I loved Guatemala. She was so beautiful, and the riding was so wonderful. Miles and miles between settlements with nice roads and even nicer people. Oh my gods the level of kindness and generosity we encountered here was incredible. The 3 kids on a moto who drove us out of the squirrely, complicated, town of La Union, then the woman in La Union who helped us with directions, then drove us back through town to the hotel, and helped pick up Dacharys bike when we dropped it (twice). The hotel clerk…

Today started off bright and sunny in Flores, and we were well-rested and happy to be on the bikes. The plan was to ride down CA-13 until it intersected with CA-9, and then cut across on a little red road on the map from Gualan to where it intersected with CA-11 not terribly far from El Florido, the border crossing into Honduras. We figured we’d get halfway today, find a place to stay and then ride the rest of the way and cross into Honduras tomorrow.

We planned to see Tikal today, and given our experience at Palenque (getting all hot, sweaty and overheated at the ruins and then absolutely drooping on the ride afterwards) we decided to establish a base of operations at nearby Flores and spend two nights, instead. That way we could leave the bikes at the hotel, ride up to Tikal in a bus and wear our walking around shoes and pants instead of our motorcycle pants. Afterwards, we could catch a ride back to Flores and shower and chill in the…