PanAmericana Adventure Drive

May 16th - Here we go again!

2007-01-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

Following on from our drives through South America in 2001, China/Tibet in 2004 and Southern Africa in 2005, we are now heading for Central America in November 2006.

Click on the map above to enlarge it and see exactly where we will be going in November and December.

If you want to see what is involved in these adventure drives you can read all about our trips to China/Tibet and Southern Africa by clicking on the links on the right hand side of the header page.

You can obtain full details of the event, the route, latest news and participants by clicking on the 4x4xplore link.

I will start posting to this blog after the first briefing day being held on June 11th when we will receive all the latest news about the route as well as learning who will be participating.

June 4th - Latest News

2007-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

Just a week to go before the Briefing Day being held at The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.

It will be our first opportunity to see how many old and new faces will be coming on the trip in November. We have just heard about the Vladivostok to St.Petersburg event that HERO are holding in June/July 2007. As a result, we are thinking of shipping the Landcruiser to California after the Pan Americana ends where we will park it for a few months and then ship it to Vladivostok.

Lots to think about but maybe the meeting next week will enable us to make some firm decisions.

August 31st - An update

2007-01-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

Under three weeks to go before the car is shipped from Felixstowe to Los Angeles. The trip will take about three weeks and then another week to clear US customs. I'm fortunate in having another Landcruiser that is taking part in the event sharing the container. Shipping a car on its own in a 20ft container works out at nearly twice the cost of sharing a 40ft container.

Over the next couple of weeks the final vehicle preparations are taking place and the stocking up of spare parts and emergency items will be completed.

The number on the event continues to grow and at the last count there were 28. With HERO's support vehicles we will have over 30 cars, which is a great number to have, and makes the event much more enjoyable.

Once we clear customs in Los Angeles we will have a few days before we head south to La Jolla where we will be meeting up with both past and present particpants of HERO's rallys.

September 17th - Three days to shipping!

2007-01-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Just three days to go before I take the Landcruiser up to Felixstowe for it to be shipped to San Pedro, the container port near Long Beach, California.

All the car preparations have been completed and the photo below is of the car at RSG of Littlehampton, West Sussex who have carried out all the servicing and modification work. Following the problems I had in South Africa with the car 'bottoming' on really rough roads, I have upgraded the rear suspension with heavy duty springs. The car now sits much higher and hopefully the higher ride will eliminate the underside of the car hitting the ground.

We have just received the latest entry list and 25 teams are entered for the event. Many are old friends from previous tours but there will be many new faces which will add to the fun.

The container ship leaves Felixstowe on the 25th September and should arrive in San Pedro around the October 20th. We fly out on the October 28th for the start from Ensenada, Mexico on the November 7th.

I've just been hearing about the latest hurricane to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico, the second in as many weeks. I hope that our drive down Baja California will not be affected too much. Once we take the ferry to the 'mainland' of Mexico from the tip of Baja we will be driving away from the coast, so any storm damage from hurricanes should be limited.

September 20th - Delivery to docks at Felixstowe

2007-01-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

Final packing taking place at my house in south London, including loading some bulky personal items we would rather not take on the plane with us. Everything stows neatly in the security cage we have in the back of the car and we still have room for our travel bags when we load up in California for the drive down into Mexico and the start from Ensenada on November 7th.

A good photo of the car with stickers from the Inca Trail in 2001, China/Tibet in 2004 and South Africa in 2005. Not much room for a Panamericana sticker!

The drive to Felixstowe from south London is approximately 100 miles and on a gloriously sunny day I headed for the Dartford Tunnel and then for the A12 to Ipswich. Chris, my co-driver from China, followed behind so that I had a lift back to London after delivering the car.

We arrived at the container depot in Felixstowe around noon and met up with Terence who had driven from Oxford in his Toyota Colorado Landcruiser. I was hoping to see the cars loaded into the 40ft container but this was not to be, as the loading would not take place until later in the day. So, the photo I was expecting to take of the cars in the container had to be replaced by the one below of the cars parked up waiting for loading.

