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We left Calderitas on schedule on May 1st headed for our first border crossing into Belize on our way to
Honduras. We decided that we would declare our dog, Dinah, and do all the extra paperwork necessary to get her
into Belize legally. It turned out that we needed to have filled out a particular form that was unavailable at the
border itself in order to avoid a fine for not filling it out. So we had to pay a fine of $50 to get her into Belize.
Belize is a really small country and even with the border crossing hassles we were able to make it to San Ignacio
on the Guatemalan border by early afternoon; we drove 164 miles to San Ignacio. We camped at the Inglewood
camping grounds where we stayed last year and enjoyed renewing our acquaintance with Greg Carrillo. The air
all the way through Belize was smokey from the farmers burning the cane fields in preparation for planting this
year’s crop.
The next morning we drove the few miles to the border and started the all-too-familiar 4 step process of border
crossing: 1. Check the people out of the current country, 2. Check the vehicle out of the current country, 3. Check
the people in to the new country, 4. Check the vehicle in to the new country. This year we are traveling with our
Jeep Cherokee hitched on behind so we have two vehicles to deal with. We decided to pretend that we didn’t
know that we had to declare the dog and put her in the bedroom alongside the bed with a few pillows in the way
and told her to ‘stay’.
This turned out to be a four hour crossing with a new inspection station where we had to wait our turn with all the
big trucks. Their drug sniffing dog gave up because we were parked out in the sun and the asphalt was burning
her feet. Once we got across that border we had the nasty 14 mile stretch of disputed road to deal with that was
horrible last year. This year they had recently graded it and it wasn’t too bad. Off we trundled into Guatemala and
down to Poptun to stay the night at Finca Ixobel where we stayed last year. We ate with all the guests and
employees at a special May Day celebration and turned in early.
The next day we took off south for Rio Dulce where we wanted to ask some questions about possibly crossing into
Honduras near Entre Rios south of Puerto Barrios. Colleen and I have been traveling in this area for about 5
years and we have never gotten any encouragement to cross into Honduras at Corinto and have always crossed
at El Florido by way of Chiquimula and into Copan. So we did our annual query about the new crossing and got
some tentatively positive answers. We were a day or so ahead of schedule for picking up Tracey in Jesus de
Otoro so decided to chance it – if we weren’t going to be able to cross there we would have only lost a few hours
of driving time. If we were able to cross we would have saved a day’s drive.
We arrived at the border at Corinto on a very nice paved road and were much encouraged that we had finally
been able to get to the north part of Honduras without going so far out of the way. It was an easy process to
check out of Guatemala and a really tedious process to get into Honduras that involved many pieces of paper,
fees to typists, and surly border officials. Additionally there was nowhere to park except right at the gate as far to
the side as possible and trucks crossing there had to squeeze by one at a time taking turns from each direction.
We finally got finished, rescued the dog from the side of the bed and made a very tight left turn into Honduras.
That was the end of the pavement. From there we drove 13 miles on a not too terrible dirt road with some pretty
terrible bridges over gullies and rivers with one river crossing. Most of the bridges were nothing more than a few
heavy planks laid across the ditch. Suffice to say that there were no signs indicating how many tons for which the
bridges were rated. We knew that other trucks that had to have been heavier than we were crossed the border
while we were doing the paperwork and just held our breath. The road was definitely under construction and I am
sure that the next time we come this way there won’t be nearly as many challenges. The one river crossing was
only a challenge because of how steep the access and exit from the river were; it was a tailpipe dragger.
As we bumped and twisted our way down the dirt road toward Omoa we saw a woman on the side of the road that
was waiting for a bus or a ride. She waved at us hopefully and we stopped to give her a ride to Tegucigalpita a
village on the way to our destination. She was missing most of one forearm and had a large scar down her face
from her eyebrow. We had a nice chat with her and Colleen asked what happened to her arm. She told us the
story of how her drunken boyfriend wanted money to be able to travel north to the US and, since she didn’t have
the money he needed, he attacked her with a machete and whacked off her arm. She said that he was later
caught in Guatemala and killed in the process.
We dropped off our passenger and dropped down off the now-paved highway into Omoa a seaside town with a
large fort. We found a spot to boondock next to a restaurant right at the beach and made acquaintance with a
woman from Holland who lived across the street. We ate dinner in a little comedor and dug out one of the movies
that my son, Justin, loaned us and rested up from three border crossings in as many days. Our friend Laurie
called us maniacs for three crossings in three days.
