Laughing Caye

From San Ignacio we moved to Placencia which is at the end of a peninsula South of Belize City. The town is not very big but is home to some very big homes. Mostly owned by North Americans, plus the road in was just paved earlier this year so access has been improved significantly. This is all good news for the real estate investors in this area, not to mention that there is a new international airport being built less than 30 minutes away. All this spell big changes for this little town, hopefully it does not lose its’ charm in the process.

This is Main St. in Placencia.

We met some of the other guests at the hotel, Darryl from Kelowna, Dennis from London Ont., and Dave from Maryland USA and I ended up drinking with them until midnight, I am sure we would have kept going but we ran out of booze, just as well as we all decided to go snorkelling the next day. This would involve getting up around 7am so that we could get a boat arranged and still manage to get a full day on the water, assuming of course that the “cold front” everyone was talking about did not ruin the plans. As you probably predicted, some of us did not get going that early so Brenda and I had breakfast and waited for the others to emerge from their rooms. During this time we went down to the pier in front of the hotel to enjoy an absolutely picture perfect morning and we actually seen an Eagle Ray swim past and a couple of rather large fish, wow, the day was starting off pretty good. Once the others got going we managed to arrange a boat to take us to the reef and spent the day snorkelling, on the way to the reef we seen a bunch of dolphins which is a real treat, getting better all the time. Once at the reef we did two guided snorkel swims, as the reef is protected and inside a national park the guides make sure that nothing gets disturbed by the tourists. The first swim was great, the water was very clear and we could see numerous fish species, lobster, crabs, and of course coral formations. After a prepared lunch of BBQ chicken, scalloped potatoes and coleslaw,(no I did not cook the BBQ chicken this was part of the package) we went for our second tour. During the second we seen much the same things just more of them, but when we got back to shore the weather had changed drastically and the “cold front” had arrived. On the 22km boat ride back to town we were bucking 3 to 4 foot waves. Our skipper did a great job and we only caught air with the boat about half a dozen times, when we finally made it to shore we commented that that would never happen in Canada. Not the big waves part, the part where none of us were wearing life jackets, they were tucked safely into the hull of the boat under a trap door. So to sum up the day we watched an awesome sunrise, seen a sting ray, seen some dolphins, went snorkelling and seen a whole bunch of sea life, had a great lunch on a little island in the Caribbean Sea, then rode mother nature’s roller coaster without a life jacket, a rather full day if I say so myself.

Leaving Guatemala and Into Belize we go!!

The first four pictures are of Flores.




From Flores we said goodbye to Guatemala and crossed the border into Belize (Jan 23rd), this was a very simple border to cross, plus we had the advantage of being the only vehicle traffic. This was due to a crane parked on the bridge that crossed the river leading into the border station, at first everyone was saying that it would be closed for at least another hour, but I said I would drive on the sidewalk to get around. They just shrugged their shoulders and let us past, turns out I could fit between the track on the crane and the curb with about 1 inch to spare. The Guatemala portion of the border took about 5 minutes, the officer stamped our passports, $2USD please, then we slid down the counter to the Aduana officer who took back our vehicle permits and our windshield sticker, done. The Belize border was totally free, and they actually asked to look in our saddlebags, this was the first border since Mex/US that did a “search”, then a quick stop at the Insurance office ($29Bz per bike for 7 days) and we were on our way.


It is easy to see that Belize is more developed than some of the other Central American countries, the road is pretty good but the properties along it are exemplary. Grand estates, ranches and resorts lined the 14km’s from the border to San Ignacio or Cayo as it is locally known. We found a nice guest house “Tropicool” for $15US and called it quits for the day, this gave us time to scout out some tours to the national parks in the vicinity.

We decided to do an all day cave tour just outside of town a few miles. Our guide, Elias, was terrific and explained all about the plant life along the 45 minute jungle walk leading up to the mouth of the cave. The Mayan people believe that these caves are the entrance to the underworld and conduct rituals in the caves. These rituals, typically during times of hardship, are to appease the Gods so they will bring either rains, better crops, or whatever was needed.




