Day 605
Saved by 1 Annie + 2 Sergios
Now I am not sure why I listened. I mean I should know by now. People are full of fear. Full of warnings about why we shouldn’t go somewhere. ‘You’re heading to Guatemala?’ they said, ‘It’s not friendly like Mexico, people are rude and unhelpful’ and so on and on.
The border crossing was straightforward, and as we entered our first town in Guatemala we found it so similar to Mexico. Friendly greetings, check. Loud music blasting from everywhere, check. The crazy bustle of animals, people and small motorbikes all around us, check. Within minutes our Mayo flag was spotted for only the third time on our trip and words of encouragement were shouted out to us. Whilst we ate lunch in yet another glamour-less bus shelter a guy stopped to find out about our trip, and sent us a good luck message on Facebook. My worries eased and we relaxed into yet another new country. The hills had returned at the border, but that also meant the stunning views were back too. The fields were full of cows, not 100% they were all the same, I think they were types of Zebu, a breed with a hump which helps them tolerate the hot conditions found here. We were also passed by many trucks full of them, off to market no doubt.
Our first night spot was camping at ‘Ixpanpajul Nature Park’. It covers over 3 acres of forest and if you have time and the energy (we were lacking both) you can hike the trails, climb up onto suspension bridges and look out over the forest canopy. We had the place to ourselves, well apart from a few cheerful guards brandishing shotguns. As the weather was still cool and damp we again opted to set up the tent under the cover of a massive shelter. The donkeys and howler monkeys lulled us to sleep, our first full day in Guatemala over.
Next day we were in for a treat. The wonderful Annie, our Warmshowers host for the coming evening had arranged for her equally awesome husband, Sergio, to meet us as he drove home and take our bags! Get in! Freed from our heavy burden we flew along, yes there were hills but without luggage they were so much easier. We upped our average speed by 3 miles an hour, oh it was fantastic.
Just after lunch we arrived in Poptun and made our way to Annie and Sergio’s. Annie runs a school, so off we went. We were supposed to be helping the children with their English, however we were the ones who needed help with our Spanish. It was a great experience and I will let you in on a secret, Hippo can jump! In the evening we had a night out, another treat. Great food, music, a few drinks and wonderful company too. It was so nice to spend time with such a lovely family.
Back in Xalapa Tom had a new bottom bracket installed, yet despite being only a few weeks old it was wobbling in the frame. Luck was on our side. Annie and Sergio have a friend, Sergio 2, who is a mobile mechanic. Despite being snowed under with work he popped round first thing and armed with the correct tools was able to confirm what we hoped, our mechanic in Xalapa had not tightened it enough. Job done we were on our way. The fickle finger of fate is still working its magic.
We were sad to leave Annie and family. At school it was older students in, they were going to play Taboo, did we want to join in? Yes! But time waits for no cyclist and after a fantastic brunch in town we were back on the road. Despite the promised downhill seeming to have as much up as down, the headwind stronger than ever and busier roads, we were both in a great mood. The sun was out, the bikes were working fine, we had met some wonderful kind people and hey, it’s Valentine’s Day!
