Guatemalan Roads – pushing on to Salama
Out of Petén and into Alta Verepaz. Have I already mentioned the Guatemalan roads? We heard there were big climbs, complete with smog-belching, fast-rolling chicken buses (like Fernandita, pictured here). The buses aren’t bad at all, but the roads are definitely steep…
PUBLISHED Mar 5, 2013
Out of Flores we rode through 2 days of rolling hills and 100+ degree temperatures before we landed in the beautiful range of mountains that is the Northern gateway to Alta Verepaz. After taking a couple of easy days around the Candaleria Caves, the rain began and we started toward Coban. We spent 2 nights in Chisec where we visited some local lagunas in the Mayan village hillsides and ate a lot of grilled meats (pretty much the typical staple in Guatemala, aside from fried chicken).
Did I already mention that Guatemalan roads are steep? The final ride from Chisec to Coban was the most intense ride to date. The Guatemalans’ lack of grading skills shone it’s face once more and we got a hell of a lot of use out of our granny-gears. Both Gin and Mike were under the weather so they caught a ride in a truck for the latter half of the day, but I decided to up the misery-index and climb a whopping 7,064′ to get myself into Coban right before nightfall. Ouch.
Over the next few days in Coban, the rain continued and brought a cold-front dipping temperatures into the 30s. However, we were still able to take a couple of day trips to the Vivero Verepaz orchid sanctuary and Lanquin/Semuc Champey, where Gin and I got stuck due to missing the last combi (microbus) back to Coban. So we stayed in the small mountain town of Lanquin for the night and got the first bus back the next morning.
The ride out of Cobån ascended through the cloud forest corridor where we stopped for the night in the Reserva de Mario Dary (quetzal biotope). Named after Mario Dary, who in 1988 was murdered after a long fight to save this preserve for the Resplendant Quetzal. Unfortunately, while we were there we didn’t see a quetzal, but we heard one and I think we’ll have plenty of other opportunities to catch a glimpse of this magnificent bird.
![13-03-05_00 Bicycle touring in Guatemala - Surly Troll](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_00.jpg)
![13-03-05_01 Bicycle touring in Guatemala - Surly Troll](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_01.jpg)
![13-03-05_02 Travel photo - Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_02.jpg)
![13-03-05_03 Travel photo - Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_03.jpg)
![13-03-05_04 Travel photo Achiote](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_04.jpg)
![13-03-05_05 Travel photo - Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_05.jpg)
![13-03-05_06 Travel photo - Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_06.jpg)
![13-03-05_07 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_07.jpg)
![13-03-05_08 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_08.jpg)
![13-03-05_09 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_09.jpg)
![13-03-05_10 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_10.jpg)
![13-03-05_11 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_11.jpg)
![13-03-05_12 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_12.jpg)
![13-03-05_13 Travel photo - Vivero Verapaz](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_13.jpg)
![13-03-05_14 Bicycle touring - Lanquin, Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_14.jpg)
![13-03-05_15 Bicycle touring - Lanquin, Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_15.jpg)
![13-03-05_16 Bicycle touring - Lanquin, Guatemala](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_16.jpg)
![13-03-05_17 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_17.jpg)
![13-03-05_18 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_18.jpg)
![13-03-05_19 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_19.jpg)
![13-03-05_20 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_20.jpg)
![13-03-05_21 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_21.jpg)
![13-03-05_22 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_22.jpg)
![13-03-05_23 Semuc Champey](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/13-03-05_23.jpg)
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