In the morning, I got some work done on the truck, including new break pads, and got a new gasket for the exhaust oxygen sensor, which reduced the noise. The guys at Toyota don’t think much about the constant heat inside the truck, so we will try to not think about it. Since many days now, we roll with the hood open 3-inches, which keep the general temperature down. After all, it may not be abnormal for the truck to get warm, given the load we are carrying.
After Huehuetenango, we took the mountains road in the northeast direction, to reach the highlands, where are probably the most desirable places to see in Guatemala. In general, in Central America, we will avoid overcrowded capitals, in an effort to avoid criminality, and also because it is more easy for us to set up a bush camp outside of populated areas.
Our first day in the mountains was fine, even if it gets more difficult for Nadia to eat what she wishes, since she is vegetarian. Most people can’t believe someone would not eat meat. Already Mexico was not a vegetarian paradise, but here it seems worst.
In the heart of the mountains, close to Rio Blanco, a family let us use their little piece of land to camp. A lot of people here have at least one family member working in the U.S., so I think they are happy to welcome someone coming from there.
In the morning, we found a river where we could bath and clean up a little. Thanks god for that, after few days without a shower.
Then, as we were going deeper east, the road became unpaved, and more and more difficult. Often, our way was reduced to one lane because of rockslides due to rain. At one point, the road was even completely cut, but a deviation was in place, which saved us 10 hours of driving going back and taking another route.
People are driving fast here, including passenger buses, and in the afternoon, as we were on a paved road, and accident happened in front of us. A truck lost wood logs, causing a truck carrying beverage and a passenger buses to fly outside the road.
As we stopped, I ran back on the road to make signs for upcoming vehicles to slow down, and then, with other travelers, we cleaned up the pavement from broken glasses, and gas-propelled Pepsi bottles.
45 minutes later, and after loading the truck with a 12-pack of drinking water bottles (very desirable for us), we continued our drive in an increasingly dry environment. The landscape changed to cactus and scarcer vegetation, similar to south-Texas.
Before Chiquimula, another family let us sleep in front of their house.
On another note, people who want to contact nadia can do so at nadia2805 [AT] hotmail.com.
She will be glad to reply herself the marriage proposition I get in my mailbox now. Just in case I didn’t make it clear when I introduced her, she is a friend of mine from France, and we are not romantically tied. I will be glad to be the witness at her wedding as long as you are a decent guy.
