Well we made it out of Playa Maderas but without the chains I don't think we would have made it.

We are now in San Jose Del Sur and will cross in to Costa Rica tomorrow. There is no camping in San Jose Del Sur so we parked at the main plaza and had a very noisy night with very loud music until 5am. Headed for the border early but had to turn back as there is no gas station until you cross the border and we wanted to use up our quarzales. 

 This time we felt more prepared for the border crossing, when the goons approached us Norbert's face clearly said BACK OFF  and thy got the message and left us alone. It probably took us a little longer to do all the paperwork but we did cross within two hours. Not bad. At the insurance window we saw the sticker of the Two Moto Kiwis and a bunch of other adventurers. It is amazing how many people do this trip.

We wanted to camp at Playa Los Cocos and were already suspicious when there was a lineup of cars going that direction, and sure enough, the town and the beach was packed so we turned around and headed further south to Playa Samara were we are camped right at the beach. This beach reminds us of Pequeno Paraiso but all our good friends are missing and it is a lot hotter here. We will spend New Year here and then head further south. 

Missing all our friends and Family and wishing you all a blessed New Year.

Big Hugs to all.

Norbert and Greti.

PS. The lady jogging on the beach is quite advanced in age and had 8 dogs,one with only 3legs and a bird  and it was very hot.

Esteli to Masaya

Drove from Esteli to Masaya , gasoline is $1.60 a liter, the country side is very clean but we find the people not very friendly towards tourists. We camped at the vulcano Malaya and were the only campers there, had a nice hike up to the peak and were rewarded with a beautiful view.
Toada we drove to Granada, very nice colonial city, I would say better than Antigua.
From there we drove south to Playa Madera, recomended by the guide book a sa wonderful beach.
No mention that the road there is for 4 wheel drive only and when we realised that, it was too late to turn around. We made it down and it is a surfer "paradies" the beach is nice enough.
So Norbert put on the snow chains in preparation for the drive up tomorrow, and I will worry all nite if we will make it. Well time

again for prayer. I will blog tomorrow and tell you ow it went.
Big Hug to all
Norbert and Greti

Christmas 2013

 Dec. 24, 2013

Drove from Sunzal to Paya Cuco, 160 km.

Found a very nice camping spot right at the beach with swimming pool and toilets plus showers all for $ 2.50 per person. It is very hot here but the breeze makes it livable. 

Left El Salvador and entered and exited Honduras within 4 hours, the roads in Honduras are not too bad, hope Nicaragua will be the same. The border crossing and import and export of the car is a pain, as you approach the border you get assaulted by  money changers and people who want to do the paperwork for you for a fee which thy will not disclose before. 

The custom agents seem to work with them thy are very unfriendly and want tons of copy's off all your papers, every time we approach a border it is chaos.

Hope this will improve. We are now in Esteli, it is Christmas Day and we are in Hotel Las Americas with secure parking for the camper, and as you see Also WiFi.

Thank you all for your Christmas Wishes and Norbert and I wish you all the same with a big hug.

Antigua

We planned to spend two day's in Antigua, but what an interesting town it is. We are parked at the tourist Police compound with two french families one Swiss and one Brazilian all with motorhomes and young children, the Brazilians are also planning to go to Argentina. Yesterday we walked up to the volcano with a guide who explained the formations. Again we were a very interesting group.
From Seattle a mother and her two daughters. A French family now living in San Paulo Brazil a Swedish couple who are trekking around south america for the last 7 years and a young fellow from China plus us and Andre and Marcia from Brazil. It was fun and interesting to hear everyone's motivation for being in Antigua.Dec. 23, 2013

We did spend a very nice 4 days in Antigua and left this morning at 8.0am.

Very little traffic and exported the car from Guatemala and imported it to El Salvador and did all the border formalities within two hours. We noticed a difference in the road quality and gasoline is less here than in Guatemala.  Drove to las Sunzal where there should be a camping spot but there is none. First person we meet is from Nanaymo BC. we ended up parking is someone's yard for $10.00 for the night with swimming pool to top it off.

Will continue tomorrow to  Honduras and hope for WiFi.

Hugs to all.

Norbert and Greti

Rio Dulce to Lake Atitlan

Rio. Dulce to Lake Atitlan

Left Rio Dulce and found where to fill propane, at the gate a guard with a gun and Norbert had to leave his drivers licence with the guard before we could enter.

We had to wait 30 minutes for a driver  to pick up the proper connector. Finally got filled up and were on our way to Atitlan. Good two lane highway with passing lanes here and there, but the main thing was  NO TOPES. What a relieve to not have to be so vigilant when driving. There still were the big (and I mean big) pot holes but manageable.