From Omoa we headed south through San Pedro Sula to Lago de Yojoa and Finca las Glorias. We camped on
the same soccer field as last year and enjoyed eating in the dining room for two nights in exchange for our
‘accommodations’ on the soccer field. While there, Colleen went hiking in Parque Meambar and we just enjoyed
having two days of internet access to get caught up with business and other correspondence. Last year we
camped near the road because we didn’t want to chance softer ground down near the trees. This year we opted
for the trees for the shade they would offer without remembering that the satellite dish had to be aimed over the
trees. So, while Colleen was off on her hike, I spent the better part of two hours clearing enough of the jungle on
the other side of the trees to get the satellite set up. I am getting pretty proficient with my machete and it really
works since Pablo in Calderitas showed me how to properly sharpen it.
From Lago de Yojoa we were off to Siguatepeque where we parked the rig at a gas station after having it washed
and Colleen went down the mountain in the Jeep to get Tracey. While she was gone I took a taxi into town, went to
the bank, had lunch at a comedor in the market and stocked up on some groceries. Colleen and Tracey returned
a couple hours later and we headed down the mountain toward Tegucigalpa. It was our intention to get to the
other side of that capital city before stopping for the night but it started to get too dark. Luckily we found a gas
station with a large dirt lot behind it and pulled in for the night. Most of that dirt lot filled with trucks by late evening
and we were not going anywhere before the trucks left.
traveled 81 miles to La Libertad where we spent Larry and Joyce’s 40th anniversary last year on our Panama trip.
In La Libertad we camped overnight at the same Rio Mar Turicentro for $5 for all three of us. We ate dinner at
one of the seafood restaurants along the beach and watched the surfers. We also bought lots of fish at the pier.
On May 9th we drove 146 miles to La Campana near El Progreso on our way to Coban, Guatemala. We crossed
the border at San Cristobal. On May 10th we arrived in the cool mountain air of Coban and stayed behind an
Esso gas station (N 15.47159 W 90.38874 Elev 1308 meters) for three nights. It wasn’t the most lovely of
accommodations, but it was safe and we had room to set up the satellite dish. While we were there it rained off
and on, but it is so nice and cool that I just enjoyed the heck out of it after the heat and humidity of previous
days.
While in Coban we drove the Jeep to Semuc Champey 30 miles on pavement to Lanquin and then another 15 or
so miles on a dirt road. At the end of the road were the most beautiful pools of cool water that ran from one pool
to another in a series of three foot high waterfalls. It was a really great adventure in an extraordinarily beautiful
area. The town of Coban appears quite prosperous with a nice shopping mall in addition to the normal small
tiendas and public market. This was our first visit to Coban and we will return.
Leaving Coban on the 13th we drove 221 miles to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. We arrived just at dark and I am
glad that we made it before it got dark as the road down to the lake through Godinez is pretty steep and narrow.
We also understand that there have been some assaults on the roads there lately at night. Just another good
reason to not drive at night down here.
We were a couple of days early arriving so Fernando was surprised to see us on the streets of Pana. He alerted
the family and we had several visitors that evening. We are camped alongside the lake where we camped last
year; the cost is 40 Quetzales ($5) a night.
We are still in Pana at this writing and we have had a lot of fun visiting with the family, making little side trips,
seeing Fernando and Estela’s new baby girl, and shopping and eating on the street. We were not aware that
Fernando and Estela were expecting and the baby was born on May 10th, just 3 days before we arrived. Imagine
how honored we felt when we asked what the baby’s name is and were told that they were waiting for our arrival
as they wanted to name her some combination of Kathe and Colleen. Colleen and I gave it a day’s thought and
her name is Kalina Yaxon Ramos.
Today, as I write this on the 19th of May, we are waiting for Hurricane Adrian to hit the coast of Guatemala and
travel up and over the mountains on its way to the Caribbean. We decided that we would be safer staying here
than trying to make our way out of the mountains and to the north through Huehuetenango. There might be some
road closures due to slides that might delay our departure on Sunday, but we feel safe here in this deep bowl.
The storm will come at us from across the lake and we will turn the rig so our rear is facing the storm. When and if
the winds hit hard we will pull in the slideouts, batten down the hatches and ride it out. There are no buildings nor
trees between us and the direction the storm will come, so no danger from debris but also no protection. The
storm warnings say that we can expect from 6 to 20 inches of rain depending on the storm’s final track. This
morning we went to San Jorge to help the Garcias tie down their tin roof on the house that is perched on the side
of a cliff looking right at the storm’s approach.
I thought I would get this travelogue out before I have to dismantle the satellite dish. We are not worried so, dear
readers, don’t you worry either. The next episode will tell you all about it.
Next Episode:
Thank you all so much for your concern about whether we were going to be washed into Lake Atitlan with the
possibility of 20 inches of rainfall from Hurricane Adrian. When I wrote to you we had turned our rig so the rear
was toward the direction from which the storm would come, we anchored our satellite dish hoping to be able to
hang out on the internet if we were confined indoors, brought in the awnings, stocked up on a few groceries and
just waited.