Two Landcruisers waiting for the container to California.

The trip will take just under four weeks and we should have the cars in Los Angeles by the 20th October. Let's hope there are no problems along the way.

October 2nd - Car shipped to Los Angeles

2007-01-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Our two Landcruisers were loaded onto the container ship Arabia which was docked in Felixstowe on the 25th September. As far as I can ascertain the ship then left port. According to the shipping line's website the Arabia is estimated to arrive in San Pedro in just over two week's time, on the 17th October.

Last week we met several of the participants at the launch of the HERO 4x4xplore Indian tour which takes place in October/November 2007. This was held at the Indian High Commission in London.

Not much else to report at the moment but with less than four weeks to go before we head out to the States we are now making our final arrangements regarding items we want to take with us and those that we will buy when we get out there.

October 20th - Landcruiser arrives in USA

2007-01-21T03:48:00.000-08:00

Just received notification from the US Shipping Agent that the ship docked in San Pedro, California on Monday 17th October. The agent says we should know today (20th October) how long the US Customs will want the car to carry out their inspection. Apparently, other cars brought into the States have taken up to 10 days to clear customs. I'm hopeful that mine won't take that long and I can have the car collected by my son early next week.

We are doing the final preparations before we fly out on the 28th October, buying medical supplies, special clothes and photographic items.

We have just received the latest list of entries and about half are people we have travelled with before. A great crowd and a good number to make the event go really well. We have been informed that there has been a route change due to civil unrest in Oaxaca, Mexico. Apparently both the US and British governments have issued travel advisories informing tourists to stay away from the area of unrest.

October 27th - Cleared US Customs!!!

2007-01-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

Great news! After nearly two weeks in San Pedro Docks Los Angeles waiting for customs clearance into the US, and only a week to go before we head across the border into Mexico, the US customs have cleared the car for temporary importation into the US.

We head out for the US tomorrow on British Airways from Heathrow and then on Monday we will drive down to collect the car. Our arrangements for the following weekend have had to be changed as we have just learnt that the US Customs Commercial offices at the Mexican border do not operate at a weekend. On leaving the US, with a temporary imported vehicle, the Bond you have to pay on entry into the US has to be cancelled and this can only be done by the Commercial office of US Customs. As a result we have decided to join some of HERO's event cars that will be crossing at noon next Friday. We will leave the cars at a depot in Tijuana and then return by taxi across the border into the US for the party being held by Stuart and Sheri at their house in La Jolla on the Saturday evening.

All this means that we will have two nights at the 5 star hotel, La Valencia in La Jolla, which should be a great way to start the tour. On Sunday morning we will head back to the border by taxi and cross to Tijuana and collect the cars for the short drive down to Ensenada and the start of the tour on Tuesday 7th November.

October 30th - Successful collection from shipping agent

2007-01-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

At 6 o'clock this morning we headed off for the warehouse just south of Los Angeles and about fifteen miles from the docks. We had hoped that the cars would have already been unloaded from the container, but that was not to be.

The journey down from our house just north of Santa Monica took about an hour. Typical rush hour traffic on the LA freeways but, as there were three of us in my son's car, we could use the Car Pool Lane and as the traffic snarled up we were able to keep going at a fair speed.

The fact that the cars were still in the container meant we had a two hour wait whilst they took them out. Of course both cars had flat batteries after being in the container for over a month. We used two fork lift trucks to jump start each car as the Landcruisers have two 12v batteries.

The car was nearly out of fuel so a quick stop at the first garage with diesel to refuel was in order. Not that many US garages sell diesel as so few cars are diesel powered. It is quite an eyeopener to see how little the Americans pay for their fuel compared to us Europeans. At $2.70 a US gallon for diesel, they are paying 39p per litre for diesel compared to 95p in London!

On the way back we stopped on the Pacific Coast Highway, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and took the picture below. A gloriously sunny afternoon, with the surf below us, made for a perfect photo location, ahead of our adventure through Central America.