The deeper into the cave the more exclusive the ritual, and in turn the richer the people participating. Sometimes they would sacrifice someone as an offering to the Gods, these sacrificial people were normally captured from neighbouring tribes and was the main cause of wars between neighbouring tribes. At the deepest point of the tour there is a complete human skeleton that has been left intact, and at another point there is the remains of an infant. All tolled there are 14 human remains throughout the explored part of the cave system.There are also over 1000 pottery artifacts remaining in the cave ranging in size and condition. Our tour was about 1.5km into the cave and the geologists and archaeologists have mapped about 5km deep.

It is amazing that we could walk, climb and/or swim into history and walk amoungst the artifacts. I am pretty sure that in North America the cave would be off limits to tourist until all the artifacts could be removed and replicated in order to preserve them. The cave itself is full of interesting calcium and limestome formations that are created by the continuous water flow. So after about 3.5hrs underground we resurfaced to the upper world of the Mayan’s, ate lunch and hiked back out of the jungle. Very cool.
On the way back into town Elias explained that all the citrus orchards that we drive through are owned by Mennonites. There are two groups of Mennonites in Belize, one group uses machines and the other only uses non-mechanized equipment, so of course there is the debate about which is more profitable and which is better for the land, but regardless, they control the citrus production industry in the country.

Guatemala one more time

Ah, Guatemala. It just seems more relaxed as soon as we cross the border. Now in Rio Dulce (East side South of Belize), we are located between Lago Izabel and El Golfete. The area is a boating meca and safe haven from hurricanes as the lakes are surrounded by mountains, well just really big hills by Alberta standards. We stayed in a hotel at the Mar Marina so for a couple of overland travellers it is quite the site to see all these yachts. Some are in dry dock, others are parked in the marina and others are just anchored in the bay.

We took a boat ride up the river to Livingston, which is on the coast. The river ride was awesome as we got to see alot of birds, plus there are unique homes along the banks that are only accessible by water, talk about being off the grid.



Livingston itself is a small town but the area has a population of 60,000, according to a local expat from London. In the course of 5 minutes we learned how he started a restaurant for his then “girlfriends’ “ Mom, then they broke up and now he has closed the restaurant. Oh ya, Livingston is also a major drug transport hub as it is half way between Columbia and the US. There is no proper road into Livingston and the local mafia likes it that way so and they also keep the petty crime in check so that the government does not get involved. Pretty smart all things considered.
From Dulce we had planned to go to some caves in Tranquin, our map show the road as being paved but we found out later that it is not. No wonder we could not find it, it helps to know what to look for. So, I guess we will have to return to Quatemala to see the caves. As it turns out there is about 150km of gravel road to get to the caves, so we would not have had time to make it before dark anyway, plus there was no info about accommodations along the way. Instead, we ended up in Tikal a couple of days earlier than anticipated.


We thoroughly enjoyed Tikal Ruins, they far exceeded our expectations and we would recommend this location if you are planning a trip to this area. The hotels in Tikal park are expectedly more expensive than the surrounding area, room rates varied from $60-$100 USD, so if you are on a smaller budget there is camping available or places just down the road like Remate or even a little farther like Flores are a better choice. Tikal “village” is also run on one generator, so the only time there is electricity is from 6-9am and from 5:30-10pm. We managed to walk all the ruins in about 8 hours and were pretty much wiped by the end.




We grabbed a couple of tamales from a vendor lady ($5Q) and then seen a couple of bikes in the campground. We went over and introduced ourselves to Frank and Simone, a German couple who have sold everything and are travelling the world on their bikes. They had already covered Canada coast to coast, then up to Prudhoe Bay Alaska and down to Tikal, about 45,000km so far. Wow, makes our trip look like a weekend getaway. After Tikal, we decided to backtrack a little and spend a day in Flores, what a great decision that turned out to be. Flores is actually an Island, and Santa Elena is on the mainland, the two are joined by a 200m bridge. This allows for an easy walk, or take one of the many Tuktuk taxis. Flores is geared towards tourists and there are many artisan shops, restaurants, bars, and accommodations to choose from. We found a little Taco vendor in the central park and decided to have a snack, 5Q per taco and 5Q for a Melon Licuado (like a cantelope milkshake), all very tasty and lunch for two $3US, not bad at all. As it was Saturday, it was a very busy market, although there is a market there every day, Saturdays are extra busy much like our Saturday shopping in Canada. We snooped in the market, there was everything imaginable; spices, fruits, veggies, new and used clothing, saddles, dvd’s, toys, stationary, a butcher’s section and even a guy selling what appeared to be Botox injections. About an hour of snooping was enough, so we bought our breakfast fruit and headed back to our hotel, for a break.