Drove straight through Guatemala City and took some wrong turns til a Taxi pointed us in the right direction.

Driving through Chimaltenango was crazy and slow. From there it went up in to the mountains with very dense fog and by now it was getting dark. So we did what we never do, drive after 5pm. In the dark with heavy fog on a stretch of road we do not know. Needless to say my intense prayers were answered and we made it to the camping place. It was too dark to appreciate the surroundings but when I got up this morning I realized we are in a breathtaking beautiful place.

Right now it is a bit noisy as there is a party for the labour union with loud music and a pig roast, and as south american people do not know private space thy park themselves right in front of your door or in your chair. Well we are the visitors here so we will adjust.    

Hugs to all.

Norbert and Greti

Tikal to Rio Dulce

Tikal to Rio Dulce.

Woke up quite early and wanted to make coffee to realize we were out of Propane and bread. To top it off it was raining and the field we were parked in was very soggy so we worried about getting stuck. We made it out fine but on an empty stomach. Stopped at all gas stations but non had hot coffee and could not find where to fill the propane tank. Did find out there are very few places in Guatemala were thy do filling.

Stopped in Rio Dulce at Bruno's which is a harbour, hotel, restaurant, and hostel, and owned by a Canadian. We have WiFi and electric and hot showers. Did some shopping at the market and had a good dinner at the restaurant, tomorrow we hope to make it to Antiqua.

Hugs to all

Norbert and Greti

Tikal

 Crossed in to Guatemala and the paperwork to exit Mexico and import the car to Guatemala took about 2 hours. Not too bad. Discovered that Norbert's drivers license expires January 31, 2014 so for Guatemala no problem but further south we will see. 

Got in to Flores quite late so booked in to a hotel.

This morning we were blocked by a truck and staff could not find in which room the driver was, so we waited until 9 am. Until finally thy located the driver, he just handed out the key an Norbert moved his truck. It is 57 km. drive from Flores to Tikal. Entrance fee is 150 Q, per person and for Nationals it is 25.0 Q. Extra charge for museums with the same difference for nationals and tourists.

The ruins are impressive and the biggest we have seen with very good descriptions and a good map for the site. It was raining and the paths were slippery so did not climb a lot of steps.  There was a ceremonial dance being held and after the dance the participants have a picnic. The tree is a Ceiba tree.

Hugs to all

Norbert and Greti

From San Cristobal de Las Casas to Palenque.
It is 221 km. from Cristobal to Palenque it took us 8 hours to drive.
First there were soo many pilgrims. As Dec. 12th. Is Virgin Guadalupe day. Then the roads were very narrow and a lot of washouts and in-numerous topes. The indigenous people really want nothing to do with the tourist or any outsiders. The scenery made it all worth while. We stopped at Agua Azul to see the waterfalls and as it has been raining for 2 days thy were spectacular. Ate some empanadas there, but thy had very little filling.
RV park in Palenque had no WiFi or Internet and there were only us and a couple from Quebec who did not speak english. It rained very heavy all night and most of the morning while we toured the ruins.
We had smelled some LP gas around our camper and today Norbert checked and sure enough there was a leak, so off we went to find a new valve. Finally fount one and Norbert did the repairs in the parking lot, try that in Canada.
Lucky for us due to the rain at, night the monkys were quiet.
Big Hug to all
Norbert and Greti

San Cristobal

Arrived in San Cristobal de Las Casas early afternoon. Did some circles around town to find the hotel that no longer exists. Eventually found an RV park (parking lot) with electric and WiFi.  Had dinner and updated our blog and off to sleep. Today did big shopping as our supplies were depletedand the
Mega store has a lot of familiar stuff such as unsalted butter, Coffee mate, salami and such things.
Walked the town this afternoon, very busy as many pilgrims converge here. Lots of indigenous people selling their ware. The beggars are shrewd and mostly approach Norbert and not me. I wonder what that says about me. Tomorrow we will continue to Palenque.
Big Hug to all.
Norbert and Greti

Traveled from Ixtepec to Puerto Arista.

Along the way we passed lots of Pilgrims. They are groups of young people from all over Mexico

Doing a pilgrimage for the Virgin of Guadalupr, and they start from  Mexico City to Chiapas a total of 1,400  km. each runner does one kilometer with the flame.we stopped and had a chat with one group and they were happy to have their picture taken.

Here in Puerto Arista there are no camping places so we are parked in the courtyard of the Hotel Gardin, very nice with pool and beautiful beach. Very hot and humid, what a change from the frost of yesterday. 

Hugs to all.

Norbert and Greti