As it turned out, Adrian was a no-show in this part of Guatemala….all is well and you can all heave a sigh of relief
if you were worried. Thanks for all the nice notes.
A little adventure that we had a week ago that I did not include in the May tale will now be told in hopes that it may
prevent any of you from having the same adventure.
We always gain access to cash when we are traveling, whether in the US or in other countries, by using what is
called a Visa ATM card. We incur some small charges for doing it and we don’t have to travel with large amounts
of cash nor try to use Travelers’ Checks which are a pain.
So, we needed some cash and the first ATM machine we tried only allowed withdrawals of a maximum of 400
Quetzales (about $50). To get a couple hundred dollars would mean several service charges. So we went looking
for another ATM machine and found one near a bank under a stairwell. Tracey and Colleen stayed in the car and
I went in to use it. I was having difficulty getting the machine to suck up the card…it was a little difficult to insert it. I
was finally able to but the machine seemed not to recognize that it had my card in it. I pushed the cancel button
but the card did not come back out of the machine. About that time a young, nicely dressed man kind of poked his
head in the door to ask if the machine was working. I told him that it didn’t seem to be, and, furthermore it had
sucked up my card and wouldn’t give it back.
Now, as you read this, you already know that something bad is happening to me, but keep in mind that I didn’t
have the same foresight that you are getting as this story unfolds.
On the little screen of the ATM machine were some instructions in Spanish about getting a card stuck in the
machine with a phone number to call if I had any problems. The young man asked if he could help and I told him
that the card seemed to be stuck. He said something about the phone number on the screen and offered his cell
phone to call the number. I thanked him and he asked what the number was so he could dial it. I read it to him, he
dialed it, someone answered the phone, he explained that he was calling from Panajachel on my behalf to report
my ATM card was stuck in the machine. He handed me the phone, the fellow on the other end commented that I
seemed to speak Spanish well, said they were having some problems with the ready tellers in Pana, and asked for
the spelling of my name, the name of the bank issuing the card, and the card number. I was having a hard time
hearing him and he asked if I were still inside the ready teller room. I told him yes and he suggested that I step
outside for better reception. I went outside and did the head turning trick we all do to try to get a clear connection.
I told him I had no idea of the number as I didn’t have it memorized. He asked for the PIN and I told him that I
never reveal my PIN to anyone. He said that was fine and that I could retrieve my card at 3:00 the following
afternoon at a particular bank. Since it seemed to be taking so long, Colleen showed up at about this time.
I handed the phone back to the man who had also hoped to get some cash from the machine. We both thanked
him profusely…and gave him a little hug each. He said he would go back to his hotel and said goodbye.
We hung out there at the booth for a few minutes trying to get the machine to give up the card without success.
We read a bit more on the screen which said that the machine should not keep our card, the phone number to
call if it did, and instructions to not accept help from strangers and not to use a borrowed cell phone which of
course I just did.
We now figured that I had been scammed but that the card would be useless without the PIN. We enlisted the
police to try to find the guy by going to the other ATM machines without success.
Now, here is what we finally figured out…this ‘nice young man’ wasn’t….he is the one that rigged the machine to
retain my card…he didn’t dial the number I read him from the screen – he dialed a confederate….the confederate
asked for the PIN but I didn’t give it to him….he asked me to step out of the booth so the helpful jerk could pull the
plastic sleeve with my card out of the machine….he stole my card….the confederate told me I could retrieve the
card the next day at 3 PM to give them time to spend the money…the card can also be used as a credit card….we
didn’t know that it could also be used as a credit card and figured that without the PIN they couldn’t do anything
with it and waited until the morning to go to the bank and ask them to check the machine…the card was not there
and then we immediately reported it.
They had the card in their possession for about 15 hours before it was disabled and they managed to spend
about $600 at gas stations and a McDonald’s before it was shut off. None of the transactions took place in
Panajachel where we were, but occurred in Quetzaltenango, about 1 1/2 hours away.
According to our bank we just have to fill out a dispute form and provide an explanation about the charges and we
won’t have to pay them. That is the good and lucky part…the worst part of the whole deal for me is that hug I
wasted on that no-good-nick…
Maybe my gullibility and story of it will save one of you from a similar scam.
Tracey, Colleen and I left Panajachel, Guatemala on May 22nd after spending 9 days in Pana visiting our friends
the Garcias. They are all well…Flavio has graduated from high school and has found a job (we were unable to
obtain a one year visa for him to visit the US and learn English so he is staying in Guatemala), Irma is still working
at the hospital and going to school on weekends in preparation for entering a nursing program to be an
instrument nurse, Olga is still doing her beadwork, little Nandito is now two years old and has a little sister named
Kalina, Fernando is still working driving people back and forth to market and hauling goods, Benito Jr. has
decided that maybe school is not such a bad idea and goes to school at night after finishing a full day of working
as a houseboy for an American family, Benito Sr. is taking care of the weekend home of another American family,
Rosa has taken some classes on baking bread and is saving to buy an oven, and Grandma Maria is still walking
to the market to sell oranges and walking to some property remote from their house to take care of some chickens.
