RAIN & RALLIES IN MEXICO PHOTOS

Our camp spot on Playa Brazil - the only sound is waves

Exploring the beach & swimming

Our camp spot at Zipolite Beach

Zipolite Beach - we didn't swim here - the surf was a bit wild

Turtle release time

Acapulco - rain rain rain & blue & white beetles

The silver town of Taxco

Volcan Popocatepetl - this one erupted just a few months ago

Police are everywhere - even on this little back road - usually the guns are held at the ready!

Yum!!! Lunch is cooking

The Voladores have just leapt off their pole

Spinning Voladores

For sale with the sweets - cooked insects - I thought they tasted disgusting! John said he didn't mind them, but he didn't go back for seconds.

A long walk up the pyramid to the church built on top (I was puffing without carrying anything)

View from the top - Cholula town near Puebla

The sellers are out at many of the roadworks.

One of the many old cars at "La Carrera Panamerica"

The Aussie car

The decorated Cathedral at the Zocala in Oaxaca

Lots of gold gilding in Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Oaxaca)

The outside

The wedding parade: out front is a very tall bride & groom

Dancing at the parade

Everywhere is getting ready for "Day of the Dead"

The main plaza(Zocala) & Cathedral in Oaxaca

Photo from our friends website of the eruption

Another "loaned" photo - amazing!!!!

RAIN & RALLIES IN MEXICO

Hola Amigos (yes our Spanish is coming along nicely!!)

Back in the land of topes (vicious speed bumps), tortillas (yes we stop & buy them for lunch instead of bread), sombrero’s (and we have even seen plastic ones) & crazy Mexicans.

We have our route worked out. But first we have to get through the maze of police & military checks. At the biggest one every vehicle is pulled over & checked. They just check that our vin number matches our paperwork, & have a look inside. Then a lot of driving through some flat countryside, with perhaps the biggest wind farm we have ever seen. But onto our route: First head north along the coast up to Acapulco. All is going well – we find some magic spots to camp. First: (and our favorite) Playa Brazil, just after the port city of Salina Cruz. We are right on the sand beside a beach bar/house or should I call it a shanty. Next is again right on the beach at the famous Zipolite beach. It must have been the only vacant block of land left on the beachfront. We glance at the campground – a very soggy paddock well away from the water. Our third night we find a spot beside some fishing boats, but the locals suggest we move to the turtle sanctuary - Sirentio Macho. So we meet a lovely family who rescue turtle eggs & keep them in a protected enclosure. The next morning we get up bright & early to help release a few that are ready to head out into the surf. And then onto Acapulco – sun, sand, swimming! Wrong. It is bucketing down. We settle in to the very empty (only us) Trailer Park right on the beach at Pie de la Cuesta & catch the local chicken bus into town. There are no tourists & too much rain, so no cliff divers today. There are plenty of blue & white VW beetle taxis rushing everywhere in massive puddles. The next day we try again – still no cliff divers, & still more rain. Another storm is forecast, so we decide to carry on. Here is where our plans unravel. Our first route, after 60kms, we find is closed as the bridge has been washed completely away. So we back track & head along the cuota/toll road towards Chilpancingo.(Our final destination is Oaxaca) The bonus is that the tolls are waived! Great driving, but with few exits. It is getting late & we spy a gap in the fence, & follow the track to the river bed to camp for the night. The next road we plan to take, is also closed (we ask first this time.) After seeing all the massive road slips we decide the main road is safer anyway.

So with a change of plans we check out the pretty silver town of Taxco. Definitely not a town for GR2. There is only one road we can use. The rest are a maze of very hilly cobbled streets. We park & explore. After buying no silver trinkets - and there must be 1,000’s of shops, we head on to the Grutas de Cacahauamilpa. We tour the caves & stay the night. The caves are excellent, but the Spanish commentary a tad longwinded for us!