Overlooking the Pacific in Malibu, California

In today's Los Angeles Times there were headlines on the civil unrest in Oaxaca which resulted in the police fighting with demonstrators in the centre of the town, and several people were killed, including a US journalist. Our route has been altered and we will bypass Oaxaca and stay in Acapulco instead.

Just a few days left before we head for the Mexican border on Friday. The time will be spent doing final checks on the car and making sure we have the equipment, spares, first aid etc that we need.

November 4th - La Jolla

2007-01-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

A lovely mild day spent in La Jolla, just relaxing and enjoying the Californian weather.

La Jolla is a beautiful place on the southern Californian coast, just north of San Diego. It has a village feel about it with wonderful views looking over the Pacific.

A short walk along the sea front took us past the setting up of the San Diego Triathlon, which takes place tomorrow. Then we came across a small seal colony, with several dozen seals lying on the sand, basking in the sun. The sea shore, and an area out to sea, has been designated an ecological reserve and strict restrictions on access are enforced to protect the environment.

Our walk then took us into the town. La Jolla is full of jewelry, art and designer stores, so familiar all over the world.

Later in the afternoon we took a taxi for the short journey to Stuart & Sheri's house, where they were very generously hosting a pre-event party. Their house is on the bluffs above the Pacific, in a truly magnificent location. We met up with several good friends of ours from previous events: Tom & Rosalie Gatsonides, Jim & Leejun Taylor, Ahmad and Raza Fakhr, Antoine, Maria & Victor de Hullu, Terence English, John Beavis, Bob & Thelma Howells. Also there, although not going on the event, were our Texan friends, Kenny & Deeanne Croucher. Kenny, who has his own small plane, told us he would be flying down to see us when we are in Mexico City. John & Joanna Brown and Jingers were there from HERO. The Jamieson's had laid on a sumptuous feast with our glasses being filled with the most wonderful Margeritas. Around 9pm we left for the short trip back to the hotel.

We aim to be back at the border around noon and then to cross in to Mexico and then collect our cars from the parking depot in Tijuana. But before we leave, we are going to watch the triatholon competitors.

It's been fun staying these past two days in La Jolla, a great start to the Pan Americana adventure that is about to begin.

November 4th - The car is in Mexico and we are in the States!

2007-01-17T01:49:00.000-08:00

So this was it. The day had arrived after nearly a year of planning and organisation. We were on our way to Mexico.

We had arranged to meet three of the HERO cars, as well as Bob & Thelma Howells, at the shipping agent on the US/Mexico border, south of San Diego, at 12 noon. This meant a 7am start from Malibu for the 150 mile journey south. We were going via our hotel in La Jolla where we would be staying for the next two nights, after delivering the car to the compound where it would be stored in Tijuana.

It was an easy drive on the freeways south and we missed most of the rush hour traffic in LA. As we had two in our car we could use the Carpool lane and whenever there was traffic backed up in the other lanes, we sailed past it! Two and a half hours later and we were in La Jolla, checking in to the La Valencia Hotel.

Pacific from our hotel in La Jolla, California

We dropped off our bags and waited for Bob & Thelma to arrive from the Toyota dealership where their car was being serviced. Once we had met up with them we drove the 35 miles to the border. Jingers Riley, Arne Herz (who had done the route survey) and Hans were already at the agent. The five of us then went through US Commercial customs to get the Temporary Import Bonds removed from the cars. $125 had to be paid for the privilege!

Then, we all drove out of the States into Mexico. A short stop at Mexican customs, with them querying why there were so many medical supplies being carried by one of the HERO cars. Once our agent, Cynthia, had explained to the customs all about the event, we were waved through and into the traffic chaos of Tijuana. It reminded me of China! Cars coming at you from all sides with little regard for traffic lights. We needed to go to the Temporary Vehicle Importation offices to get the cars into Mexico. This turned out to be on the other side of Tijuana. The drive took us along the border which looks like a prison. High walls and fences with barbed wire and cameras, and then the sobering sight of hundreds of white wooden crosses on the wall, each cross with a name written on it. Written in large figures was the number, 4,043. Cynthia told us that this is the number who have died attempting to smuggle themselves into the US. The number is regularly updated.

