Side trip to Honduras

Early in the morning we continued our journey (still this one: from Tacuba, El Salvador to Copan Ruinas, Honduras) that we stopped in Guatemala, because it was too late to cross the Honduran boarder. When we arrived at Copan Ruinas we checked into Hostal Manzana Verde and then went for a late brunch.

In the afternoon we visited the ruins and that was a good decision, because the tourists were almost all gone. Luckily we were six people so we could share the costs for a guide and it was worth the tour! The site is still covered by the jungle and only 15% are excavated and restored. The special character for this archeological site is that there are so many sculptures and statues preserved that show the kings from all Mayan periods. We stayed at the site until it closed and then we had drinks and great food in town. Copan Ruinas is a nice little town with good restaurants and an existing nightlife.

After dinner we ran into a Harley-Davidson annual reunion party. That was amazing, they had life music and cheap drinks. We all had a great night out partying with them.

You don't expect these bikers to be so friendly and nice because with their black leather clothes and tattoos they look a bit scary sometimes. And the very interesting part is what they do for work in their normal lifes. One is the manager of the best hotel in town, one is the German consul and one is the former CEO of Ericsson Honduras....

They offered us a ride the next day, well who could resist when three pretty ladies ask... ;-)

So we met at ten in the morning and started a full day trip through the Honduran highlands to Santa Rosa de Copan. That was awesome, the landscape stunning and the Harleys were really comfortable. It felt more like sitting in a car than on a bike! :-)

Unfortunately we had rain on the way back but after all that was a great day in Honduras!

And it was the last day with my new friend Yael. After Honduras we split up after travelling together for four weeks. I went back into Guatemala to my original route.

El Salvador, let's go surfing!

After a comfortable bus ride to San Salvador, the capital, a scary walk followed through the streets at night to find an ATM. There are warnings not to do that, don't leave your hotel after 8pm, but no money - no honey! So we (my Israeli friend and a French guy) found a fuel station around the corner where we could get money and just opposite a little food stall to have diner. Nothing dangerous in the end.

 Next day we caught a bus to La Libertad at the coast and from there towards El Zonte beach. We found a lovely hotel by the sea, we had a dorm with great sea view, a pool and several interesting pets. There were parrots, dogs, budgies and a big iguana. Well it turned out that this last one didn't like females, so one day while he was guarding his pool, I took a swim and when I did not look he attacked me! He jumped into the pool and tried to get my legs, I narrowly escaped! That was so funny though!

Pacco

We had an earthquake one evening and a big storm over the sea the other night. We all sat under a shelter watching the waves be illuminated by lightning, goosebumps feeling!

I had two surf lessons the first day and then spent all the following days trying to get on the board. Surfing is so much fun but after a few hours in the water fighting with the waves you become crazy exhausted. But I managed to stand on the board and surf straight. Yeah!! Next time I will learn how to turn. Unfortunately there is no pic of me surfing...:(

After those great days at the beach with black lava sand we took some chickenbuses and even hitchhiked to national park El Imposible. In Tacuba, close to the park, we stayed with Mama y Papa, what is the most friendliest hostel in Salvador! We did a hike through the park, followed the flow of a river and jumped whenever there was a waterfall. Well, to be honest, I skipped the last two jumps, they were way to high for me, I think one was 10 to 12 m and the other 15 m.
Another day we went to Ataco, a little village an hour away, to have a relaxed day visiting coffee farms and handicraft shops.

And eventually we left El Salvador and 10 chickenbuses later we still had not reached our destination Copan Ruinas in Honduras and had to stop over night in Chiquimula, Guatemala. But at least I can say I am a chickenbus expert user now! ;-)

Guatemala!

What can I say, I love it here! The landscape is amazing, the people are nice, food and accommodation are cheap and there is so much to see and do.
I arrived in Xela, what is short for Quetzaltenango, and I met some girls from England on the way. We did two hikes together to some volcanoes nearby, Cerro Quemado and Santa Maria, from where you can see the active volcano Santiguito.