Copan Ruins

The road was in great shape up until about 100km from Copan when it switched from smooth ashphalt to potholes and washouts. This of course makes sightseeing nearly impossible as we have to stay focused on the road and oncoming traffic. All is going well then as we approach the town there is a little bridge and on the other side cobblestone, Brenda does not like cobblestone. Thus, looking for a hotel becomes a hiking adventure, as she does not want to drive around any more than needed. Once again, we are lucky to be chased down by a scout for one of the hotels and he takes us to a nice clean place with secure parking...perfect.


The town of Copan is very with all cobblestone streets, as we walk around we see much of what we have come to expect and some pleasant surprises. One of our first things to do is find the market area and pick up some fruit for breakfast, then we walk as much of the town and make a mental map of places and people. I think we pick our places based more on the people than on the location, at home it is usually all about speed and convenience. Aside from the quaint mountain town there is of course the Copan Ruins. This is our first Ruins on the trip and they did not disappoint, we spent most of the day walking, taking pictures, and trying to absorb how old the ruins are and how the Mayan’s built all this so long ago.









As indicated our time in Honduras inevitably came to an end as we approach the border in nervous anticipation of what chaos is going to transpire. Amazingly, we were through both the Honduran and Guatemalan sides in less than 30 minutes, this is a new Guinness record I think. Not great for travel stories but awesome at the same time.

More than just rocks at the ruins. These three hecklers greeted us along the entry path.

Rain and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

We are beginning to realize that our time in Honduras is coming to an end, once we leave La Ceiba it will only be a couple of days in Copan then back into Guatemala. Although many motorcycle travellers have said that they were hassled by police in Honduras our experience thus far has been incident free. We have not even been stopped by the police or military, we have passed through many checkstop type setups but they have always just waived us through. So once again everyone’s experience is unique, and is just that, a unique experience.

We woke up to the sound of rain, so after a little fresh fruit and some Dunkin Donuts coffee, I decided to change Brenda’s front tire and change the oil in both bikes, it seemed better to do some wrenching than ride in the rain.

I had bought the new rubber before we went to Utila so all I had to do was change it on the rim, I had brought spare oil filters as I knew I would need to do an oil change on the road and the filters may be hard to find.


To my surprise, the oil was very difficult to find, I checked at gas stations, auto parts stores, motorcycle dealerships but I could not find any oil the same as what I had in the bikes. The closest I could find was a regular 15W40 for deisel engines, instead of semi-synthetic motorcycle oil, oh well, new oil is still better than old. So after walking around town for well over an hour I finally had some oil and finished the change, it was now after noon so we decided to stay another night and head out in the morning for Copan.

My helpers getting rid of the old oil.

This also gave us another opportunity to visit our friendly fruit vendor, we have a little banter going with him about the “daily price” of fruit. We generally buy the same thing but the price is always different, so we just pick out what we want and then laugh when he says the price. What made it funny was that for a whole pineapple, 6 mandarin oranges, 4 bananas, and maybe a small papaya the grand total was between 30-40 Lemira (1.50 – 2.00 US) depending on the price of the day, so it is hard to complain.


This was Saturday night again so the downtown area was busy again with weekend nightlife. We decided to visit the family run restaurant just down the street from the hotel, they make a delicious shrimp dish and have a nice menu selection to choose from. The restaurant is typical Honduran in that it is a Comidor or cafeteria style service, the ladies always smile widely when they see us and are patient while we make our choices. I think they like the fact that we (non residents) choose their restaurant when there are so many options available. But enough about food.



Sunday January 16th, wow, we have been on the road for 10 weeks.

I Scuba Do! Do You?

We got up early and headed to the border for what we expected to be a chaotic event. The Honduras border experience the last two times was something else, this time however we were pleasantly surprised that there were no “helpers” swarming us, posted fee schedules, and a couple of helpful border officials. We were through in an hour, which is a personal best.

