The Nomads

This is the BEST part of the dirt road in Belize

Day 38 Saturday May 17
Left Placencia, Stann Creek, Belize
Temp: 30 degrees C

Sunny/Some cloud 6:00AM

On the “road” as the sun came up and struggled for the next two hours and forty five minutes to do forty Km of misery.

Phew !! We made it without incident.

The road (the Hummingbird Hwy) to Belmopan goes through a large citrus growing area for limes and oranges and the air was filled with their fragrance. Heavenly….

Not far down this road Susie got all excited watching two grackles put the run to a large yellow-billed toucan.

At the turn off for San Ignacio we were surprised to see a large circus and fairground with everyone for miles around swarming on the place. It looked to be the local 4H club involved too.

The ride into San Ignacio was uneventful and the town is less than unremarkable…. We were there by late noon.

The first 35KM of the road to Flores in Guatemala is dirt road right from the border and since it was still early and we had to go through the usual customs and immigration routine and deal with exit fees and entry permits for the bikes, we decided to go on and try to make it to Flores and get all the dirt riding done in one day. That way we would only have to clean the bikes once (they were practically unrecognizable at this point and our bags looked like lumps of sand).

That 35K was no joy, for sure, but it was a cakewalk compared to the road to/from Placencia!

About 30 K from Flores we came across a cozy looking place and decided ON AN EARLY STOP SO WE COULD CLEAN THE BIKES AND GEAR, TAKE A SWIM IN THEIR POOL AND KICK BACK FOR THE EVENING.

one of the road dividers on the dirt road inside Guatemala

Kilometers - Daytrip: 288 km total: 10,295
Gas: $14.00
Lodging: Paseo Maya Hotel $50

# posted by Richard and Susie @ 4:20 PM