This road goes through, This road does not go through

So our grand plan was to take the dotted (4wheel) roads out of Dulce Nombre de Culmi, east to the Rio Coco. There the road crosses Central Americas biggest river (maybe by a bridge or boat..?) and goes back into honduras again and continues up to the Leimus border. We thought this might take two days and maybe we would find someone to stay with and food to buy from a house.
The map shows that the road crosses through a Biological Reserve so should just be beautiufl jungle. What a great way to go. Two river crossing, the Wampu and the Patuca seem to be the toughest problems, but the Patuca should be big enough for a lancha or canoe to fit the bike on.
We asked a few men in Culmi about the road. They confirmed what we hoped. "yes the road goes through"

So we took off early. the road was steep and pretty. some small water crossings. Pine forest then jungle. the soil was all packed sand. birds of paradises were growing wild. After about 2 hours, we came to an intersection, chose, continued, then reasessed. We turned around and stopped an oncoming truck, - one of 2 we saw all day.

So we asked the nice men in the pick up with semi-automatics and pistols, for directions. The driver got out, told us we were on the right road but that it doesn't go to rio Patuca. you have to take a 5 hour boat from Wampu to Patuca. We said ok we will continue. thanks. Maybe his truck cant make the road , but our bike can we thought...

They caught up again down the road at a stream crossing and he asked us if we were still going to continue. so we said yes. He said, ok, you will see a house at the top of a steep hill , then it goes steeply down hill and you go left. That was a pretty crucial direction becasue the left, we never would have taken. it was much smaller than the other road. but we took it.

Some parts of this road was super thick jungle canopy, great trees and flowers. some cool colorful birds. Mountains in the distance. The road started getting very red and we were very happy it wasnt raining because it looked like it had the potential to be very clay greasy. This road had nothing that resembled a switchback as we know them. The road just slightly turned and gets steeper. After 3.5 hours total we got to the Rio Wampu. it was way too big to cross, and remember this is the end of the dry season. The road continued in both directions along side the river and across on the other side. We went back up 50yards to the last house of which there were very few. I walked into their yard as they were feeding about 7 excited pigs. Yip, vectors everywhere in this country. snorting all around me.
This man seemed pretty sure that these roads did not continue very far. they all end. You can not get to the Rio Patuca from here. you have to call by raido, the man with the motor canoe to take you 5 hours down river. but it is too low to go now and he cant take your bike.
that was pretty deflating news so we decided to go sit at the river, make some gatoraid, and probably turn around. bigfatbummer
Then a nice cowboy comes trotting up and askes us what we are doing.. He seems pretty confident that the road continues in our direction. infact "the machine" just came through not too long ago and the road is good. The pig farmer came down on his horse too and they discussed it. i asked him what he thought and he didnt want to speak against his friend.
So we heard what we wanted. Maybe mister pig farmer just doesnt travel much...? So i told him we would try it and maybe we would be seeing him on our way back.
We continued and went through a cattle guard immediately and, because it had rained a couple days before, we then went through a big cowshit mud puddle. But, tracks of "the machine" were evident so we pushed on. more shit mud puddles, more compressions filled with water. more tight cattle fences. I was stupidly optomistic and wanted to continue.
we went for a couple hours, tough conditions. super steep. Walking alot for me. feet in the mud for both. so many river crossings, I few up to the exhaust pipe. some small some very wide. most pretty shallow but some up to my knees. most were clear others i had to stand in the water and point out the big rocks for Steve.
In another hour, we saw another cowboy with a big gun, and he said the road will not go through, only on foot. but there is a man with a boat you can hike to.. blah blah. I guess we were still hopeful.