Our next plan is to head to the Volcan at Toluca, but on checking our books we discover the dramas of not only driving in Mexico City, but the whole state. During the week we cannot drive between 5am & 11am. On Mondays not at all. Bummer. Change of plan. We will drive between Volcan Popocatepetl & Volcan Iztaccihuatl to Puebla. Part of the road is in Mexico State, but we should reach it after 11am. Well you know what happens to our plans!!!!  We are not all that far from Mexico City & the area is pretty built up. Traffic is congested, even on the motorways. I see an Isuzu dealership (the first in ages) – “Hey, do we need any work done”. No. Only 10km down the road GR2 throws some more electrical faults that John cannot clear. So we return to the Isuzu Dealership to get sorted. I use their Wifi, while John dons his overalls. The electrics are fixed & John gets the wheel studs changed. We had carried the new studs over with us in our suitcase! Eventually we leave after 5pm. So we need to get out of Mexico State tonight.

It is getting dark when we head up on the road between the 2 volcanoes. Not the easiest time to find a spot to camp. I spy a sign saying Cabanas & camping. I walk in. Nothing, only a muddy track. Lots of dogs barking & it is dark. I decide to give it a miss – I nearly bump into a little man with a big white sombrero. Scary moment! He says No, but up the road. Well that is what I think he is saying! I’m inclined to return to town to an empty block of land, so we continue on to find a spot to turn around, and sure enough there is a barrier & behind it a picnic area. I lift the barrier & in we go. Again another little man appears beside me (another scary moment) & shows us where to park.  In the morning we see the snow capped steaming Volcano.

It is a gorgeous hilly drive up to the National Park where we have amazing views of the mountains. It looks as if the road is closed & we are told “yes” it’s closed. So we decide to look at another back track & discover that this is the road through to Cholula & Puebla. Bonus – we don’t have to go back into Mexico State. The dirt road eventually becomes tarseal & we head across paddocks of crops before we reach Cholula (this was where we had planned to camp last night.) We stop to explore, & what a lovely find. There is a gorgeous bright yellow monastery & church, then rows of brightly coloured buildings, then a huge market area before the ancient pyramid with the church on top.  As we head up to the church we spy 4 men on a pole. They are Voladores getting ready to do a show. We hurry back down & watch as they throw themselves off the top and revolve in circles to the ground. Awesome.

Then trudge slowly back up the hill, just as a procession arrives at a cracking pace (really puts me to shame). Finally back down before indulging in some yummy stuffed tortillas. Finally time to get out of here. We are on a schedule: to reach Nochixtlan tonight, so that we can catch the “La Carrera Pan-American” Rally. We survive the maze of Pueblo before finding the toll road to Oaxaca. We are not too sure where the service will be, so decide to stop in the Pemex station right on the toll road. A good move, as the rally back up crew start arriving at 7am the next morning. John spends a few happy hours looking at cars & chatting. Indeed they are a very relaxed & friendly lot. We even see an amazing Aussie car - an amazing extensively modified FJ Holden especially built and shipped over for the rally. About half of the 80 cars have been trailered down from USA. Others are from UK, Germany, Switzerland etc, and of course plenty of locals.

Finally it is on to Oaxaca & the camp ground there. Later in the day we taxi into town to explore the gorgeous churches & eat some local cuisine. The cathedral is covered in flowers inside & out, and the interior of Iglesia de Santa Domingo is practically covered in gold leaf.  While we are drinking hot chocolates (a local specialty) we watch a few parades. The first appears to be a group of people in Halloween dress or is it for Day of the Dead? Both seem a bit entwined. The second is for a wedding & the third for uni students all clutching tall beer steins.

Only one more detour before we head north finally

Adios Amigos

WE LOVE GUATEMALA - PHOTOS

On leaving the flatlands in Mexico, we come through this gorge in Guatemala

After Huehuetenango we head into the mountains

Massive road slips being repaired by hand

More road slips

The biggest road slip of the lot - the whole mountainside went down

Our lovely campspot in the Hotel San Rafael before Coban

John & Peter talking & talking

One of the tiny orchids at Orquigona - just before Coban (they also offer free camping)

Time to head on to Semuc champey

What a magic spot for a swim

Here the water goes under a limestone bridge (we actually swim above the bridge)

Heading back to Coban

One of the ladies in Coban town

Our great campspot in gaol in Antigua

One of the many ruined churches. Markets take over the road.

