The Jaguar Smile
Salman Rushdie
When travelling to a new country it’s often hard to know where to start. In order to better understand what you are seeing from the saddle it is beneficial to have some understanding of how the country got to where it is today. I read The Jaguar Smile just as we arrived in Nicaragua and it is a great first port of call. Read More
If you read the news, you could be mistaken for thinking that if you go to El Salvador, you are going to get murdered. Well, it turns out, that you are more likely to have a great time, see beautiful things and meet lots of interesting people. What a boring non-click baity article that would be.
On this week’s How Are You? Where Are You? podcast we visit El Salvador’s Route of the Flowers, cut open and look inside some unfamiliar fruits and reflect on Guatemala’s horrific landslide tragedy, which struck last week. You can donate to the Red Cross’s efforts in Guatemala to help the victims here: https://www.ammado.com/nonprofit/crg
Clockwise from top left: welcome sign for Juayua; family that shared our table; Bienvenidos! We felt welcome too; Cipitio celebrity actor Rolando Menedez performs; Piña loca.
From L to R: Flowers on the route of the flowers; Iglesia de San Andres in Apaneca; Kike leads us back to his place; our incredible hosts, Kike and his mum Maritsa; exotic fruits (clockwise from top left is Jokote, Zapote, Carambola, Maracuya and Grenadilla); Baden’s leftovers.
Special montage honouring the wonderful pupusa of El Salvador. The middle one is Baden’s.
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.
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
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.
