May 27, 2016
Right from the get-go, there is something different about Guatemala, whether it’s the beautiful indigenous people, or the bodies floating in the river, it’s hard to say exactly.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: Ciudad Cuahtemoc, Chiapas, Mexico
Destination: Colotenango, Huehutenango, Guatemala
55.5 km trip, 5:14 time, 51.0 km/h maximum speed, 10.6 km/h average speed
Route Description:
The day starts at about 700 meters and ends at 1500 meters. It is mostly continuous climbing with a few small downhills. It is single lane both ways with no shoulder. There are many hotels and places to buy food and water along the way.
Accommodations:
We found a hotel after about 30 km on the left side of the road and they quoted us 100 Quetzals (currency in Guatamela). We rode on and saw other hotels and we stayed in Colotenango at a posada just before the bridge to turn into the town. It was 25Q per person for a private room overlooking the river. Shared toilet and shower and was no problem.
What happened…
Andrew writes: I felt really nervous exchanging money at the border with the money changer. I was worried that he would swindle me, or give me counterfeit bills, or that I would just be a dumb gringo and be made a sucker. I think it turned out OK in the end, I’m not very good at math so I’m not entirely sure that none or all of these happened.
As soon as we crossed the border we started to climb, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It’s not hard, just monotonous. As a welcome to Guatemala gift, we came upon a group of people watching a body being fished out of the river. Since it is near the border, I assume it is drug related, but who knows. From the hospedaje balcony in Colotenango, we could see people taking a piss, or dumping huge bins of garbage into the river far below, so for all we know, somebody jumped and floated downriver. All of the kids shout out, “Gringo!!!!” as we ride by, and for some reason this irritates me greatly, although I’m not sure why. When I looked it up online, anyone that is white is a gringo, but I think it is along the lines of calling a black person the “N-word” for some reason. It’s almost as bad as when people call out, “My friend!” at me, trying to con me into something. Still, all in all, I find the indigenous people here very proud, strong, beautiful people. I think I’m going to enjoy it here in Guatemala.
Amanda writes: Immediately after leaving our hotel we went to Mexican customs and got our stamp without issue. Then you continue cycling to get to the Guatemala border. Both crossings for both countries were no problem. We got stamped on the way out of Mexico after showing our receipt for entry. Then we got a stamp at the entry point in Guatemala no problem. We exchanged pesos with a street guy which is pretty standard. He quoted us .41 and we got him up to .45 which was a great rate based on the bank rate we checked the night before. Off we went with our new currency and we enjoyed the new scenery.
Many things were the same. Lots of garbage, lots of stares but I felt like it was really green here. The gringo calls from kids seemed to be more prevalent then they had been in some time; but not unexpected. There was a lot of bus traffic but I think I was just happy to be back on the road.