Eventually we happend upon a few groups of cowhands walking home. we asked two groups about the road continuing on and they said yes, Rio Patuca, it goes through. so we went on. At the next intersection, the only intersection we had to wait and ask the guys again. the last group we didnt ask, we just drove by and smelled pot.
when they caught up to us we asked them and they didnt know anything, not from around there. staring very intensly, i dont like them lets go. So we went for the side where they said their village was thinking we could ask again. immediately the road went staight into the stream and kept going down it out of sight. so i have to walk with the machete weilding boys. who are staring at me strangley and are too quiet for my comfort. they wont get in front of me, even when i slow down on the edge and feign a shoe problem or something. all i hear is click click of machetes and splashes of boots in the water.
i finally see steve, still in the stream wating for me and i give him the oh-my-god eyes and i ride with him down the river.
when we hit the next cattle fence i couldnt get on and off fast enough to keep the boys at a distance. creepy. Our only creepy encounter. never saw a village.
this was at about 12:30 the time we said we would turn around by if we thought we had to or if it was too uncertain. We were feeling good with the way the cowhands said yes it goes through, no problem basically. And the road was relatively wide. it was only for cows and full of shit puddles, but it was a road. why build a road all the way out to here in the middle of nothing and not continue on to the bigger river to move timber...?
maybe an hour more. We seemed to hit the end of the road but had passed an intersection so asked another man with a big gun if it is the other road we want. He said neither continue, you cant get there, only on foot. he could even pinpoint our position on the map. this would have been a good point to believe the negative.
I told him that we are going to see where it goes, you might see us again. This is just how i answer someone who´s advice i am blatenly ignoring.
When we hit the next river that was surrounded in mud, we took a break. ate some stale pound cake. i crossed the river and took a walk down what turned into single track until i saw a house in the distance. we decided to drive to the house.
crazy singletrack with a heavy bike and two full boxes later the stunned ladies at the house, who had good sence of humor confirmed that it was single track form here on out and we would get lost. it was after 1:00 and we had been gone 6 hours. So we were sure to arrive back at the shit town after dark for another night at the shit hotel. wow, low point.

back on the single track, through the river, stuck in the mud again. this time i get covered from the back tire. insult to injury. half hour later, could this happen? rain, rain rain. now we are in a whole different position. the roads are dangerous. i walk a lot on the steep stuff after having already slid backwards on dry roads and bailed off. running up hills. bags off to lighten the load, run back up and get them. skitch on the back to slow the bike due to caked brakes and locked wheels. bigger rivers. muckier rivers. gave a wave to the pig farmer. at least the cowshit puddle stretch is over. back into the awsome, thick jungle and "Romancing the Stone" flash backs with mud rivers running down the road cuts.
log in the middle of the road where it hadn´t been before.
Oldest bandito trick in the book.
so i get off the bike and check out the immediate jungle, coast is clear so i pull and lift and push, look in the jungle, and bend things. And the tree is all hung up on another. So i have to hold the bike on the steep hill while steve gets the tree out of the way and we quickly take off. Scaarryyy.
no one shows up. either it really fell or the banditos got bored waiting for a truck.
We made it back tired, cold and soaked to the bone and happily drank day old coffee and ate microwaved fried chicken in the gas station, where we repeatedly apologized for the mud puddle we left in our wake on their shiny white floor. Then we drove about 10 minutes into town in the dark, hung every item that was soaked and laid out about 100 bills of soaked money and wrinkled up passports.
now we have to go to Las Manos to cross and cant cross through the biologial reserve which unfortunately is far from pristine.
our big adventure, that we couldnt find any information on .... smacked down.
but no flat tires, no banditos, no submerged mufflers and no injuries. Just a bit humbled

La Union to Culmi

138 miles, with 102 of dirt.
We continued south on the same Camino del Muerte and turned off to take the gravel road to San francisco de la Paz to the east. the road was good with a couple bigger river crossings. There is a gas station in Silca and on the road when you turn out of San Fran. The road from Catacamas to Culmi was mostly under constrution.
Culmi had a nice plaza and two bad hotels and a few meager restaurants. We were there to try to cross into Nicaragua over the river Wampu and River Patuca, to the Rio Coco and then by better road to Leimus. According to our map this was the only choice for roads (not boats) into the mosquito.
The dotted road on our map shows that it goes through a biological reserve. We thought this would be a beautiful jungle road.
so we headed out the next morning, Thursday.