We crossed the border into Mexico the same day we left Panajachel and spent the night in front of a workshop of
some sort as it was getting dark and we just couldn’t drive any further. As we left the next morning Colleen
opened the door to see if any traffic was coming which caused the steps to go out and they got caught on a berm
as we entered the highway. We now had some severely tweaked steps. We stopped at a mechanic’s shop to get
them repaired on the way to our destination of Lagunas de Montebello. Tracey was not feeling well so slept off
and on during that day and Colleen took the kayak to paddle in one of the lakes as the mechanic and I tried to
figure out how to repair the steps. Removing them and pounding them back into shape did the trick.
While the mechanic was working on the steps I heard a crashing noise and then saw a late model SUV speed past
the shop. I walked out to see what happened and saw someone lying in the road up the hill a ways. I went back to
the rig to get my first aid kit and then ran up the hill. The wife of the mechanic also heard the noise and she went
back in the house to call an ambulance.
Arriving about 100 yards up the hill I saw an unconscious man and a crumpled bicycle lying on the two lane
highway. He was bleeding rather profusely from the head but was breathing on his own and had a good radial
pulse. Tracey arrived to assist and so did some passersby. I was worried that we might get hit from a car coming
over the top of the hill and so arranged for someone to slow traffic down. The passersby recognized the young
man and someone called his house…his mother-in-law arrived on the scene too. Two people walked up and
pronounced the man dead and said we were wasting our time in spite of the fact that he was alive but
unconscious, and a local drunk was ‘helping’ too. For those of you with some EMS background, what appeared to
be a severe case of priapism consistent with a head injury turned out to be a bottle of guaro and that is what the
drunk was after.
The man started regaining consciousness and became combative as he was insisting on getting up and was
perseverating about his shoes…Tracey helped me hold him down and comfort him and someone found his
shoes…45 minutes or so went by and still no ambulance so the police with a black and white VW bug decided that
he had better be gotten to the hospital. Most of the passersby disappeared with the arrival of the police. We
loaded him in the front passenger seat, one policeman and the mother-in-law in the back seat…I declined to
accompany him to the hospital and off they went. I have no idea what the outcome was.
After repairing the steps we drove a few miles to Laguna Tziscao where we camped on the hill above the lake (N
16.08818 W 91.66617). It is a beautiful area but way off the beaten path for most tourists as the area lies along
the border of Mexico with Guatemala way east of the usual travel routes. We didn’t have much time to spend as
we had a deadline to be in Cancun by June 29th.
From there we headed further east to Corozal, Mexico (not to be confused with Corozal, Belize) to visit the ruins of
Yaxchilan. We camped in the parking lot of the Escudo Jaguar (N 16.82724 W 90.88761) for 50 pesos/night. For
450 pesos we took a boat to the ruins and spent about 3 hours there. There was also an admission fee of 38
pesos/person. In the afternoon Tracey and Colleen took the Jeep and went to Bonampak, another set of ruins…
On the 26th we headed 100 miles up the road to Palenque, one of our favorite places. We stayed at the Maya
Bell very near the park.
On the 27th we drove to Campeche where we boondocked at the marina out in the ocean along a causeway. We
spent a few hours in the town that afternoon and evening.
On the 28th we drove to Cancun where we boondocked in the WalMart parking lot. That was a crowded and noisy
parking lot. Colleen and I went shopping and stocked up at Sam’s Club.
On the 29th we picked Jean up at the airport and moved the rig to AutoTab, the Mercedes Benz dealer which is
also a Freightliner shop. We needed some preventive maintenance done and it is a heck of a lot cheaper to have
it done in Mexico than in the US. On the 30th Tracey and Jean went to Isla Mujeres while Colleen and I stayed with
the rig while they worked on it.
In the afternoon when Tracey and Jean returned and the work was finished, we moved south to PaaMul. We had
heard a lot about it and were very impressed with the situation there. The land is right on the ocean and is owned
by a Mexican family. For about $4000 per year you can stay there in your RV or they also rent out RV sites by the
night ($25…yikes). Many Americans and a few Canadians have built very lovely palapa structures with outdoor
living spaces on their little lots. The only rules are that you have to incorporate a trailer or some type of
recreational vehicle in the structure.
We met Jeanie and Kevin who are making a video about Rving in Mexico and got a tour of their new palapa. It is
beautiful with a kitchen, living room, dining room and bathroom all underneath a thatched palapa and open to the
air. They have even incorporated a loft up under the thatch.