The gorgeous cathedral here in Antigua

Antigua town - wish that cloud would lift for my photo (there is a perfect volcano behind it)

Street sellers in Antigua

All the chicken buses bringing people to the markets

We bought some vegetables from this lady. That's why I am allowed to take her photo

On leaving Antigua we spy this collapsed Monastry & church. - Convento de la Recoleccion

Here we are told - Drive very fast...it is dangerous!!

Finally the lovely Lago de Aititchan

The lovely girls at Santa Cruz la Laguna - with their back strap loom

A little furniture workshop in town

The ladies coop in Santa Cruz - making apron (every lady in Guatemala has an apron)

We spied these 2 girls walking uphill - they stopped for a rest, so I asked if I could take their photo.

Our gorgeous campspot on the Laguna near Panajachel

One of the guys at Solola

Church in Solola

Inside on Wednesday!!! I am very impressed.

Amazingly bright church at San Andres Xecal (Sadly closed & we don't want to wait a few hours for it to open)



Leaving town in crazy traffic (it often gets worse. Great if we can follow a chicken bus)

The fantastic hot pools at Fuentes Georginas - hot water runs down the cliff face. We have this pool all to ourselves.

Harvest time.....John decides to shop

More workers

Ladies laundry day (every day here)

WE LOVE GUATEMALA

Hola Guatemala - again. The border crossing is incredibly easy. All we have to do is pay departure tax at Mexico, & get our passports stamped. We keep our vehicle papers as we are returning to Mexico. Once in Guatemala we get our wheels fumigated (Haha), passports stamped & a sticker for GR2’s windscreen. No photocopies required (they do all that) & at the cost of 160Q(A$20). All done in less than an hour.

We head off through a massive gorge to our first stop – Huehuetenango. Our aim is to get some Quetzals (local cash). We must have tried every ATM in town, plus queued inside numerous banks. No joy!! We end up changing Mexican Paso’s. By the time we leave it is getting late & we are on the look out for a spot to camp. We are heading up a massive mountain range & all spare land is cultivated. Finally we spy a picnic spot next to a Comedor/ restaurant & ask. Yes that is fine. We settle in before it rains.

We have a long drive ahead of us & have read that it is spectacular, but there have been huge slips & the road may be in a bad condition. The first 100km are great. Good seal & great scenery, with the only drawback being lots of topes in villages. But once we cross the river near Uspantan the road changes. There are massive slips, & we drive over sections that have been cleared by hand. In fact in most places they are still shoveling stones. The road deteriorates further into potholes & finally bedrock. Very slow going for the final 50km. At one point the whole mountainside has slipped away leaving only a hand hewn track. Finally we reach Verapaz near dusk, & eventually the main road. We stop at the gorgeous San Rafael Hotel & I ask if we can use their carpark. As a bonus it is free! More rain again, & we still have that leak.

John is still not feeling great, so after our huge drive yesterday we decide to slow up a bit & do a few touristy things. First stop Coban & the supermarket. Then an ATM – we love that sound as money flicks through the machine. Off to find the Coffee Finca – when we do find it, we discover the tour is temporarily closed. So we head off to find the Orchid tour. Hello, there is a height barrier over the bridge. We are beckoned into a car yard to turn around, and amazingly it is a wrecking yard. The owner’s son Peter speaks great English, so he, his father & John spends most of the day chatting about car & truck imports. It is great to see John sparkle again. We get the guided tour of both yards, & then I’m taken to the Orchid place. It too has closed so Peter arranges for a friend of his to take me to see his orchids. So I get a personal tour of Orquigona. A very special place where they save many species of orchids. Many are saved from logging areas & replanted & tended here. Back at GR2 John & Peter have sorted out the leak in GR2. They have replaced the seal between the cab and the camper section.  Before we leave Peters yard I use his Wifi to update our website (so it was a pretty rushed one with not too much proof reading – my apologies) It is getting late, so we head out of town to stop overnight at a petrol station. They even set up a row of witches’ hats to stop any cars driving beside us – how thoughtful.