From the border we stayed on CA1 through never ending road construction all the way to Comayagua. This was a good spot to overnight it, so we found a hotel and called it quits. We actually ate supper at a Pizza Hut, how disappointing, we don’t even eat there at home never mind in Honduras.
We made it to La Ceiba the next day and made arrangements to go to the Island of Utila, via a ferry. This meant we had to leave the bikes in the trusted hands of our hotel security guards. We sure hope that we don’t get out-bid and return to an empty parking stall.

The purpose of going to Utila is to get my open water scuba certification. The island and Captain Morgan’s dive shop were recommended to us, and they are also one of the most affordable places in the world to get certified. The process takes 4 days and includes some classroom time and of course some time in the water. To our surprise the morning after we landed on Utila we were transported to Jewel Cay (pronounced key), where the actual dive school is located. Included in the price of the course is accommodations at Hotel Kayla which is right on the end of the Cay.



After the culture shock of the island, this is about 1.5km long and two or three houses wide, shoreline accommodating.





We got settled into the hotel and had our pick of rooms as we were the only guests, we actually ended up switching rooms in the middle of the night as a storm blew in and the wind was howling and we could not sleep. This was the first day of scuba school so there was a few hours of theory then we hit the water just off the peer for a “closed water dive” that involved a few of the basic skill tests. There was a 200m surface swim that Brenda just kicked the three boys’ butts on, then we did some underwater stuff. This is where Brenda’s day went downhill, she could not equalize the pressure in her ears (like on a plane at altitude when you have to pop your ears), so she felt like her head was in a vice the entire time. When we hit the surface again and she was able to speak the first thing she said was “I hated every second of it.” Thus ended her scuba experience. I on the other hand had a great experience and continued on to get my certification. So, over the next 4 days I spent my mornings doing scuba stuff while Brenda relaxed and read a book. In the afternoons we would walk the Cay, eat a late lunch or early supper, then visit with the instructors or sleep. It was very relaxing to say the least.

Dive school in the rain.

We met some very nice people that came to the Cay to dive. Also, because the Cay is so small it took about 1.5 hours to start seeing familiar faces. We also figured out “the system” on the Cay. Breakfasts were best at the place with no name that is owned by La Negra (the black woman), she also supplies the island with Baleadas (tortillas with beans, cheese, egg, meat or any combination thereof. These make a great light snack and are portable. Snacks are covered by the green store, homemade donuts, ginger cookies, cocnut candy etc. For supper there are 3 restaurants to choose from, of which we only visited 2 because the third one was not open. Both we patronized had excellent food and a friendly lady running the place. The Cayview was run by a lady who spoke Garfuni English (sounds like Creole from New Orleans), the other was Fishburgers and that lady spoke no English. The island is made up of only a few families, the ones that speak English have English family names like Diamond, Nelson etc. The Spanish speaking residents have very Spanish names that I will not try to spell, so considering that there is only 500 people on the Cay, there is a language barrier. Although most of the little kids speak both because they all play together. There are also 5 churches on the Cay; Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Catholic, Anglican, Methodist. I am not sure how the population is divided but it is funny to think of the demographics. 100 each and what if there is a convert, Oooo the scandal, and what about a mixed marriage, oh the controversy. There is a fella that runs a water taxi to Utila but most of the men from the Cay end up being Captains on ships all over the world, apparently they are also some of the best in the world.
Leaving the island was a bit of a guessing game, as the weather was still bad, the ferry was not running until maybe Sunday. This being Friday, it was to long to wait for a “maybe”, so we managed to get onto the local airplane that puddle jumps back and forth from the mainland. $55USD/each and 9 minutes in the air found us back in La Ceiba. We were travelling with some of the other divers from the Cay. Michael from Australia ended up sharing a room with us back at our hotel. He was travelling alone so it only made sense to offer the second bed in our room, he is a private contractor and even owns a rental property, imagine that. Oh ya, the bikes were fine, all intact no missing parts. We all went out for supper then crashed for the night.

