It’s hard to summarise what architect Alfredo Maul, Director of G-22 is trying to achieve, but with principles like moderation, humility and creativity, it has to be positive. We arrived at G-22 headquarters, where Alfredo had invited us to stay during our time in Guatemala City, dripping wet and curious about this not-for-profit organisation. Read More
“Why would you ever go to Guatemala City?” A common question we’ve had from other tourists who have been warned off Guatemala’s big smoke. Their doubts made us want to ride there even more, and we ended up pleasantly surprised as you’ll hear in this week’s How Are You? Where Are You? podcast.
We also take the local ‘Chicken’ buses into the highlands and continue our fascination with this country’s rich biodiversity when we meet Fredy Archila, a man passionate about orchids. We hope you enjoy the show.
Clockwise from top left: Fredy Archila; Lake Atitlán; Chicken bus to Guatemala City; Baden and Hector; Palacio Nacional in Parque Central.
We recorded this in Cobán, high up in the Alta Verapaz region of the Guatemala’s interior. We’ve been learning a lot about Mayan culture and a lot about the capability of our legs to ride our heavy touring bikes high up into the sky.
New Zealanders have been fascinated by this Central American country ever since Nurse Carrie Burton uttered the line: “You’re not in Guatemala now Dr Ropata” in the debut episode of the homegrown soap Shortland Street.
Unlike Dr Ropata we are actually in Guatemala right now and have even been spending time in the jungle where the great doctor cut his medical teeth. We hope you enjoy this podcast.
Clockwise from bottom left: Jaime Perez from Hummingbird Lodge; Jaime shows us the incredible plants in his jungle garden; Temple 1 in Tikal; Temple of the Great Jaguar again; Nathaniel our guide.
Clockwise from bottom left: electioneering; view from the island of Flores; Vilma welcomed us to camp; Baden climbs.
We love getting feedback from our podcast listeners. A couple of months ago, after we finished cycling across Europe, Michael from Christchurch, NZ, wrote saying that listening to us made cycle touring sound like “sunshine and roses” and that it can’t always be like that. He was keen to hear more about the physical demands of riding our bikes every day and how we cope with maintenance issues.
As I wrote out my thoughts, I decided it might be worth whacking them out on the blog so that everyone can see how we deal with the rigours of cycle touring and provide some reassurance that there are sometimes sucky days. Read More
Bumping onto the 5km causeway that leads to Crooked Tree, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got grumpier as I negotiated the rocks, sand and mud on the road that crosses the lagoon and joins the wildlife sanctuary and village to the main highway.
Slowing up I began to realise we had left the traffic noise behind and the air was filled with the sound of the wind, bird song and insects.
When the lagoon came into sight we saw turkey vultures, cormorants, herons and egrets. This is a special place. Read More
After a period of gallivanting, we are finally back on the bikes and rediscovering the joys of cycle touring. We have the country and people of Belize to thank for this. Sure it’s stinking hot but we are pedalling with coping strategies in place and they seem to be working fine. We visit the amazing zoo, the prison and ride the glorious Hummingbird Highway.
Clockwise from top left: Causeway at Crooked Tree; Belizean currency; Belize Central Prison; Pam and Jeff in Burrell Boom; Tony’s Cool Spot in Burrell Boom.
Clockwise from top right: Junior Buddy the jaguar sleeping in the afternoon; Carlos the puma; the ‘pond croc’; Belize Zoo sign; Indy the tapir.
Clockwise from top left: Baden cooling off; Baden excitedly heading for baked goods; recording the podcast in Dangriga; Hummingbird Highway selfie; valley along Hummingbird Highway.
I have been meaning to post about this exhibition for ages! We saw Ana’s work at Museo Municipal Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso in Amarante, Portugal.
The collection was displayed in one beautiful old room and I just loved her lines, colours, textures and use of wood, ink, acrylic and paper.
My particular favs are the smaller group of eight paintings you can see below. View other pieces from the exhibition at anapaisoliveira.com.
A Traveller’s History of the Caribbean