A smooth paved road runs downhill out of Quilatoa and in minutes I am in Zumbahua. It is early morning and the town is quiet. A few men stand around pick up trucks in the square. Women seated on the pavement, well wrapped in woolen shawls, sell snacks of fried dough. A quick breakfast in […]
Also tagged ecuador, hospitalityI arrive in Villa Maria sodden, freezing, filthy. I am exiting a hotel that is so dire even I won’t consider staying there. The rooms are raw brick windowless stalls that fit a bed and nothing more. No room to unpack. Everything is wet. There is no place to hang clothes, tent, sleeping bag, to […]
Also tagged colombia, friends, rainColombia’s Caribbean coastal area and the wide upper reaches and swampy marshes of the mighty River Magdalena is a familiar world to anyone that has read the works of Garbriel Garcia Marquez, and as one of the most widely read of all South American writers that includes quite a few people. When asked why all […]
Also tagged colombia, peopleWe are riding on a uninspired stretch of highway at dusk considering our camping options in a world of pervading dampness when we pass a shiny red fire truck parked on the opposite side of the road. Touring cyclists have a long association with fire stations but none of us have tried asking for accommodation […]
Also tagged a place to stay, costa rica, friendsAhuas proves a welcoming place for rest and recuperation. I stay with Carla and her family as the days slide by.
Also tagged honduras, la moskitiaSetting off from Brus the second time I don’t really have any more useful information than I did the first time but I am determined. I make it back to the confounding fork without incident (apart from my third river crossing). I pause to investigate the left option for a second time and then take […]
Also tagged honduras, la moskitia, losing it, wild placesThe reality of travelling on dirt roads, generally, is that if they are not muddy then they are dusty. Most of the roads that we traverse in the Guatemalan mountains show evidence of the exceptionally heavy rains of the previous wet season – whole sections of road have been swept away by landslides – but […]
Also tagged camping, guatemalaI finally reach the Gunahabibicanes Peninsula and head straight for the National Park Ecological Station for information. The station manager opens our exchange by offering to buy my bike. I explain that without a bike my life wouldn’t actually function and that it wasn’t really just a bike but also my companion and friend. He […]
Also tagged cuba, friends, hospitality, the sea, wild places, wildlifeBelize hasn’t entered my plans at all until now and the only thing I really know about the place is that it is nominally an English-speaking country and that Belize City has something of a nasty reputation. Casting my eyes over my map, I see about three major roads marked in the whole country and […]
Also tagged belize, border crossings, dirt roads, wildlifeDusk. A grey sky over cleared burning fields. Howler monkeys hoot and growl from nearby stands of trees. A man walks along a foot path from the fields towards the road. I pass a rough building constructed of wide weathered grey wooden boards. The shack is set in a muddy yard in which chickens, turkeys, […]
Also tagged hospitality, mexico, people