October 02, 2014
... at least I assumed they were a couple. She was riding a Honda African Twin, he was on a Honda Transalp. I thought it was definitely worth mentioning, because they had shipped their bikes from Holland across the pond to Anchorage, Alaska and were now on their way down to Ushuaia. Very impressive! We didn't exchange names, but maybe, we'll meet again...
Why are their bikes so clean???
My ride from Lanquin to Antigua was pretty much uneventful. I had never heard of Antigua before, only in connection with a tropical island in the West Indies. But, leave it to the young, care-free travelers, who seem to know every corner of the world. I overheard a few of them talking about Antigua. I just had to ask. "Antigua...", a young German named Boris explained to me, "...is to be said the former capitol of Guatemala. Located about 30 miles outside of Guatemala City, it's a historic town with losts of interesting architecture. A bit touristy, but worth visiting."
Roadside pit stop...I emptied the basket to the right of her ;-)...well, almost.
Juicy tangerines...the perfect mid-morning snack.
Ok then, that sparked my interest, and the plan for a stop-over in Antigua was born.
During one of my pit stops in a town, Coban, I noticed that a spoke on my rear wheel was broken. I had heard a strange metallic sound, so I investigated. "Luckily nothing serious. I can still make it to Antigua", I thought to myself. But, I definitely wanted to get it fixed soon.
El Hostal,Antigua, Guatemala
Upon arrival in the little town Antigua, I checked in to "El Hostal", a small hostel with private rooms and dorms. They had a private room with two beds available (200 GTQ, breakfast incl.). I used one of them as my closet. The rest of the room was taken up by my luggage. A bit messy, but it worked.
Big Bertha was once again safe and secure, parked in the hallway in front of the reception desk. I must admit, I am impressed how accommodating these people are in letting me park my big dirty bike practically in their "house". Awesome, guys! You have no idea, how much I appreciate that!