The drive to the offices to import the car, took us nearly an hour. Once there we spent several more hours attempting to overcome Mexican bureaucracy! $400 had to be paid as a deposit (refundable when we exit Mexico) and $60 for the issue of the car and Tourist Visa permits. We then were told the compound to store the car was back at the border crossing! Now we were in the middle of the Tijuana rush hour, not something I would wish on anyone! With Cynthia in her car leading us, the five cars attempted to follow her through the traffic. Amazingly we managed it and we all arrived at the compound together. With the cars parked up, we headed back across the border. We walked through and hired a taxi on the US side to take us back to La Jolla. Jingers, Arne and Hans returned by car and had to brave the horrendous jams trying to clear US customs to enter the US. How long they had to wait at the border I have no idea. We will find out this evening when we meet at the Jamieson's house for the party being hosted by them at their house overlooking the Pacific in La Jolla. It should be a great way to start the event.

Tomorrow we take a taxi back to the border and pick up our cars and then drive the 100kms or so to the hotel in Ensenada where the tour starts on Tuesday.

I will attempt to post the first of the photos I am taking of the trip in the next couple of days.

November 5th - Mexico at last!

2007-01-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

We have arrived in Ensenada the starting point of the Pan Americana tour.

We left at around 11am from La Jolla for the 35 mile drive back to the Mexican border. The taxi dropped us off on the American side and we then walked across the border into Mexico. No customs controls of any sort! Our shipping agent Cynthia arrived about 15 minutes later and took us to the compound where our cars had been stored for the past two days.

Cars lining up to cross back into US from Mexico

No problems at all starting the cars and the drive through Tijuana was a thousand times easier than on Friday as it was Sunday and there was very little traffic.

The two hour drive south took us along Highway 1 which is the main road on Baja California. It runs mainly by the Pacific. Mile after mile of new condominium developments are being built. With prices from $44,000 you can see why the Americans are flocking to the area.

Sunrise over Ensenada with sport fishing boats in foreground

We arrived at our hotel just before 3pm and met up with the HERO team as well as several of the other participants. The main group will be arriving tomorrow after they collect their cars from the containers in Tijuana.

Tomorrow I will go to the centre of the town to see if I can buy a Mexican SIM card for my mobile phone and also change some money as the hotel won't do this for us.

November 6th - Ensenada

2007-01-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

A rest day for us before the start tomorrow morning.

A beautiful sunrise over the mountains surrounding Ensenada. We have the official signing-on for the event from 11am and then later this afternoon a briefing by John Brown followed by a dinner at the hotel.

We signed on and collected our stickers for the car, road books (3), a Panamericana document case and the number plates showing our event number 19.

We then drove about three miles into Ensenada to change money and attempt to get a Mexican SIM card for my mobile phone. We were lucky with the SIM card because as we were trying to explain to the girl serving us in the Telcel mobile phone shop, Al one of the Mexican members of the HERO team came into the shop, and he helped us to buy the SIM. So, now I have a Mexican phone number for the rest of the trip. Even with the very high cost of calls in Mexico it's still cheaper than the international rates Orange charge!

Off to the bank and our first experience of Mexican banking. Dozens of people waiting to be served at the bank! We were given a number and had to wait till our number was called. Twenty minutes later and we were changing US dollars into Mexican Pesos at about 11 to the dollar.

We then returned to the hotel as the first of the group who had their cars in the containers at Tijuana arrived at the hotel. Over the next four hours everyone arrived. It was our first opportunity to meet old friends who were with us on the Inca Trail (2001), as well as from the China/Tibet tour (2004) and South Africa (2005).

The day finished with a meal at the hotel accompanied by Mexican music. Tomorrow the Panamericana starts and everyone I've talked to, can't wait to get going.

More photos will be posted in the next couple of days.

November 7th - Ensenada to San Quintin

2007-01-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Finally the start of the Panamericana tour.