Honduras. We decided that we would declare our dog, Dinah, and do all the extra paperwork necessary to get her
into Belize legally. It turned out that we needed to have filled out a particular form that was unavailable at the
border itself in order to avoid a fine for not filling it out. So we had to pay a fine of $50 to get her into Belize.
Belize is a really small country and even with the border crossing hassles we were able to make it to San Ignacio
on the Guatemalan border by early afternoon; we drove 164 miles to San Ignacio. We camped at the Inglewood
camping grounds where we stayed last year and enjoyed renewing our acquaintance with Greg Carrillo. The air
all the way through Belize was smokey from the farmers burning the cane fields in preparation for planting this
year’s crop.
The next morning we drove the few miles to the border and started the all-too-familiar 4 step process of border
crossing: 1. Check the people out of the current country, 2. Check the vehicle out of the current country, 3. Check
the people in to the new country, 4. Check the vehicle in to the new country. This year we are traveling with our
Jeep Cherokee hitched on behind so we have two vehicles to deal with. We decided to pretend that we didn’t
know that we had to declare the dog and put her in the bedroom alongside the bed with a few pillows in the way
and told her to ‘stay’.
This turned out to be a four hour crossing with a new inspection station where we had to wait our turn with all the
big trucks. Their drug sniffing dog gave up because we were parked out in the sun and the asphalt was burning
her feet. Once we got across that border we had the nasty 14 mile stretch of disputed road to deal with that was
horrible last year. This year they had recently graded it and it wasn’t too bad. Off we trundled into Guatemala and
down to Poptun to stay the night at Finca Ixobel where we stayed last year. We ate with all the guests and
employees at a special May Day celebration and turned in early.
The next day we took off south for Rio Dulce where we wanted to ask some questions about possibly crossing into
Honduras near Entre Rios south of Puerto Barrios. Colleen and I have been traveling in this area for about 5
years and we have never gotten any encouragement to cross into Honduras at Corinto and have always crossed
at El Florido by way of Chiquimula and into Copan. So we did our annual query about the new crossing and got
some tentatively positive answers. We were a day or so ahead of schedule for picking up Tracey in Jesus de
Otoro so decided to chance it – if we weren’t going to be able to cross there we would have only lost a few hours
of driving time. If we were able to cross we would have saved a day’s drive.
We arrived at the border at Corinto on a very nice paved road and were much encouraged that we had finally
been able to get to the north part of Honduras without going so far out of the way. It was an easy process to
check out of Guatemala and a really tedious process to get into Honduras that involved many pieces of paper,
fees to typists, and surly border officials. Additionally there was nowhere to park except right at the gate as far to
the side as possible and trucks crossing there had to squeeze by one at a time taking turns from each direction.
We finally got finished, rescued the dog from the side of the bed and made a very tight left turn into Honduras.
That was the end of the pavement. From there we drove 13 miles on a not too terrible dirt road with some pretty
terrible bridges over gullies and rivers with one river crossing. Most of the bridges were nothing more than a few
heavy planks laid across the ditch. Suffice to say that there were no signs indicating how many tons for which the
bridges were rated. We knew that other trucks that had to have been heavier than we were crossed the border
while we were doing the paperwork and just held our breath. The road was definitely under construction and I am
sure that the next time we come this way there won’t be nearly as many challenges. The one river crossing was
only a challenge because of how steep the access and exit from the river were; it was a tailpipe dragger.
As we bumped and twisted our way down the dirt road toward Omoa we saw a woman on the side of the road that
was waiting for a bus or a ride. She waved at us hopefully and we stopped to give her a ride to Tegucigalpita a
village on the way to our destination. She was missing most of one forearm and had a large scar down her face
from her eyebrow. We had a nice chat with her and Colleen asked what happened to her arm. She told us the
story of how her drunken boyfriend wanted money to be able to travel north to the US and, since she didn’t have
the money he needed, he attacked her with a machete and whacked off her arm. She said that he was later
caught in Guatemala and killed in the process.
We dropped off our passenger and dropped down off the now-paved highway into Omoa a seaside town with a
large fort. We found a spot to boondock next to a restaurant right at the beach and made acquaintance with a
woman from Holland who lived across the street. We ate dinner in a little comedor and dug out one of the movies
that my son, Justin, loaned us and rested up from three border crossings in as many days. Our friend Laurie
called us maniacs for three crossings in three days.
From Omoa we headed south through San Pedro Sula to Lago de Yojoa and Finca las Glorias. We camped on
the same soccer field as last year and enjoyed eating in the dining room for two nights in exchange for our
‘accommodations’ on the soccer field. While there, Colleen went hiking in Parque Meambar and we just enjoyed
having two days of internet access to get caught up with business and other correspondence. Last year we
camped near the road because we didn’t want to chance softer ground down near the trees. This year we opted
for the trees for the shade they would offer without remembering that the satellite dish had to be aimed over the
trees. So, while Colleen was off on her hike, I spent the better part of two hours clearing enough of the jungle on
the other side of the trees to get the satellite set up. I am getting pretty proficient with my machete and it really
works since Pablo in Calderitas showed me how to properly sharpen it.