Another Volcano or two

Volcano Masaya national park was interesting, the crater is still active and emits sulphur gases continuously. The smell reminded me of some of the plants I work in where sulphur is extracted from the oil. We climbed up to the lookout point, took a few pictures then left. We made it to Matagalpa for the night, nice little B&B. The next day was a short one as we stayed in Ocotal in preparation for the border crossing. We were getting worried that the small towns along the way would not have any hotels, then we found the Frontera Hotel, a very nice hotel with a pool, bar, and restaurant.

Old town New Year.

New years day was relaxing and quiet, I think everyone was sleeping it off so the streets were practically deserted. We had a relaxing day kicking around the hotel, Brenda even had a nap. On the 2nd we headed out leaving our little beach town behind, I doubled Matt on my bike as we were heading to Ometepe, which is an island in Lake Managua. The Island is made up of tow volcanos one active one extinct. We arrived at the ferry terminal just in time and basically drove right on.


The little ferry chugged away bucking the waves on the lake. It is very windy in this area of Nicaragua, as I said before there is a windmill farm on the shore of the lake. The island itself is not very big and we managed to circumnavigate most of it and still have time for a beer before catching the last ferry back to the mainland. We must admit that this was not the proper way to enjoy the island, the best way is to spend a few days there and do alot of hiking. We promised to return in order to see the island properly, as it was very peaceful and is home to some rare birds and wildlife.
Once back on the mainland we said our goodbyes to Matt as he was heading back to San Juan and we were heading to Granada. As it was almost dark we decided to stay in Rivas, which is only about 40km from San Juan, but we had made the decision to move on even if it turned out to be only 40km down the road. We ended up seeing Matt a couple more times that evening as we looked for a hotel and he looked for the bus terminal, we would turn a corner and there was Matt so we would wave again and yell ADIOS again...finally that game ended as we checked into our hotel, that Matt found for us. Really you can’t make this stuff up.

Granada is another central American survivor. The history of the city is much to lengthy and complex for me to even try to summarize. Within a few minutes of checking into our hotel we met Ron, a gentleman from Texas who is living in the hotel. He has one of the two apartments in the hotel and has been living there for almost 2 years, the other apartment has been is occupied by another expat for the last 5 years. Ron also gave us some other tips on things to see around town so after settling in we graabbed the cameras and hit the town. We walked around for about 2 hours getting the feel of the town and taking pictures of the amazing buildings and street scenes. We also found the spa that our porch sitting buddy mentioned and decided to take advantage of the 2for1 hot stone treatment he was offering. This was a fantastic treat for us both after a couple months of riding.







The next day was filled with more walking of the city and lots more photos. We climbed a church bell tower to get a different perspective of the city, it was amazing to be looking down on city and watch the flow of its people. The cars would be broken up by the occasional horse drawn carriage, the horses sometimes have large elaborate bows tied to the tops of their heads as a way to attract customers. We also stumbled onto a large marketplace, they had all the usual stuff but we tried on some jeans just for fun. It was getting late in the afternoon so we had to head back to the spa for our Shiatsu massage (deep tissue), we had booked the appointment the day before. “Balance Spa” is located in Hotel Bocana.
From Granada we thought we would go to Masaya and then North to the border after that. There are a couple of things in and around Masaya, there is a large market everyday plus a volcano and an former prison. We checked out the former prison which is now a tourist attraction run by the Boy Scouts. The Coyotepe prison was used by both the Sandonistas and the Samos at different times in history, the most recent was in 1990, and it is hard to imagine that this prison was used so recently. The guide explained how different cells were used for torturing inmates and others for solitary confinement. When the prison was first built it did not have any power for lights, only some natural light that could get in through the 8 inch space along the roofline gave the prisoners any indication of time of day. The space at the roof was also the only source of air and ventilation for the extremely overcrowded cells, between 10 and 60 people were held in each cell depending on size. The lower level of the prison had no light at all and no ventilation, so complete darkness and one can only imagine the stench. Toilets consisted of a hole in the floor and the meals were few and far between. There are some survivors that have shared their stories of imprisonment but the records of all detainees were burnt in a fire, so it is not known exactly how many men and women were held there over the years.

Happy New Year!!

