Panajachel, Guatemala

In Mexico drivers tend to take traffic rules as mere guidelines. Cows, donkeys and people walk in the road. I often saw smoke-belching tractors running the wrong way along the hard shoulder of motorways and in towns the scooters dart all over the place. Approaching Oaxaca city I was surprised to see quite a few cars running the wrong way along the duel carriageway. No one else seemed to be surprised, everyone just moved over from the ‘fast’ lane to let them past, not that we were traveling fast by this stage. The reason was over the crest of a hill – a crowd of cars and people so dense that I couldn’t even see the road. So I turned round and joined a stream of traffic heading back, even the complicated set of traffic lights we met were calmly negotiated in the wrong direction. Obviously this kind of wholesale ignoring of traffic rules could be dangerous but in a society where such behavior is not unexpected I think it’s pretty reasonable. It’s for that kind of freedom, as well as because of stunning scenery, the culture, the amazing archeological sites and the warm and friendly people that I loved being in Mexico.
I’m in Guatemala now, and it’s a whole other extreme. I crossed the boarder at Cuidad Hidalgo. It was thronging with touts waving wads of cash to change and guys ‘offering’ to help foreigners. Three things made it all pretty confusing: The language was one. That many of the customs officials didn’t seem to be wearing a uniform was another (a gun on their hips made them stand out a little). And lastly, many of the officials were in on the racket with the touts. So I had to pay Carlos, my self-appointed helper, to get me through it all. Unfortunately it all took a couple of hours and it was dark by the time I got to the city of Quetzaltennango in the western highlands (Its commonly known as Xela, its Quiche Maya name). But I found a room, and somewhere safe to park the bike easily. Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala, but its still pretty small place. I stayed two nights there – getting my bearings and considering whether or not to take some Spanish lessons. I decided against it. I have about a month to reach Panama and I’d rather see things than go to school. I’ve just arrived in Panajachel, on the Lago de Atitlan. It’s another tourist town but the lake is spectacular. It was formed from an enormous collapsed volcano cone and is surrounded by three more looming volcanoes. The highlands all around are populated by Mayans. I saw hundreds of their small cottages surrounded by maize fields from the road. At every small town dozens of Mayans wearing their brightly coloured clothes were hanging about and selling things. I noticed they’re not as inclined to wave as the Mexicans (in Mexico I waved from the Copper Canyon Train to a man pushing a wheel barrow in his field. He couldn’t help but wave back, almost tipping out his maize), but there were plenty of friendly smiles.
Clearly the condition of the roads is something I’d be interested in. In Mexico they were pot-holed and in the mountains the occasional landslide had caused sections to disappear, but on the whole they were pretty good. And I thought the Mexican drivers were pretty considerate too, more so than some parts of the US. Here however, it’s a different story. Traffic laws may be ignored in Mexico from time to time, but here they appear to be just a roomer. Where there’s road works its not unusual to see cars approaching through the dust on both sides of the road.
I had to leave the Kiwi guys in Mexico City six days ago. (Take a look at their website http://www.locokiwi.com/). Jon’s passport had not come through and I needed to get on. It was really nice to have companions for a while but I don’t mind being on my own. I like to be able to ride where I want to, and stop whenever I feel like it. Tomorrow I’m going to head north towards the jungle and the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. Mileage 11403.