At 7am 25 cars lined up, or more correctly, circled around the giant Mexican flagpole in the centre of Ensenada for the start.

We were flagged off by John Brown at 9 minutes past seven. We had decided to take the coast route south as opposed to the adventure drive section through the mountains. The decision turned out, for us, to be the right one, as we were able to see the blowhole at La Bufadero and then a wonderful observatory in the San Pedro Martir National Park some 200kms south of Ensenada. Sited at over 9,000 ft, there are three telescopes run by the University of Mexico. They range from under a metre in size to over two metres. Perched on the mountains that run down the centre of Baja California you can see both the Sea of Cortes and the Pacific Ocean from the observatory. A fantastic sight,. and one not to be missed. The scientist who showed us the 2 metre telescope took us up to the main dome and showed us how it all worked, including opening the dome and then demonstrating how the telescope followed the stars as the earth rotates.

Standing in front of San Pedro Martir observatory housing 2 metre telescope

Our drive south then took us through some wonderful desert scenery, with cactus of all different varieties. Unique to this area is the ciros cactus, a weird tapering cactus that grows up to 8 metres in height. The day finished at our three star hotel on the coast just south of the town of San Quintin. Tomorrow is the longest day of the tour, over 800kms, so it will be a 6.30oam start for us.

November 8th - San Quintin - Loreto

2007-01-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

This was the longest day of the tour, over 800 kms. We needed to have an early start so we were up at 5.15am and away by 6.30am. Whilst I was in the car park, Jingers our ace mechanic, was chatting with me about the day's run when, without him noticing a stray dog stole his breakfast roll from the back seat of his car! I saw it running away with the food in its mouth. A very lucky dog.

Jingers Riley, our ace mechanic, outside the hotel at San Quintin laughing having had his breakfast roll stolen from his car by a stray dog!

We had decided to take the 'classic' route and avoid the 200kms of off-road trails the adventure drive took. Our route took us more or less due south through wonderful desert scenery full of giant cardones cacti. They are the typical large cactus so common in old Hollywood cowboy films. The photo below is of my car standing in front of one which is about 10 metres tall.

Some 400kms after we left San Quentin we crossed into Baja Sur where we had to put our clocks forward an hour. At lunch we stopped at the beautiful oasis town of San Ignacio. With the desert scrub all around it it is amazing to find a place where large groves of palms are growing. Sadly, the town has suffered badly from the recent hurricanes and roads have been washed away and debris was all over the place. The centre of the town has a beautiful shaded square with a marvellous old mission church.

The beautiful mission in the centre of San Ignacio

We had lunch with Paul and Jane Wignal and then as we were leaving, John Brown and Mike Johnson turned up. Prawn cocktails and lobster were the order of the day, washed down with a bottle of Mexican beer.

The next major town, 200 kms further south, was Santa Rosalia on the coats of the Sea of Cortes, an old mining town that was built by the French in the 19th century. In the centre of the town is a magnificent church designed by Eiffel and shipped out from the 1884 Paris Exhibition! The photo below shows the interior of the church.

Church designed by Eiffel and shipped to Santa Rosalia from Paris Exhibition in 1884

We then had our first experience of the problems foreigners have filling up their cars in Baja. The attendants try every devious method of overcharging. I'm still not sure how much fuel was put in my car as there was no volume of fuel shown on the pump! Next time I'll make sure the pump is working properly, in order to avoid being 'conned'.

By now it was nearly 3pm and in southern Baja it gets dark quite early, so the remainder of the drive was done as the sun set rapidly in the west. We drove into Loretto in darkness, which is not the best thing to do in Mexico as potholes, unmarked roadworks and animals that wander on to the road, are all hazards to avoid. Our hotel in Loretto was the Inn at Loretto a five star complex on the Sea of Cortes. A really beautiful place to end the day.

November 9th - Loreto to San Jose del Cabo

2007-01-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today's drive took us to our furthest point south in Baja, Cabo San Lucas, and then to our fantastic hotel in San Jose del Cabo, the Marquis.