Utila to La Union

Went diving and saw a Turtlle and a Sting Ray. it was pretty fun. Took the ferry back and our bike was safe and sound, but very rusty. Even the snaps on my jacket rusted on the island in the 6 days. As soon as we approached the bike a security gaurd was at our sides waiting for his paperwork. seems pretty secure to me.

After asking the cops at the dock, and some very nice cops at a station outside of La Ceiba, we decided that the Camino del Muerte looking better these days and has a lot more police presence. so we took it down to La Union. We took a dirt road over the mountains directly south of La Ceba instead of going around them on the paved road. The 32 mile dirt road was tough to find but good. It had great views and followed a beautiful river for quite a way. Then it climbed and turns into a cat track and finally 7 miles of a smooth grassy double track. small villages. burnt jungle in spots. some shallow creek crossings. We were basically making the only tracks in the road. No body had vehicles in their yards. pretty remote. there are a few intersections where we had to ask for directions and use the compass as usual.
After this road we were back on pavement for a while and at the turn off for la Union we were stopped by some cops that gave us the only trouble so far. they didnt like what the American registration looks like. they thought it looked like anyone could just print it off of a computer, which is does. but they let us continue without having the honduran registration papers. They also said the road was safer these days. so we continued.

I would be lying if i said i didnt feel nervous on this road known for banditos. Farmers are always walking out of the woods in Central America and they are always carrying machetes. So who is to know who is friendly and who is not. All of the sudden five guys with machetes walk out in front of you and its nervewracking on this road.
but the road was forested with pine, wide, smooth gravel, no problem. 5 cop trucks passed in the few hours. a total of 80 miles of dirt for the 100 mile day

La Union is nothing special. we stayed at a nice, clean hotel (on the right side as you enter with green paint). Like most places there are not many food options.

The next morning we drove to the village of Los Encuentros, about 3K away. I read that this village is filled with painted houses. So of course, i had to see it. Well, the information was outdated i guess. Because there was not one single painted house. There were actually more painted houses in the villages on the mountain road the day before. bummer.

Tela to Utila, Bay Islands

about 56 miles. 2.5 hours because of rain.
The road from Tela to La Ceiba was pretty straight forward, busy with local traffic. it finally rained on us so we ducked into a bus stop for about 20 minutes. it seemed to be letting up so we continued only to do the same thing 15 minutes later. We decided to just put on our rain pants and go. Eventuallyti stopped and we took off the rain gear tolet our Carharts dry out. the signs to La Ceiba are good. because the muelle/peir for the Utila ferry is out of town, we decied to go see what was going on there and if we could stay in a hotel close to the pier to save a taxi ride fromt he center the next morning. We decided to just leave the bike at the port for $6/day, uncoved but with a security entrance, and not pay for a hotel or stay in La Ceiba since we had no real desire to be there. We happen to arrive at 3 and the ferry left at 4. so we quickly did the paperwork to leave it, took of a box and the tank bag and filled them with need things, and left one box attached with uneeded things. we had to take our jackets and helmet and things instead of leaving them in a hotel but at least we got there a day earlier. We are hanging out on Utila for the week now. It's a backpacker seen for sure. Steve is doing his diving cert and I am getting some down time until we dive today. yipee.

Tela and Garifuna Villages

When we got to Tela we decided to find a nice place to stay. After no sleep at the Backpakers in Rio Dulce and a long day, we needed some sleep. Tela was pretty relaxed and we were happy to see that there were so many bicycles. We went out to Miami, San Juan and Tornabe villages the next day as a day trip. These are Black Carib villages. The road is basically the beach. A sand strip in the bushes of the beach. It stops at the beginning of Miami village.

