often ask us if we need assistance, offer us their phones to make calls and assist us in all kinds of ways, we have really felt looked after. When you are far from home in a strange city these acts of generosity have made a huge difference and have been a great comfort.
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Next stop: Crossing into Mexico at Mexicali and heading into Baja California.

Shell & Alex