We left the Inn at Loretto at 7.30am and drove the short distance into the centre of Loretto to see the 17th century mission. The missions we have seen are all very simple structures but with very ornate carved alters.

We then headed up into the mountains and took us first adventure drive of just over 100kms through some of the most magnificent scenery of the tour. Rough mountain tracks took us over the coast mountains and then we criss-crossed over a river. Difficult driving over the boulder strewn river bed with sections of quite deep water to negotiate.

One of the rough river crossings

The 100 kms took us over three hours, but it was all great fun and everyone who drove the section agreed it was well worth doing.

One of the many giant cardones cacti behind our car in the Baja wilderness

Back on to tarmac and we still have over 450kms driving to do. Our route took us to the capital of Baja Sur, La Paz. With time getting on we did not drive into the centre but headed on south. About 100kms south of La Paz we crossed the Tropic of Cancer. More signs of hurricane damage were evident as we went through towns with roads damaged and trees blown down. Apparently, the main damage by the two hurricanes was on the south-east corner of Baja north of Cabo San Lucas, an area we will travel through on our way north to catch the ferry across to 'mainland' Mexico.

We finally arrived in Cabo San Lucas around 4pm. Cabo is a very American town and has many resort complexes and golf courses. A short drive past Cabo and we arrived at the Marquis Hotel. The hotel is truly a marvel of design with enormous swimming pools overlooking the Pacific. We are really looking forward to our two nights here and tomorrow's rest day.

November 10th - San Jose Del Cabo

2007-01-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

Our first rest day of the tour, and what a place to chill out!

The Marquis Hotel is simply awesome. It overlooks the Sea of Cortez, with every room having a fabulous view of the palms, sand and sea. I have never seen such immense swimming pools. The two halves of the hotel each have an Infinity pool that must be at least 70 metres long! You lie in the pool and look out to sea, as though you are swimming in the ocean, an incredible experience.

One of the two 'Infiniti' pools with the microlite landing on the beach

Lazing in the 'Infiniti' pool looking out on the Sea of Cortez

The amazing entrance lobby of the Marquis hotel overlooking the Sea of Cortes

Every aspect of this Mexican run hotel is 5 star plus. Apparently the hotel is privately owned by a Mexican family who run one other hotel in Mexico. Somehow the feeling that this is not a chain hotel comes through all the time with the impeccable service provided by the hundreds of staff.

Following an 8am swim we had a great breakfast overlooking the sea. Bob & Thelma Howells joined us and we all agreed it was going to be difficult to leave this hotel tomorrow morning.

We then decided to drive into the small town of San Jose del Cabo to have the car washed. We found a couple of men washing cars in the back streets and for $5 dollars the car was cleaned. We then went into the centre of the town. It has a pretty central square surrounded by tourist shops. We spent half an hour shopping at a craft fair for toys for the grandchildren and some small items of jewellery as presents for the family. We left San Jose del Cabo and stopped at a super market to stock up on food for tomorrow's seven hour ferry crossing to the mainland, as we had been told the food on the ferry leaves a lot to be desired.

A short drive back to the hotel and lunch by the pool. The afternoon was spent sorting out our bags for the next five days until the next rest day. We have found it much easier to have a small bag to take into the hotel each night and leave the majority of our clothes in the car. This way we limit the amount we have to carry, unpack and then repack each night/morning.

This evening we are going, by coach, with the group into Cabo San Lucas for a meal that has been laid on by HERO.

I learnt from the hotel manageress that Cabo avoided the recent hurricanes but the route we take tomorrow up the eastern side of Baja will be through the towns hardest hit by the storms. We will leave around 7.30am for the 200kms drive to the ferry just north of La Paz.

November 11th - San Jose Cabos - Los Mochis

2007-01-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

We left the Marquis hotel with a great deal of sadness, but the tour has to move on.

A drive along the south-east coast of Baja took us past wonderful seaside villas overlooking pristine beaches. A beautiful unspoilt coastline. For the second time our Brantz, the computer trip odometer, was giving false readings making navigation very difficult. 85 kms of gravel road brought us back to Highway 1, the road leading to La Paz.