From Lago de Yojoa we were off to Siguatepeque where we parked the rig at a gas station after having it washed
and Colleen went down the mountain in the Jeep to get Tracey. While she was gone I took a taxi into town, went to
the bank, had lunch at a comedor in the market and stocked up on some groceries. Colleen and Tracey returned
a couple hours later and we headed down the mountain toward Tegucigalpa. It was our intention to get to the
other side of that capital city before stopping for the night but it started to get too dark. Luckily we found a gas
station with a large dirt lot behind it and pulled in for the night. Most of that dirt lot filled with trucks by late evening
and we were not going anywhere before the trucks left.
traveled 81 miles to La Libertad where we spent Larry and Joyce’s 40th anniversary last year on our Panama trip.
In La Libertad we camped overnight at the same Rio Mar Turicentro for $5 for all three of us. We ate dinner at
one of the seafood restaurants along the beach and watched the surfers. We also bought lots of fish at the pier.
On May 9th we drove 146 miles to La Campana near El Progreso on our way to Coban, Guatemala. We crossed
the border at San Cristobal. On May 10th we arrived in the cool mountain air of Coban and stayed behind an
Esso gas station (N 15.47159 W 90.38874 Elev 1308 meters) for three nights. It wasn’t the most lovely of
accommodations, but it was safe and we had room to set up the satellite dish. While we were there it rained off
and on, but it is so nice and cool that I just enjoyed the heck out of it after the heat and humidity of previous
days.
While in Coban we drove the Jeep to Semuc Champey 30 miles on pavement to Lanquin and then another 15 or
so miles on a dirt road. At the end of the road were the most beautiful pools of cool water that ran from one pool
to another in a series of three foot high waterfalls. It was a really great adventure in an extraordinarily beautiful
area. The town of Coban appears quite prosperous with a nice shopping mall in addition to the normal small
tiendas and public market. This was our first visit to Coban and we will return.
Leaving Coban on the 13th we drove 221 miles to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. We arrived just at dark and I am
glad that we made it before it got dark as the road down to the lake through Godinez is pretty steep and narrow.
We also understand that there have been some assaults on the roads there lately at night. Just another good
reason to not drive at night down here.
We were a couple of days early arriving so Fernando was surprised to see us on the streets of Pana. He alerted
the family and we had several visitors that evening. We are camped alongside the lake where we camped last
year; the cost is 40 Quetzales ($5) a night.
We are still in Pana at this writing and we have had a lot of fun visiting with the family, making little side trips,
seeing Fernando and Estela’s new baby girl, and shopping and eating on the street. We were not aware that
Fernando and Estela were expecting and the baby was born on May 10th, just 3 days before we arrived. Imagine
how honored we felt when we asked what the baby’s name is and were told that they were waiting for our arrival
as they wanted to name her some combination of Kathe and Colleen. Colleen and I gave it a day’s thought and
her name is Kalina Yaxon Ramos.
Today, as I write this on the 19th of May, we are waiting for Hurricane Adrian to hit the coast of Guatemala and
travel up and over the mountains on its way to the Caribbean. We decided that we would be safer staying here
than trying to make our way out of the mountains and to the north through Huehuetenango. There might be some
road closures due to slides that might delay our departure on Sunday, but we feel safe here in this deep bowl.
The storm will come at us from across the lake and we will turn the rig so our rear is facing the storm. When and if
the winds hit hard we will pull in the slideouts, batten down the hatches and ride it out. There are no buildings nor
trees between us and the direction the storm will come, so no danger from debris but also no protection. The
storm warnings say that we can expect from 6 to 20 inches of rain depending on the storm’s final track. This
morning we went to San Jorge to help the Garcias tie down their tin roof on the house that is perched on the side
of a cliff looking right at the storm’s approach.
I thought I would get this travelogue out before I have to dismantle the satellite dish. We are not worried so, dear
readers, don’t you worry either. The next episode will tell you all about it.
Next Episode:
Thank you all so much for your concern about whether we were going to be washed into Lake Atitlan with the
possibility of 20 inches of rainfall from Hurricane Adrian. When I wrote to you we had turned our rig so the rear
was toward the direction from which the storm would come, we anchored our satellite dish hoping to be able to
hang out on the internet if we were confined indoors, brought in the awnings, stocked up on a few groceries and
just waited.
As it turned out, Adrian was a no-show in this part of Guatemala….all is well and you can all heave a sigh of relief
if you were worried. Thanks for all the nice notes.
