May 28, 2016
Guatemala continues to impress with it’s sustained climbs, and friendly-folk.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: Colotenango, Huehutenango, Guatemala
Destination: Malacatancito, Huehutenango, Guatemala
54.4 km trip, 5:19 time, 57.1 km/h maximum speed, 10.2 km/h average speed
Route Description:
he route includes again single lane both ways with no shoulder. We found traffic heavy with lots of trucks and chicken buses. The day is mostly climbing with one really big downhill after Huehutenango. You do climb up after the elevation drops here. There are many towns for food and water along the way.
Accommodations:
On the outskirts of HueHue we saw a hotel on the highway and they quoted us 110Q. We opted to continue riding. We stopped in the next town but there were no hotels. We had planned to wild camp and as we were searching for a suitable place we came upon a church and the pastor let us put up our tent in his yard and use his bathroom.
What happened…
Andrew writes: We had a lot of nice run-ins with people today. We enjoyed an amazing lunch at a small road-side stand where the woman was making these thick, yummy corn tortillas by hand. Then just past Huehue I spent some time talking with a mother and daughter (see below). Finally, Pastor Ruben at the church La Luz Del Mundo took us in and set us up in his backyard. He was a cool dude, and definitely not what I have come to expect from your usual run of the mill pastor, but then again I haven’t been in church in ages, let alone a church in Latin America. Here’s hoping that everyone is just as rad tomorrow, and the foreseeable future.
Amanda writes: Today we didn’t really know exactly where we would sleep. We just figured we’d ride until we got tired and figure it out. At one point we were going to go into the city of Huehutenango but decided against it since it was not really on the way. Sometimes it still amazes me how comfortable we are with simply heading out for a day and not knowing where we are going to sleep. I think being in Mexico so long has instilled a sense of safety in us. I’m sure many of you may be appalled at this statement, but it’s true; we felt good in Mexico and are carrying that confidence with us right now.
The people of Guatemala are so friendly and I’m able to understand their Spanish very well. The women are in fact especially friendly with Andrew which is quite interesting to watch. He went into a store to buy a couple of things and ask if there was a hotel nearby. He was in there for over 20 minutes which isn’t that unusual for him as he likes to talk a lot, what was cute was when he strolled out of the store with two very attractive women practically hanging off him. The younger of the two had a shirt on that really accentuated her lovely breasts and I even had a hard time keeping my eyes on her eyes when speaking to her and I instantly felt pity for Andrew. Andrew introduced me to them as his spouse and I could see the instant disappointment but they were still very kind. While their initial intentions may have been different, their kindness was genuine and I was struck by how friendly and inviting they were. Nice folk in this Country.