This one erupts 10 to 20 times a day and you can see and hear it. So impressive. We did the hikes with a company called Quetzaltrekkers. That is a volunteer program where all the money goes to a school in the neighbourhood. So I found that is a good way to help the children, hike for charity.
After two days of hiking I took two days Spanish classes. And it's easy to learn, well I won't write the blog in Spanish! ;-)






And because I love mountains, I did a 3 days trekking with Quetzaltrekkers again down to Lago Atitlan. We packed food, rain gear and sleeping bags and started. The first night we slept in a school building and the second night with family from one of the villages we hiked through. The last day was the highlight, we got up early 3:30 am to hike up a hill and place our sleeping bags again. This was the perfect spot to wait and watch the sunrise. Amazing! After that we went down to San Pedro and I stayed there for two days. On the trek I met Yael, a Israeli girl with whom I traveled the next weeks.
Lago Atitlan is so beautiful, so I spent a week around there. After San Pedro in San Marcos what is a tiny little village with a great hippie vibe and then Panajachel. I loved San Marcos, it was so relaxed and I could try Yoga the first time and we had life music every night.
Eventually I left the lake and went on to Antigua.


This city is so different than what I had seen so far from Guatemala. A lively colonial town with lots of tourists and language students. But I enjoyed it and of course I found the best cake shop in town where I had hot chocolate and some of the best cakes every afternoon, yummy! Did another two days of Spanish school and now I can almost have little conversations. So proud! ;-) But still so much vocabulary to learn...
Antigua has as well a lot of sights which could keep you busy visiting a whole week. But after a few days I went on to Guatemala City to catch a bus to San Salvador. I decided to have a short surfing break at the beaches there, which is next blog...

Mexico again!

Hola!

For my english speaking friends, here is the summary for Mexico.

My start was like a shock, I didn't expected a humidity and a heat like this. So the first days I tried to adapt to the new climate. And I hated Cancun, never seen so many hotels at one place. Can't believe people spend holidays there. So as soon as possible I got out of there and went to Isla Mujeres and had relaxing days with some new friends on a nice little island.
My first highlight there was a whale shark watching tour and we had herds of 50 to 100 of them. So so impressive, still can't believe that I swam right between those beautiful giants. This island was as well a good spot for diving, so I did some exploring under water at the wreck and at some of the shark places. One dive spot offered giant turtles which was another highlight.
After sun and water sports I went to see some of those well-known Maya ruins in Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam. Even Chichen Itza is one of the new seven world wonders, it was too crowded for me so the point went to Ek Balam. This site was less touristy and had a cenote to refresh nearby.
I stayed in town called Valladolid and I can recommend this as a good hub to explore all the ruins around. And it's a nice little town with more locals than tourists! ;-)
From there it was only a short ride to the ruins of Coba on my way down to Tulum. It was a good decision to take bike on this archeological site because the temples and pyramids are quite far from each other.
When I reached Tulum I immediately signed up for the cenote diving which I was so excited to do. And it was amazing! Saw six different cenotes and it was really worth the money. "Angelita" pit was one of the weirdest places I've ever been to and "Taj Maha" one of the most beautiful places where the halocline effect let the rays of sunlight playing games under water.
For sure I did as well the tour to the ruins and took the most famous picture of the ruin with the turquoise water.
Then I changed my plan and went down to Chiapas to see more of Mexico because everybody recommended it to me. And it turned out that I enjoyed Chiapas very much. I loved the Palenque ruins, less tourists, nice weather and all pyramids could be climbed! And I did a tour to some nice waterfalls Agua Azul and Mizol Ha to see something different than only ruins.
After only two days there I continued to San Cristobal which is a lovely town in the mountains and I stayed longer than planned. It was quite cold but so very interesting. There are a lot of old still existing Maya communities around and to visit them was amazing. There is a church that is not a normal church, they do strange rituals with chicken and pepsi in there. Crazy! Had such a great time and finished my Mexican tour with a ride through canyon Sumidero. The landscape was breathtaking and at the end of the tour we even saw crocodiles on the riverbank.
So I can say what a start in my first country on the list... :-)
I continued my trip down the Panamerican Highway into Guatemala but this will be another post.