Our next destination is the famous Semuc Champey (in fact we have driven a long way to see them – so they better be good!) The last 10km to Lanquin is a pretty rough. It is a further 10km into Semuc with a track too narrow for us, so we decide to go by local transport (standing in the back of a ute) and leave GR2 in town. The limestone pools are magic. Very slippery to get in to & I am not too keen on all the fish that keep nibbling my toes, but the spot is drop dead gorgeous. Amazingly we don’t climb to the Mirador (John really doesn’t feel well). A nice quiet night in the Hotel La Recreo carpark for 50Q($7).

Again a huge driving day as we head back to Coban & then south through the mountains to Guatemala City (in fact there was no way of avoiding it) & on to Antigua. Here we can camp in the tourist Police compound/goal for free. We are so close to town we can walk to a restaurant for dinner. The next day is spent doing the Lonely Planet’s walking tour, somehow managing to explore every nook & cranny, plus lots of churches – in use & in ruins – it has suffered from many earthquakes over the years. We both love the old town with so many of the buildings in a semi-ruined state - especially the convents and churches. It must have been some  place in its day.

Can you believe it -I am devastated! We are not climbing Volcan Pacaya. John must be sick. We stay another night & so get to eat out some more, & on Monday morning go to the local markets only a street away. The local ladies wear such a kaleidoscope of colours here – it is a true visual feast. After buying enough fruit & veges to last a week we head off to our next destination – Lago de Aititlan. Only I choose a back road – very scenic, but lots of topes, then very steep & winding. This road too has suffered damage. At one point the bridge has washed away & we ford the river, & at another there has been a landslide… the road worker tells us in perfect English – dangerous, drive very fast!!

We find a camp spot just past Panajachel, right beside the gorgeous lake, surrounded by Volcanoes for 50Q (including Wifi) – magic. The next day we walk into town to catch a local lancha/boat around to the lakeside village of Santa Cruz la Lagona. It is a very steep walk up to town, but what a find. There is a local cooperative called Amigos de Santa Cruz Foundation, where the ladies learn to sew, children get better schooling, & sex education is taught. They have a small restaurant overlooking the lake. Best hot chocolate ever with ginger & cardamom. I want to buy some of their weavings, so we are taken up, up ,up the hill to a ladies very simple hut. I chose a few & the girls show us their back strap looms. Then catch the boat back to town & enjoy a local set menu lunch, before walking back to GR2.

After 2 nights in this gorgeous spot it is time to move on. Up the  mountains & through the town of Solola. The church is full of locals (even on a Wednesday) & there are men, as well as ladies, in ethnic outfits. Our next destination is Fuentes Georginas, but we have to drive through the city of Quetzaltenango to get there. Road signs within a city are as rare as hen’s teeth & we end up snarled in tiny, one way streets, finding low overhead bridges. After reversing out of a street which means I have to hop out & get rid of all the cars!! a local teenager hops in to direct us out of town (there was no way we could have done this one on our own!). Finally out & on towards our hot pools. But just as we turn off onto our final 11km on a tiny road – mist rolls in – it thickens to pea soup fog. It is a very slow drive, rewarded with a lovely soak in the hot pools. Then we have another soak the next morning.  I don’t think we have ever seen hot water flowing down such a huge rock face before.

Our original plan was to visit local markets on our way back to Quetzaltenango, but after yesterday we decide to bypass the city & head to the border. It is a magic drive back down the hill (no mist this time) as the villagers are out harvesting carrots, radishes, onions, cabbages & potatoes. So we have to stop and shop. We have a long slow drive through lots more crazy towns with no road signs. Eventually we reach the border – Hola Mexico. Although this time they check our food – we lose our eggs & fruit to the fat border officer (he failed to see the food sitting on the bed – he only looked in the fridge)

Adios Amigos