It was tough to get used to, not having much sand expereince from Colorado. It took about 45 minutes to get through to where the road turns to sand after Tornabe and another 45 of the sand. lots of sun. The villages are really interesting. Palapa homes on the beach. a couple horses, few trucks to none. We hung out on some restaurant hammocks all day. Steve got a plate of fish for $5 and we just enjoyed the breeze in the shade and the warm water on the private beach.
The next day we went to the Biological Park \Lancetilla. We stayed about 2 hours, it was pretty nice. Relaxing.

Rio Dulce Guatemal to Tela Honduras, Through Coronito

191 miles. 40 miles of dirt. From Rio Dulce headed east to the border. The roads are paved and in great condition. We did, however, ride through a small swarm of bees. Enough to keep you creepy crawly for a few hours. They hit very hard on my knee and face. About ten minutes later, I noticed two still stuck to Steve's jacket and glove so pulled over to do the shake down. Another ten minutes later I got a mild sting on my arm, inside my jacket! I couldnt get Steve to pull over fast enough and get it off. Over an hour later, we found one still alive clinging to the edge of the gas cap. Crazy.

The turn off to the border is a dashed line on our map, but it is paved the hole way and in good shape, lined with banana plantations. There is a good little comedor for breakfast in Entre Rios, the turn off town. Its Yellow and was hiding behind a large pile of pineapples when we passed it.
We drove through the borders as the CA4 allows you to do and took the first dirt road on the right. The only people that wanted us to stop were money changers. This dashed line route goes from Coronito to Quimistan and meets up with a small road there allowing you to bypass San Pedro. We asked a man in front of a shop about the road conditions and immediately I remembered how nice Hondurans are. Good directions, detailed. Cross the little bridge ahead, ... He said it is passable but the main bridge went out. So there is a bypass and we should be able to make it. He gave us lots of info. In Guatemala and Mexico, as directions, people just sort of give a vague whip of the arm that I could never quite interpret correctly.
So we continued through the town and into the woods, up the mountains, and missed the turn he told us to take. I didn't even see it. Crossed a river. Saw a man on a bike huffing up a hill. So, at the top I asked him and he told us to continue ahead and take a left. We continued. And we missed it.
We sat at the big river for a few minutes contemplating the possiblities that I was not up for. Back out to the road and the bicycle man was right there, telling us we missed it. Again he offered to show us the road. No, no, but thank you. so nice.
So we turn around and realized the scale of the roads we are missing. They look like seldom used drive ways. So we took it this time and it went up, and got very rutted, and went steeper and got worse. At this point Steve couldn't stop so he just made it happen and we got to a flatish apot and said Holy Shit.
This was a dirt bike trail, a horse track, not a road.
So I decided to walk up the hill a while to see what was in store. After discussing the possiblities, I walked and Steve went for it. And went for it. And then the bike had enough of the steepness, stalled out, slid back a few feet and slowly leaned over onto a big rock. So the aluminium boxes are very strong if you were wondering.
More discussion, more refusial on my part to turn around and encouragement to go on. It seemed almost more dangerous try and turn around and go down that beginning bit. So the boxes and tank bag came off to lighten the load. Steve road the bike up to the top, and we carried it all up. We brought straps for the boxes and they came in big-time handy.

When we got to the top, dripping with sweat and starting to put the boxes back on, a family came by walking their enormous pig on a leash - staring at us strangely. But the man still smiled.
So the view was great, and off we went hoping it would get better and not worse. We came across an intersection of a small rocky road and figured it was the inital left that we had missed meeting up and I asked a group of boys about that and the road. More interesting is that these three boys ages 4-10 all had machetes on their waists or in their hands. I cant imagine the outcome of giving machetes to a group of young American boys ....

