Day 393-401, 8-16 Aug 09: The Islas Bonitas of Belize: chillin on San Pedro & Cay Caulker

"Tropical the island Breeze, all of nature wild and free, this is where I long to be, la isla Bonita…" Madonna already sang it over 20 years ago: ‘I used to dream of San Pedro…’. San Pedro is the town on Ambergris Caye, better known [...]

Day 368-375, 15-21 Jul 09: Mums in Mexico pt.3: Isla Mujeres

The Island of Women The ‘Isla Mujeres’, the Island of Women, could have been named after the wives of the pirates that frequented the seas and left their women on this safe island, or after the Mayan Goddess Ixchel, who has been worshipped here. Nowadays, it can refer to the ladies living or the many visiting here, [...]

Day 361-367, 7-14 Jul 09: Mums in Mexico pt.2: Playa, more ruins & Isla Cozumel

As mentioned in the previous post, we have parked our bikes for a few weeks as both our mums are visiting us on the Yucatan Peninsula. After the ruins of Chichen Itza & Ek Balam, it is now time for the beach! Playa del Carmen, overcrowded and overrated “Don’t go to Cancun, move to Playa de Carmen!”, [...]

Day 346-353, 22-29 June 09: Chillin with Hector & Veronika in Cancun

Meeting old friends in Cancun A few years ago, I was on my way to run the Amsterdam Dam-to-Dam run. Ivana was joining me to the start when we saw two biketravellers pass by; loaded bikes, with a Mexican flag on the back. While I went to run, Ivana caught up with the cyclists and asked if [...]

Day 342-346, 18-22 June 09: Elections, downhill and to Cancun: World-in-a-Truck

18 June 2009: Election tricks, graffiti & handwork We did a quick tour around the central Plaza in Tlachichuca for some Wi-Fi search and some posing for pictures. I noticed a huge truck unloading hundreds of boxes with a growing crowd gathering around. The boxes contained live chickens and were handed out to the villagers. The magazine [...]

Day 322-324, 29-31 May 2009: Hospitals, drunk rides and beach camps

29th May 2009: Boca de Apisa – Maruata: 30km cycling, 2 rides, 3 hospitals, free breakfast, lunch and campsite on the beach Ivana has a problem with birds. When they fly far away or sing cheerfully in the morning, she loves them, but when they get within her personal space they scare her. So when she [...]

Day 317-321, 24-28 May 2009: hot hilly roads, tropical fruits and friendly Mexicans

After our trip across the Sea of Cortez it was time to cross terra firma again. Only we were still not sure which route to take. It was clear that we would never make it in time to Cancun, to meet our mums, so what to do? We decided to visit Puerto Vallarta first, as [...]

Day 292-297, 29 April – 4 May 2009: Baja California Sur, pt2: Hot roads, Bahia Concepcion, hidden gems and cruisers

29 April 2009: Mulege – Buenaventura beach, 43km, 500m up and down Once we managed to leave Mulege, we quickly started climbing, cutting off a rough piece of coastline. The moment the sea-breeze was out of our face, the heat took its place and we had to stop often to drink and recuperate. The reward was the [...]

Day 242-267 10Mar- 4 April 09: at home in San Diego & Ocean Beach

San Diego is the end point for most cyclist who travel down the West Coast, usually starting in Vancouver. Just 40km North of Mexico, it has the luxury and practical advantages of the USA while combined with the weather and relaxedness of the Mexicans. Our friend Romke (from The Netherlands) had already told us that he [...]

Day 234-241, 2-9March 09. Back on the bike, LA to San Diego. Jai Ho!

2nd March 2009: LA – Lomita via Santa Monica, 50km We spent one more day and night with Claudia and Diego, watched our new favourite movie, Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire (Jai Ho! became our new motto ) and then we headed out again. We wanted to start again, where we had been picked up by Diego, [...]

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