Guatemala 19 October – 22 November 2023

Days: 35
Travel days: 12 / 34%
Non-travel days: 23 / 66% (due to incessant rain from concurrent tropical storms in the Pacific and Caribbean, we holed up for a few days)
Total kms: 1427 km
Avg km/day: 41 km
Travel day kms: 1338 km
Avg km/travel day: 112 km
Fuel used: 44.48 L (Michael)
Fuel economy: 3.12 L/100km (Michael)

Average cost / day:
Angela: CAD$59.00
Michael: CAD$66.73 (Michael eats more food, burns more fuel.)
We bought new tires at Motopolis; Michael bought a new pair of pants (Columbia) and new motorcycle gloves (Klim).

Where we slept:
Friend – 20%
Hotel – 60%
Orphanage – 20%

Weather:
Cold/dry – 0%
Cold/wet – 0%
Cool/dry – 2.9%
Cool/wet – 14.3%
Warm/dry – 40%
Warm/wet – 8.6%
Hot/dry – 28.6%
Hot/wet – 5.7%
(Wet defined as riding in rain enough to have put on rain gear; if it rained and we weren’t riding in it, the day is listed as dry)

Road surface:
Paved – 95%
Rock – 0%
Dirt/gravel – 5%
Sand – 0%

Things we enjoyed:

Flores – where to base to see Tikal, which is amazing; many places in Flores offer tours to get to Tikal; very few secure parking opportunities in Flores; Hotel Villa del Lago let us park in their lobby
Rio Dulce – where to base to visit Livingston; the boat ride to Livingston is better than the town of Livingston, and not worth staying there overnight; note that Hwy 7E running WSW of Rio Dulce is not all paved (2023), and after some rain can be muddy and slippery
Semuc Champey – best seen if it hasn’t been raining; we holed up nearby as two major storms (on in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic) converged and dumped on us non-stop for almost a week; we ended up skipping it as all the rain run-off would result in brown, muddy water instead of the regular blue
Guatemala City – avoid unless you need stuff for the bike; otherwise, stay with Sandra (and go to Motopolis for your bike needs)
Volcan Pacaya – you can hike up this volcano and have a guy bake you pizza on the volcano (Whatsapp +502 5743 0259)
Antigua – great place to take a break; the hike to Acatenango is a bit arduous, but will get you great views of Volcan Fuego, which erupts every 20 min or so; the seating areas in both the Starbucks and McDonald’s are worth seeing
Hobbitenango – is so-so; it has Hobbit-inspired cottages for rent; don’t try riding your motorcycle to the very top unless you’re a better rider than me; park at the bottom of the hill and take the offered transportation to the top, or be prepared for a very steep and narrow road with two way traffic
Lake Atitlan – the south side of the lake used to be dangerous to ride through here, but since being paved it is as safe as anywhere else, though there still is a water crossing
– Santiago Atitlán – visit Maximon, a Mayan idol in a small Mayan church; this idol is cared for by a different family every year, and so he moves around a bit
– San Juan La Laguna – not as touristy as some places; there’s a nice lookout you can hike to above the town
– San Marcos La Laguna – Cisco lives here; you have to stay with Cisco in his lakeside home (Whatsapp +502 5865 0837)
Quetzeltenango – the road from San Marcos La Laguna to here is an awesome ride; once in Quetzeltenango (also called Xela), visit Xelapan to eat xeca, a wonderful local bakery item with many different fillings
Santiago Atitlán – where the yellow church from the Lonely Planet guidebook cover is located
Chichicastenango – has the largest street market in Central America (Thu and Sun)