The World Until Yesterday
Jared Diamond
This book is instantly fascinating but really feels like it skips around a lot. I’m not sure I loved the way Jared structured the information but I guess it was always a pleasant surprise to see what the next chapter had in store. Read More
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