Friday 4:50 PM 2/20/2009
Just got back from an Antigua Guatemala Bike trip.
Group of 17 formed at 8:50 at Hotel Sin Ventura then walked en masses down the street to the Oldtown Outfitters.
Visa rented Liza and I two bikes for Q600.
Mine was a new Kona, very nice with disc brakes, 27 gears 3x9, soft tires and suspension which are de rigueur on the cobblestone streets.
Ride out of city was pleasant, finally in control of my destiny!
Cobblestone quickly became tiresome, so sought path of fewest bumps, either dust filled road edges or sidewalks. The soft tires, suspension and sanding in the pedals were essential.
The entire group were game and capable riders.
Liza learned her first mountain bike quickly, with nary any advice from her dad.
Dr B opted out early because of being ill. Dr B’s weight loss program...go to Guatemala and drink a glass of water. Come back to the states 10 pounds lighter in 5 days.
The group queued up and snaked out of town.
Biked out of El Centro via a clean upscale neighborhood the first I had seen since my arrival. The smooth roads soon gave way to move cobblestone and gravel the traffic there drove slow and gave us plenty of room.
The locals walking and in shops smiled and waved "Hola". Stops in a couple of town squares which were presided over with the out of scale church.
We are now waiting for the showers. Hot water; it is at best erratic and now we really need it, there is none. 45 minutes ago we talked (in broken spanglish)with Ana and Gloria, who explained (it seemed) that the muni water pressure is minimal and the hot water is off but it would be back on in 1/2 hour.
We have learned that a Guatemalan hour means sometime in the future.
Anyhow the ride through the town ended up on a nice smooth highway going down a big hill, which in middle of we swing into a small macadamia farm.
Owned by expatriate family it had the feel of a small hippy tourist destination, we received a pleasant tour and looked at Macadamia nuts, ate some nuts, bought some nuts, then had a lunch with some nuts ;).
One of the expatriates, kind of nutty, entertained us with his slightly-off color jokes and conspiracy theories about the US Government.
I had a small dense blueberry pie and good coffee. Liza had a salami Sandwich with some tasty fried potatoes and a very sweet hibiscus tea which was way sweet. The bamboo hut bathrooms equipped with 50's pastel modern fixtures were a pleasure to see.
Leaving we wound through more towns stopping at an indoor market full of handicrafts.
Working at her loom Ana got up and enticed me into her cube-shop and showed me a bright hanging for only $40... After a bit of back and forth I was the proud owner of a hanging and two bracelets for $26, I think I over paid, but that’s OK.
A final hill climb weakened Liza who was already tired and feeling sick with a sore throat.
The guides took her bike and I her bag as she gamely walked ascending the steep hill. The ride down took us first through a couple of miles of a very smelly trashy stretch and then to a path through a verdant coffee plantation. Arriving at the edge of town the path turned to dusty gravel then to more cobblestones. Another mile of riding the group arrived exhausted back at the shop. Tipped the two guides $20 for a well done trip, and for not abandoning us.
Next time:
map, cycling shoes, gloves, a particulate mask, more water, more sun screen earlier, video camera.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Typing this on the roof top of our hotel Cortez Y Larzza, helped with a couple of snorts of Ron Botran, 12 year old rum purchased at the colorful super Mercado.
Our hotel room is clean, centrally located with a 3X6 foot(small) bathroom complete with shower.
The hot water is feed by a pump, apparently without a pressure tank.
Very erratic.
Liza is now showering the dust off her.
As I sit here I am looking at three volcanoes; Aqua, dormant but huge and towering, active Fuego and Acatenango. Town lights appear a quarter the way up Aqua.
I hear a few horns, a church bell, a little traffic noise.
First night sounded like someone moving furniture above my head, but nothing up there just roof, was told volcano and earthquakes are always active.
Pleasant, few bugs, very nice climate.
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