Cycling from Rio Hondo to Chiquimula in Guatemala
Part of my bike tour from Alaska to Argentina. Today, I cycled from Rio Hondo to Chiquimula in Guatemala. This is my blog from the day.
Cycling from Rio Hondo
Blog post written: March 10th, 2010
Today got off to an odd start when I was woken at 05.30 by a rooster announcing the start of the day. Nothing unusual about that, until somebody emptied an AK-47 into it.
Well, that's what it sounded like. I thought it might be a power transformer blowing, but the sound went on too long for that, and until I am presented with evidence to the contrary, I am going with the AK-47 theory. Besides, the rooster didn't make another sound.
Bike Touring in Guatemala
I left a bit later at gone 09.00 as I only had a short day in mind. That said, it was a pretty gruelling one, despite it only being 40 kms.
The road deteriorated badly, traffic was intensely spewing out plumes of black smoke, the hills were steep, noise constant and a very strong wind blew against me.
So when I entered the outskirts of Chiquimula and was greeted by a large, modern shopping mall, I was taken quickly by surprise.
I soon recovered however, and dived straight into McDonald's. The staff there must be fed a constant diet of red bull, because I have never seen so much energy and enthusiasm!
I found myself a hotel, and as I had some quetzales left over, decided to treat myself in the supermarket - strawberries, yoghurt, sardines, muesli, fanta and pot noodles. Keeping it real as always!
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Dave is a UK travel writer living in Athens since 2015. With 20 years of firsthand travel experience and over 80,000 km of bicycle touring across six continents, he's been blogging at Dave's Travel Pages since 2005. Every guide is based on places he's actually been.
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