South of San Cristobal de Las Casas,at the ubiquitous Pemex station for gas. They are the government controlled only choice in Mexico.
Curious little boy behind me.
Comitan, on the way to the Guatemalan border.
At the border.
Almost there, got to get under that sign!
Ready to cross. All Central American crossings take at least two hours, with all the paperwork.I have paid no bribes.
Riding through on the Pan American, high in the hills of Guatemala, past Lake Panajachel in the distance, surrounded by volcanoes. The roads were in great shape, mostly four lane and twisty. You really have to watch the drivers. They are very aggressive. The buses often keep up with the bike, and take corners wide!
In Antigua, the old capital, a U.N. World Heritage site. The view from my hotel over the roof tops. Here I started to hit some rain.
The central square, Antigua.
Church, central square.
Indigenous ladies taking a break from business, on the steps of the church.
Colonnaded building siding one edge of the main square.
Typical side street scene, of the main plaza.
Taking care of business. Antigua is surrounded by indigenous communities.
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| Shoe shine? |
On the road south to Copan across the border in Honduras.
At a shopping plaza in Chiquimula near the border. Stopped for some chicken. This Guatemalan chain is very popular in C. America. The security guard for the restaurant was packing a pistol.
In the center of the parking lot was an upraised tower with a shotgun toting guard.Guns seem to be everywhere in Guatemala. The banks have no guns allowed decals on their doors.
Honduran border crossing Copan Pretty straight forward.
The Mayan ruins at Copan, Honduras's prime Mayan site.Only a small area has been excavated and it is very small compared to Tikal in Guatemala.
Reconstructed main stairway
Around the walls, one side of pyramid complex.
Inner courtyard up in the pyramid. Tombs have been found of various kings.
Foundations of former royal residences off to the side of central court.
Stellae, Mayan king carved with hieroglyphics.
Mayan Ball Court.
Red Macaw, semi wild. They have cages set up here to encourage breeding. They are quite loud, and come screaming over the ruins. Beautiful bird!
Red Macaws.
Red Macaws, a bio.
On the road the next day for Nicaragua. Pretty good roads in general. Had to watch for potholes near Copan and again near the Nicaraguan border. Also, no night travel for safeties sake.
Near Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital
Nicaraguan border, near dusk. Insurance is mandatory in Nicaragua, but the border office is closed at 5PM. I cleared customs at 5:30 pm. The last check is with the police, and I had no insurance. Police let me continue after much talking and said that if I got stopped I was to tell them to call the border. Apparently you can only buy insurance at the border!!
Hotel with a view for the night on a hill outside of Ocotal Nicaragua.
Ocotal, down in the valley, near the Honduran border
I drove directly through Nicaragua to Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica. Good roads.
Along the Pacific coast, north of Quepos, rest stop.
Waves, west coast highway.
West coast road, Costa Rica.
Panama border, Paso Canoa.The worst for paperwork that I had encountered in Central America!
Nice highway that goes direct to Panama City, speed limit fluctuates between 80kms/hr. and 60kms/hr., with cops at the side of the road every 2 or 3 kms..
Stopped at McDonalds in David for a break and an internet check. Met Mauricio and Carolina, a couple from San Jose, Costa Rica.
Drove inland and up in the hills to the town of Boquete, a coffee growing area and tourist-expat town. Wonderful spring like climate, a nice change from the humid coast.
Stayed at Pension Topas, a lovely spot owned by a German -Panamanian guy
Pension Topas.
The road down to David.
Nice old church near Aguadulce, on the way to Panama City.
Built in the 16th century.
In Panama City, the causeway in the background, and beyond that ships in the Pacific coming or going through the canal.
In Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City. They've done a great job of reconstruction.
Among the highrises downtown. Lots of money is being poured into the real estate here, probably a lot of it shady.
Miraflores Locks, the last locks on the Pacific side of the canal, just inland from Panama city. The lock gates are all original.In the distance the brown mud is where the wider system is being built, to open soon.
Facing the Pacific.
Facing inland towards the Atlantic-Caribbean. There are three sets of locks, two on the Pacific side, this one and one viewable in the distance on the other side of the lake, and one on the Atlantic side near Colon.
Container ship entering Miraflores lock;
Middle lock gates opened and ship lowered.
Entering the lower lock.
The ship has 4 small engines called "mules" running along side of it attached by cables. The ship powers itself through, the mules only guide it.
Lowered, the freighter exits the lock.
On its way to the Pacific Ocean, just over the hills.
Forty boats a day make the transit through the canal.
Panama House Bed and Breakfast in Panama City. The currency used in Panama is the US dollar. The sign advertises the price of lunch.
A new ferry service had just started to run from Colon in Panama to Cartagena in Colombia, and I was lucky enough to get on it. Because of the incredible amount of bureaucracy down here, everything is pretty haywire. I was told when buying the ticket that the only vehicles that were going this time were motorcycles until they get the red tape straightened out. It's a big beautiful 500 car Italian crewed ferry.
On the way across to the Atlantic side to Colon, I met a Spanish overlander, Polo, who had come down from Alaska. The photo above is on the highway across Panama to Colon.
At the ferry terminal. We were four motorcycles, and lo and behold, 6-7 cars.
It took over a day before coming to the ferry to get the necessary paperwork before I could even buy the ticket. Once I had the ticket, (regular fare, ($90.00/person, $180.00/bike), I was told to be at the terminal at 8AM. The ferry leaves at 7PM!!. It took all day to process 4 bikes and 7 cars. The ferry will never be able to get anywhere near capacity at this rate, impossible!
Himself.
Polo, and his Triumph. Ferry in the background,
Lined up and ready to load, finally.
An Uruguayan couple traveling home in an RV bought in Mexico, with their two small children. The sign he put on the back says that we are a family of artists traveling from Mexico to Uruguay, help us to get home, invite us for lunch or gasoline, Thanks. He told me that the sign might help if anyone was considering stealing.
On the ferry, a little after 7PM.
Some Canadians, on the left, Anil fromVancouver travelling in a small truck to Argentina, where he will sell the vehicle and fly home. On the right, Heather and Marshal from Cranbrook, traveling in an older Suburban, points south, also planning to sell it and fly home.
Great boat, two or three restaurants, disco, duty free, a bar and a casino. Well run. We were 300 passengers.
The route through Central America, Next, Colombia.