$2 breakfast of champs

The next few days were a nice change for us, we had talked to other motorcycle travellers who “took a holiday from their holiday” by finding a nice spot to just hang out for a few days. San Juan del Sur fit the bill for us so we paid for our hotel until New Years Day and just kicked back. Funny how fast one adapts to a new environment, it wasn’t long before we formed our own little routine starting with enjoying the complimentary coffee on the front veranda of the hotel usually from 6:30am to about 8:00am depending on the day. Sometimes we talked with other quests and shared travel stories and life experiences; sometimes it was just us watching the locals go about their routines. There goes the US Veteran from down the street off to El Gato Negro to get his morning coffee, here comes the baker with his Napoleon Rottweiler “Bruce” going up the street to open his shop, oh! must be 7am because the first chicken bus loaded with people and produce is thundering by. Then there are the scores of other pedestrians, some familiar some not, and we wonder where and what they are all up to, it is fun to make up stories for them. One morning we sat and talked with some other guests until almost 11am, what a great exchange that was. I knew I was starting to really feel at home when I walked into a local bar and knew someone at every table. Our masseuse with his wife and baby, the Ozzy couple from our hotel, Laura the Concierge from a resort we checked out, the fella that owns the gym we visited, Cory and Amanda the bar owner and his wife. It was like the scene from Cheers when Norm walks in and everyone yells his name, and I have only been in town for 4 days.

Porch sitting


Typical scene around town

This little town must throw a heck of a party because once it gets dark the cars loaded with people start streaming in and the noise level gradually builds then levels off between 10 and 2 o’clock. Eventually the bars close and the people disperse back to wherever they came. As we approach New Years Eve the energy is more intense as are the celebrations. The fireworks are more frequent, the music is louder, the bars overflow into the streets and the party does not stop until the wee hours of the morning. It is not uncommon to see people walking/stagger home with drinks in hand as we enjoy our morning coffee.

New Years Eve offered up a choice for us to either attend a “exclusive” beach party or go to a local Nica family and see how the locals celebrate with their families, so yes we chose the family evening. They are the family of the general foreman who is building Fred and Carla’s boutigue resort. Fred and Carla are the Ozzy couple we met the first time we were at San Juan, we have spent a bit of time with them over the last couple of days. The evening starts with some typical food of BBQ chicken, cooked on a half barrel charcoal grill, and a coleslaw type salad with oil&vinegar dressing. The meal is followed by drinks and stories, and for us trying to keep up to the barrage of rapid Spanish. Fireworks and firecrackers are intermittently set off and I even got to throw some myself. They gave me a self propelled firecracker that is supposed to fly off and then explode, they neglected to tell me that the ‘fly off’ part is accomplished by throwing it not by it shooting off on it’s own. So you can see where this is going. As I am holding this thing and the fuse is getting shorter and shorter the family is all yelling something or other and then kaboom, the cracker exploded in my hand. Luckily the only thing damaged was my pants, no I did not soil them, but the sparks from the cracker burned a couple of small holes through the material and into my leg. This of course caused a huge amount of laughter from the family after they made sure I was ok. The family was very close knit, with everyone from Grandma to infants all collected on the veranda waiting for midnight, at which time the big fireworks start. The town puts on a bit of a show but the real excitement is provided by the citizens as every family has some sort of fireworks.




There are also numerous scarecrows stuffed with straw and firecrackers, the scarecrows symbolize the outgoing year and are lit on fire at midnight. Once again, fire-smoke-noice and lots of singing and dancing. It is amazing to be a part of this celebration. The family then spends the rest of the night visiting and drinking moderately under Grandma’s supervision while waiting for sunrise, at which time the party is over for another night. We shut’r down around 4:00am so did not make the sunrise.

Our friend Matt decided to attend the beach party, it was a great experience as well. The promoter brought in a special DJ who spun the music all night until 6am, the event was also sponsored by the liquor and cigarette company. So that meant top shelf alcohol and cigarettes included in the $100 admission fee. The beach used for this party was a few km’s out of town so shuttles were used to transport the guests, of course Matt missed the shuttle on the way to the party so he and a couple of chics hitched a ride in the back of a truck. Funny how things seem to work that way for Matt, he ended up partying with the girls on and off all night as he enjoyed the 18yr old Flor de Cana rum. He came to visit us at about 8am, he was still half in the bag, so he went back to sleep for a while.

There is theory that says "How you spend New Years Eve is how you will spend the year." We should be in for more fun and adventure is that theory is correct.