A little adventure that we had a week ago that I did not include in the May tale will now be told in hopes that it may
prevent any of you from having the same adventure.
We always gain access to cash when we are traveling, whether in the US or in other countries, by using what is
called a Visa ATM card. We incur some small charges for doing it and we don’t have to travel with large amounts
of cash nor try to use Travelers’ Checks which are a pain.
So, we needed some cash and the first ATM machine we tried only allowed withdrawals of a maximum of 400
Quetzales (about $50). To get a couple hundred dollars would mean several service charges. So we went looking
for another ATM machine and found one near a bank under a stairwell. Tracey and Colleen stayed in the car and
I went in to use it. I was having difficulty getting the machine to suck up the card…it was a little difficult to insert it. I
was finally able to but the machine seemed not to recognize that it had my card in it. I pushed the cancel button
but the card did not come back out of the machine. About that time a young, nicely dressed man kind of poked his
head in the door to ask if the machine was working. I told him that it didn’t seem to be, and, furthermore it had
sucked up my card and wouldn’t give it back.
Now, as you read this, you already know that something bad is happening to me, but keep in mind that I didn’t
have the same foresight that you are getting as this story unfolds.
On the little screen of the ATM machine were some instructions in Spanish about getting a card stuck in the
machine with a phone number to call if I had any problems. The young man asked if he could help and I told him
that the card seemed to be stuck. He said something about the phone number on the screen and offered his cell
phone to call the number. I thanked him and he asked what the number was so he could dial it. I read it to him, he
dialed it, someone answered the phone, he explained that he was calling from Panajachel on my behalf to report
my ATM card was stuck in the machine. He handed me the phone, the fellow on the other end commented that I
seemed to speak Spanish well, said they were having some problems with the ready tellers in Pana, and asked for
the spelling of my name, the name of the bank issuing the card, and the card number. I was having a hard time
hearing him and he asked if I were still inside the ready teller room. I told him yes and he suggested that I step
outside for better reception. I went outside and did the head turning trick we all do to try to get a clear connection.
I told him I had no idea of the number as I didn’t have it memorized. He asked for the PIN and I told him that I
never reveal my PIN to anyone. He said that was fine and that I could retrieve my card at 3:00 the following
afternoon at a particular bank. Since it seemed to be taking so long, Colleen showed up at about this time.
I handed the phone back to the man who had also hoped to get some cash from the machine. We both thanked
him profusely…and gave him a little hug each. He said he would go back to his hotel and said goodbye.
We hung out there at the booth for a few minutes trying to get the machine to give up the card without success.
We read a bit more on the screen which said that the machine should not keep our card, the phone number to
call if it did, and instructions to not accept help from strangers and not to use a borrowed cell phone which of
course I just did.
We now figured that I had been scammed but that the card would be useless without the PIN. We enlisted the
police to try to find the guy by going to the other ATM machines without success.
Now, here is what we finally figured out…this ‘nice young man’ wasn’t….he is the one that rigged the machine to
retain my card…he didn’t dial the number I read him from the screen – he dialed a confederate….the confederate
asked for the PIN but I didn’t give it to him….he asked me to step out of the booth so the helpful jerk could pull the
plastic sleeve with my card out of the machine….he stole my card….the confederate told me I could retrieve the
card the next day at 3 PM to give them time to spend the money…the card can also be used as a credit card….we
didn’t know that it could also be used as a credit card and figured that without the PIN they couldn’t do anything
with it and waited until the morning to go to the bank and ask them to check the machine…the card was not there
and then we immediately reported it.
They had the card in their possession for about 15 hours before it was disabled and they managed to spend
about $600 at gas stations and a McDonald’s before it was shut off. None of the transactions took place in
Panajachel where we were, but occurred in Quetzaltenango, about 1 1/2 hours away.
According to our bank we just have to fill out a dispute form and provide an explanation about the charges and we
won’t have to pay them. That is the good and lucky part…the worst part of the whole deal for me is that hug I
wasted on that no-good-nick…
Maybe my gullibility and story of it will save one of you from a similar scam.
Tracey, Colleen and I left Panajachel, Guatemala on May 22nd after spending 9 days in Pana visiting our friends
the Garcias. They are all well…Flavio has graduated from high school and has found a job (we were unable to
obtain a one year visa for him to visit the US and learn English so he is staying in Guatemala), Irma is still working
at the hospital and going to school on weekends in preparation for entering a nursing program to be an
instrument nurse, Olga is still doing her beadwork, little Nandito is now two years old and has a little sister named
Kalina, Fernando is still working driving people back and forth to market and hauling goods, Benito Jr. has
decided that maybe school is not such a bad idea and goes to school at night after finishing a full day of working
as a houseboy for an American family, Benito Sr. is taking care of the weekend home of another American family,
Rosa has taken some classes on baking bread and is saving to buy an oven, and Grandma Maria is still walking
to the market to sell oranges and walking to some property remote from their house to take care of some chickens.