The road evened out and became a pleaseure. great views. small villages. small scale agriculture. and about 100 river crossing, most very small. The road still went up very steeply but was manageable. We asked quite a few people if we were still headed for Quimistam and eventually we made it - with no Limpera for a watermelon juice. what tourture. no ATM. Hadn't stopped to change money at the border.
The bridge should be back in order in the future. I would definately go this way. People were super welcoming, Waving even before we waved to them.
From Quimistan it was a straight shot to El Progresso and up to Tela. The whole day took 9.5 hours. We drove past all the trucks waiting in line at the border.

Semuc Champey to Rio Dulce via Cahabon

Semuc to Rio Dulce 114 miles. 8 hours with an hour for lunch. We left in the direction of Lenquin towards Cahabon. Steve thought it would be the worlds best motorcycle road, if it were one way traffic. We had to go pretty slow to be careful of oncoming traffic. The road was very curvey, nice views and vegetation for a couple hours. Interesting houses and bridges. It was a pretty smooth, good condition dirt road. Compared to what we went over to get there, anything would be good. Got out to Lenquin in 20 min, and about an hour to Cahabon. There are hotels there. Seems like a nice enough place to stay but we only stuck around long enough for two slices of watermelon, a couple mangoes for the road. People were more open to us being in this area than the previous day.

Got to Panzos intersection in 4 hours. From there we turn East to El Estor. To go the other direction on that road is not a good option as two colectivos that passed us both had police escorts for the westerly direction past Panzos. We hoped the road past Lake Isabel would be a nice drive but it was dusty and boring with no great views of the lake. There was a lot of construction so the road should be in better condition soon, for us it was slow. The chain was caked in dust and oil from the trip. Gas was 22 quetzal a gallon.

Rio Dulce is busy and should have some supplies. People looked at the bike with a different attention here than anywhere else so far. They sort of knew what they were looking at and we prefer that they don't. The timing works well to stop here but I can't see much more reason to stay unless you are looking for luxery. Many of the hotels are expensive, catering to the boating crowd. So we stayed at the Backpapers Hotel which is right on the river, which felt amazing. But it was the loudest night of the trip, located beneath a large bridge that trucks accelerate up and brake down with those increadably loud brakes, all night. for $20US.

El Naranjo to Semuc Champey - wow long day

Semuc Champay swimming holes

Semuc Champey El Ceibal Ruins

12 hour day, 228 miles. El Cebal Ruins visit, but thats still slow.
we spent the first few hours on good road with little traffic. The burned jungle still is around us but at least it allows you to see the contour of the land. The hills are very steep and solitary.
The jungle appeared again before El Cebal. We drove in the 8k, 15 min rough and narrow road to the ruins. It is small but the setting is great. Huge trees and long trails separate ruins so you get to do a lot of walking in the shade of the jungle. It was nice. and again there was no one there. To top it off it's FREE.

Continuing on the road was fine to Sebol where 17k prior it turns to bumpy dirt. Then it gets crazy to Lenquin. A good bit of the road is under construction but our map does no justice to scale of this road. It is the road that never ends. First we got stopped with some passenger trucks to wait. They said one hour, 2 hours, and another person said not ill 8pm, which was 4 hours and dark. Not an option. The nice construciton guys - who have no radios, let us pass along the dirt edge, well i walked. Then we we shoed up on the unexpecting other group they let us pass the grader through the soft sand. It just kept getting worse once the workers were gone. Up, up, up, we went. It was very beautiful through the mountains and jungle edge through the valleys. The first man that let us through said it was 30 min to Lenquin (if you fly). Ok, so we figured and hours or so. Three hours later we arrived at Semuc Champey on a crazy difficult road.
And the People. First the villagers helped us hesitantly with our request for reasurance that we were in fact headed for Lenquin. Then they got shier, so Steve ask because maybe a woman shouldn't speak when there is a man with her. But then Steve couldn't ask the woman because they should talk to him. People were avoiding our eyes. No one would answer us, so on we went. we finally got a "yes, to the left" at the one crucial intersection. and slowly, for 20 more minutes we went up up up and down down down to one of the best little places in Guatemala. just as dark fell.

