Today was a beautiful day...it didn´t rain on us at all.

We took off from Lago de Atitlan at around 8:30 riding on CA2 here in Guatemala lined in fields of Sugar Cane, and made it to Guatemala city by 11:30. The sugar cane actually looked like grass, only it was 10 feet high in the air and made me feel like I was taken back into the movie aura of ¨Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.¨ It took us about 2 hours to get through the city, and what a trip that was. There are no bypasses in Guatemala City, people actually head to the capital to go to the capital, not to go through it. So we were twisting and turning through the streets of this earthquake tortured town, asking for directions over and over again. It is actually a very nice city, if you try not to think about all of the smog that we were taking in on the ride through it.

This is one major difference between riding on a motorcycle and riding in car. The smells are ever present when you are on a bike. I took in the aromas of everything from pig dung to fresh flowers today on our ride, and it was all wonderful; because it did not rain a drop.

About 80 miles west of Guatemala city, we turned south towards our destination of Chiquimula. It is a wonderful city, full of life and culture. The people are fantastic, outgoing, and incredibly helpful. I bargained for a tamale this evening, and I think I got it down to around 30 cents.
Bargaining is a part of life down here. If you don´t try and haggle on the streets, they think you are just ignorant of their culture, and take your money with disrespect. So with some sweet blue eyes and a big Sean Tucker smile, I was able to get the young receptionist to get our room price down to 150 Quetzales, or around $21 for the night. I still got it!

The picture of the cathedral above with the mountains in the background, was taken from the balcony of the hotel over looking the town square. The other picture was from our hotel this morning in Atitlan, just when the sun peeked out from behind the mountain side.

Tomorrow we are heading into Honduras into and area called Octoepeque, filled with hiking trails and wonderful national parks. A friend, Liz from Pierpont´s in KC is currently living there and teaching English to kids at a school. So, I was planning on stopping in and playing guest speaker so the kids can laugh at me, and I can hand out Jayhawk stickers and convert them all to the crimson and blue.

I miss you all.