We crossed the border into Mexico the same day we left Panajachel and spent the night in front of a workshop of
some sort as it was getting dark and we just couldn’t drive any further. As we left the next morning Colleen
opened the door to see if any traffic was coming which caused the steps to go out and they got caught on a berm
as we entered the highway. We now had some severely tweaked steps. We stopped at a mechanic’s shop to get
them repaired on the way to our destination of Lagunas de Montebello. Tracey was not feeling well so slept off
and on during that day and Colleen took the kayak to paddle in one of the lakes as the mechanic and I tried to
figure out how to repair the steps. Removing them and pounding them back into shape did the trick.
While the mechanic was working on the steps I heard a crashing noise and then saw a late model SUV speed past
the shop. I walked out to see what happened and saw someone lying in the road up the hill a ways. I went back to
the rig to get my first aid kit and then ran up the hill. The wife of the mechanic also heard the noise and she went
back in the house to call an ambulance.
Arriving about 100 yards up the hill I saw an unconscious man and a crumpled bicycle lying on the two lane
highway. He was bleeding rather profusely from the head but was breathing on his own and had a good radial
pulse. Tracey arrived to assist and so did some passersby. I was worried that we might get hit from a car coming
over the top of the hill and so arranged for someone to slow traffic down. The passersby recognized the young
man and someone called his house…his mother-in-law arrived on the scene too. Two people walked up and
pronounced the man dead and said we were wasting our time in spite of the fact that he was alive but
unconscious, and a local drunk was ‘helping’ too. For those of you with some EMS background, what appeared to
be a severe case of priapism consistent with a head injury turned out to be a bottle of guaro and that is what the
drunk was after.
The man started regaining consciousness and became combative as he was insisting on getting up and was
perseverating about his shoes…Tracey helped me hold him down and comfort him and someone found his
shoes…45 minutes or so went by and still no ambulance so the police with a black and white VW bug decided that
he had better be gotten to the hospital. Most of the passersby disappeared with the arrival of the police. We
loaded him in the front passenger seat, one policeman and the mother-in-law in the back seat…I declined to
accompany him to the hospital and off they went. I have no idea what the outcome was.
After repairing the steps we drove a few miles to Laguna Tziscao where we camped on the hill above the lake (N
16.08818 W 91.66617). It is a beautiful area but way off the beaten path for most tourists as the area lies along
the border of Mexico with Guatemala way east of the usual travel routes. We didn’t have much time to spend as
we had a deadline to be in Cancun by June 29th.
From there we headed further east to Corozal, Mexico (not to be confused with Corozal, Belize) to visit the ruins of
Yaxchilan. We camped in the parking lot of the Escudo Jaguar (N 16.82724 W 90.88761) for 50 pesos/night. For
450 pesos we took a boat to the ruins and spent about 3 hours there. There was also an admission fee of 38
pesos/person. In the afternoon Tracey and Colleen took the Jeep and went to Bonampak, another set of ruins…
On the 26th we headed 100 miles up the road to Palenque, one of our favorite places. We stayed at the Maya
Bell very near the park.
On the 27th we drove to Campeche where we boondocked at the marina out in the ocean along a causeway. We
spent a few hours in the town that afternoon and evening.
On the 28th we drove to Cancun where we boondocked in the WalMart parking lot. That was a crowded and noisy
parking lot. Colleen and I went shopping and stocked up at Sam’s Club.
On the 29th we picked Jean up at the airport and moved the rig to AutoTab, the Mercedes Benz dealer which is
also a Freightliner shop. We needed some preventive maintenance done and it is a heck of a lot cheaper to have
it done in Mexico than in the US. On the 30th Tracey and Jean went to Isla Mujeres while Colleen and I stayed with
the rig while they worked on it.
In the afternoon when Tracey and Jean returned and the work was finished, we moved south to PaaMul. We had
heard a lot about it and were very impressed with the situation there. The land is right on the ocean and is owned
by a Mexican family. For about $4000 per year you can stay there in your RV or they also rent out RV sites by the
night ($25…yikes). Many Americans and a few Canadians have built very lovely palapa structures with outdoor
living spaces on their little lots. The only rules are that you have to incorporate a trailer or some type of
recreational vehicle in the structure.
We met Jeanie and Kevin who are making a video about Rving in Mexico and got a tour of their new palapa. It is
beautiful with a kitchen, living room, dining room and bathroom all underneath a thatched palapa and open to the
air. They have even incorporated a loft up under the thatch.
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2005
2005
May 2005
Around the World with Kathe and Colleen