Xela quickly starts to feel like home. I am lucky enough to score a room in Posada San Andres, a ramshackle set of buildings that surround a sunny cobbled courtyard inhabited by an eclectic bunch of expats doing their thing in Xela. The place is cheap and chilled out.
I while away some days attending yoga [...]
Belize 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, dirt roads, wildlifeThe road between Dos Lagunas and Rio Azul is considerably less demanding than the first leg of my jungle adventure and so it’s early afternoon when Rio Azul comes into view. Rio Azul is a much larger work camp than Dos Lagunas, with numerous cabins and buildings surrounding a large cleared area, but it is [...]
Also tagged dirt roads, guatemala, jungle, ruins, wildlifeSince the extreme temperatures in the middle of the day make an early start imperative, I decide to try to get my papers sorted when I return from Yaxchamil so that I can get on my bike and leave first thing in the morning. I locate the immigration office opposite the museum and approach the [...]
Also tagged guatemala, leaving, mexicoAs soon as we reach the highway, after twelve miles of dirt road, we are forced to contemplate the frightening prospect of sharing a narrow highway, with no shoulder, with giant trucks. The constant stream of huge rigs thundering by is terrifying.
We spy a roadside cafe in the distance and retreat indoors to gather courage.
Fortified [...]
We ride out of Hachita in the late afternoon knowing this will be our last night in the USA. The road runs straight to Mexico and is heavily patrolled by US border guards. The terrain is flat, with distant mountains, colonies of yuccas are the dominant vegetation.
We ride until dusk and set up camp in [...]
I am a little reluctant to move on. My next step, since I have decided not to go into Vancouver, will take me back to the USA and I have mixed feelings about it.
A ferry leaves from Salt Springs, close to Jane and Eric’s house, at Fulford Harbour to Swartz Bay. From there, it is [...]
I’ve just fired up my computer when a cyclist with a touring load whizzes past – I hail him,“Ho, cycler!” He slows and enquires, “Are you Anna?” I am somewhat taken aback but I admit that I am as he comes to join me. He enlightens me. “I passed an old guy on the road, [...]
Also tagged bears, canada, cassiar highway, food, fortuitous meetings, friends, mountains, peopleFrom Meziadin Lake, my destination is Stewart, a small coastal town, at the end of a 65 kilometre dead-end road. I discuss the road with the park operator and he mentions that once I’m past Windy Hill the road is pretty flat. Windy Hill is a name that sets warning bells off in a cyclist’s [...]
Also tagged bears, canada, wildlifeSomehow I was expecting a warm friendly welcome to Canada – I have no idea why. However, when I final arrive at the border I am confronted with a tall, neatly uniformed immigration officier (who reminds me of Guy Pearce, as the very officious, honest cop in LA Confidential). He questions me thoroughly as to [...]
Also tagged canada, on the highway, rain