We stayed at las Marias, which is really basic, with no fans or screens set in a beautiful jungle valley. We woke up to the reminder not to leave food in your bag on the floor. Biting ant infestation took over the morning. Every item we own was shaken, blown, banged and hung. Peanuts were thrown away. Yuck.
Semuc is in a valley with a big deep river. And a big long rope swing! Semuc Champey is a waterfall pool area that is really beautiful and fun. It was a busy Saturday when we were their, but wow was it awesome. It's only 3 hours drive from Guatemala City.
Better yet we went through a cave on a little tour. It was cave type pitch black inside and tight then huge, tunnels then rooms. We swam with candles, climbed sketchball ladders- not my favorite thing, climed ropes, jumped through holes, climbed waterfalls, slid down waterfalls. It was so freaking cool. We were in their for two hours, and then we tubed down the river. It was an out of the ordinary type of thing for us to do, because it was with a group of four other people who we had met at the hotel. But it was so great.

These are flowers that cover the tree and have Fallen on the house
Big Ceiba Tree

El Ceibal ruins

El Naranjo
sorry for the bad photo order between this and the last post

Crossing from Mexico to Guatemala

crossing over to continue into Guatemala in El Naranjo.


Road to El Ceibal Ruins, smooth part

Thursday the 16th our 10th day. 8 hour day -with two meals as usual, oil chain and a long internet break to "order" a new back tire.
Lacanja to El Naranjo Guatemala. Through El Ceibo.
Tenosique is a pretty big town, hotels although i only saw signs for them. internet, Pharmacies to buy Chloroquine malaria treatment for $3.50, Banks. No reason to stay there unless you have to.
From there it is about 1 - 1.5 hours, count on wrong turns, to El Ceibo. The Mexico side of the border is all official looking. Guatemala's side was manned by 7 year old with the attitude of a 20 year old, pulling the rope up off the two 55gallon drums that make the gate. I went inside to deal with the passports and papers for the bike. This is a small crossing. Senor immigration man got up off the sidewalk where he was hanging with his pals and attended to me. I handed over both passports, Steve came in for a second to sign his tourist card. Immigration man asked if it was our honeymoon, if we were going to visit Tikal. I told him it wasn't and that we had been there before. It was slowly filled out. He searched for the last space or two for my stamp to go, and said 10 pesos each. It should have been free, but i was so happy it was that easy that I payed him the $1.40. oops. I asked about the bike and where we should stop to fill out paperwork and said there is not Aduanas there so nothing had to be done. The Central America 4 - CA4, is a very important thing that you should read up on. I asked him what we should do at the next border and he said " nothing, you dont have to stop. you dont need another stamp. Just go through" remember that.
About 20 minutes into Guatemala is El Naranjo. It's a small but busy town with few restaurant options. We stayed on the river at a hot hotel with a tiny window. The whole town loses power at midnight until 7am. So you will sweat. We did however happily swing in hammocks on the covered dock for hours. And we ate great Pupusas, an El Salvadoran food, cooked at a womans stand. There are nicer hotels in El Naranjo and I would reccomend them, but boy those hammocks on the river were nice, it was so hot there.
The next day as we continued the way we needed to go, there is a hotel in the following small towns you would come to, very basic I imagine, but there isn't much more around there. There was a bank in El naranjo but it, and the machines were closed when we left, we traded $40US at the boarder and made it last a while. There are also pharmacies. and clothing stores. Steve had to buy a bathing suit. it's hip yo.
the road from the crossing has been open less than a year. We could only find one reference to it in a blog. The road is in great condition, newly paved. Don't go there for the fact that it says it is in the middle of a preserve. There is no jungle to be seen, just roaling hills and cattle It's the season for burning so there is alot of smoke in the air.

Frontera Corazal is an option from Bonampack, and closer, but we thought the boat crossing would be too expensive and a hassle.