Fathers and Sons

We have 2 father/son pairs riding this tour from San Jose to Belize.

There is Ruut (77) and Michiel (50) fDSC_7809rom the Netherlands. Ruut is a very experienced rider, who started with serious cycling at the age of 50. He already completed the Silk Route with TdA. There are not many places in the world he hasn’t explored on bicycle or hiking. Michiel likes to pass me on the steep climbs on his ultra light MTB, pointing out the sweat pearls on my forehead whereas he doesn’t even seem to raise his pulse.

The second pair is Gavin (72) and William (32)gavin-william from South Africa. Both strong and experienced long distance runners and cyclists. Gavin already cycled the Tour d’Afrique from Cairo to Cape Town with me. William is very supportive to his father and you see them all day long cycling together or William riding ahead and waiting for Gavin to close up again.

Rest Day at Panajachel

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After 5 riding days we deserved another rest day. This time in Panajachel, nicely located at the Lake Atitlán at an altitude of 1597 meter in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, less than 150km from Guatemala City. The town is located on the Northeast shore of the lake with a fantastic view of the three volcanoes, San Pedro (3020m) and the twins Atitlan (3537m) and Toliman (3158m). Panajachel” derives from the Kaqchikel language and DSC_8869roughly translates to “place of the Matasanos.” Matasano is a fruit tree native to the lake credited with an array of curative powers. As the name ‘rest’ day suggest it is injected into the tour to rest and enjoy the hospitality and service of the location. I take a total rest and enjoy the day in the hotel or at the beach, without diving too deep into the touristic flair of this city. Others take a boat ride on the lake or stock up spare parts in the local bike shop.