I realized tonight (the 19th) that I haven’t posted in a while. Since then, I visited Teotihuacan and crossed two borders!
Let’s start off with Teotihuacan. I am constantly amazed at the depths of my ignorance. I had originally thought the pyramids of Teotihuacan were Mayan. They’re not. As a matter of fact, they preceded both the Mayans and the Aztecs for some time (but not the Olmecs). Teotihuacan apparently existed between 100 BCE and 750 CE (Before the Common Era and the Common Era, sorta like BC and AD, only politically correct). There are two major pyramids, the Sun and the Moon. The Sun is closed for casual attendeeds, but the Moon is accessible to a point about half-way up. Man, those stairs are steep. According to my measurements, the rise is 12″ with the step being only 8″. That means you practically have to raise your foot to knee height to step up. After 48 steps (at 7,300′ of altitude), I was panting (and I’m in pretty good shape). I spent several hours touring the site. Well worth it (despite having to pay extra for bringing my Action Camera in).
After that, I made a beeline to Belize. I plan on hitting every country in Central America, and that was my first, despite it being mostly out of the way for a direct path to Panama. If you didn’t know (I did), Belize used to be called British Honduras. It’s the only English speaking country in Central America. I was surprised (although I shouldn’t have been) by the number of Spanish speakers. Heck, it’s surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries. Another thing to surprise me was that they still used the Imperial system. Distances and speed limits on signs were in MPH, not KPH. Cool. I could use the Himi’s speedometer properly.
Before I got to Belize, though, I spent a few nights in tropical Mexico (the part on the Caribbean side). Okay. I admit. I’m out of tropical shape. I couldn’t stand the humidity. Heat? Not a problem. Add in 90% plus humidity – problem.
Anyhow, back to Beize (which I arrived at after two nights in humid, tropical Mexico). I spent a night at a place called Tony’s Inn and Beach Resort. Not sure about the beach. It was on Corozal Bay, but I didn’t see any sand, just water.
I only spent one night in Belize, and then made for the Guatemala border. Partly, this was done at the urging of the Belizian officials who kept asking me why I wanted to stay in Belize. “Go to Guatemala. It’s a day away.” So, I went to Guatemala.
So far, Guatemala has hammered me with rain (it’s the rainy season) and dogs. As I was walking out to get the Himi this morning, a dog came up and bit me in the back of the thigh! I’m like, “What the hell?” and growled at the dog, making it retreat. Yeah, good luck biting through the Kevlar armor of my riding pants, pooch.
One thing about Guatemala is the roads – or lack thereof. By far, they’re the worst I’ve seen yet – I’m either constantly swerving between potholes, crawling over dirt sections, or riding between truck-induced swells in the macadam. No bueno.
Tomorrow I’ll be in Antigue, one of the oldest Spanish settlements in Central America. It supposedly has a great view of some volcanoes. But, since this is the rainy season, and the sky typically has 100% cloud cover, we’ll see (or not). I’ve got two nights planned for Antigua, then it’s off to El Salvador.
Now, I’m sure some of you are wondering, Is James working on any novels? The answer is, Yes! I’ve been working on Endure along the way and am up to about 25,000 words (at 250 words per page, figure on about 100 pages) – almost half-way done (or not – still haven’t worked everything out yet).
I’m also working on a memoir about this trip – I’m calling it Of Hurricanes and Himis. Let me know if you’re interested in it.