La Paz is a town of 150,000 inhabitants. There is a lovely bay to the north of the town and some 20 kms along the coast from La Paz is the ferry terminal of Pichilingue. The name comes from the original native Indians who called it 'pirates place'.

We arrived at the ferry terminal at 1pm, as all the other cars turned up. All that is, except for Louis Bustello, who had suffered a puncture and couldn't change the wheel as the locking wheel nut could not be removed. A temporary tyre repair by Jingers enabled him to limp to the ferry with 30 minutes to spare.

Our cars loaded on the ferry from la Paz to Los Mochis

The ferry took 6 hours and we crossed in a flat calm sea, arriving in Topolobampo at 9.15pm. The drive, in the dark, to our hotel in Los Mochis took us 30 minutes, and was not helped by the continuing problems with the Brantz.

Tomorrow we head up into the Sierra Madre mountains, made famous in the Humphrey Bogart film, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Our destination is Copper Canyon, one of the highlights of the tour.

November 12th - Los Mochis to Copper Canyon

2007-01-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Our start was delayed by our attempts to repair our Brantz, but to no avail. We decided to use the car's trip meter instead. The reality turned out differently as we managed to alter the settings of the Brantz whilst we were driving and made it work more or less normally.

The day's drive consisted of two parts: the 100kms drive from Los Mochis through the verdant plain leading to the Sierra Madre mountains, where the second part of the drive would be on nearly 250kms of gravel roads ending at our hotel on the rim of Copper Canyon at 7400ft above sea level.

We were surprised how green the countryside was as we left Los Mochis, quite unlike Baja. The road was more or less straight heading east for the mountains passing through some very pretty Mexican towns, with old buildings surrounding a central square.

After two hours we turned off onto an old mining track. This was the start of some of the most spectacular mountain roads and scenery we have seen. The road wound its way into the mountains getting narrower and narrower. Any vehicles coming the other way caused quite a problem. The road surface became progressively worse with boulders strewn all over the road. It wasn't long before we came across one of our cars with a puncture. The car was being driven by one of the Dutch entrants, Do & Els Meeus. Several cars had already stopped to help, so we carried on.

Repairing a puncture on Do Meeus' car high up in the Sierra Madre

The Sierra Madre are a truly awesome mountain range and at every turn of the road we were presented with another incredible view. I hope the photos below give some idea of how beautiful the scenery is.

The stunningly beautiful Sierra Madre Mountains

The mountains on the way up the gravel track

The road, no track, was extremely tough going, even for an off-road vehicle like mine. We couldn't believe that Roger and Sarah Lucas in their 1970 Mercedes 280SL would be able to make it through.

Further up the road we came across one of the control cars that had broken down, with Kurt, the driver, attempting to repair a broken fuel line. The road certainly was taking its toll and even rugged 4x4's were not immune from breakdowns.

A short excursion to the viewing point overlooking Urique Canyon was definitely worthwhile, with wonderful views down into the canyon, about 5000ft below. Then more tough going on extremely bad roads, for the next 40kms, until we finally arrived at our hotel We were just in time to see the canyon before darkness set in.
After dark we were amazed to see the Lucas's arrive. How they negotiated these roads we will never know.

Some 4 hours later the last car arrived - the GMC truck of Jim & Steve. They had suffered a breakdown which caused their delay. How they were able to navigate the mountain roads, where there are no signs, and in the dark, is truly remarkable.

November 13th - Copper Canyon to Hidalgo del Parral

2007-01-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

We set our alarms for 6am to make sure we were up for the sunrise over the canyon. The early start was worth it, with the sky changing colour, as the sun rose above the eastern rim.

Sunrise over Copper Canyon

We had decided to make a late start, so we had time to take a short walk to the edge of the canyon. It really is a spectacular sight and I can see why many consider it an equal, to the Grand Canyon. With the rim at over 7,000ft , more than a 1,000 ft higher than the Grand Canyon, the drop to the canyon floor is incredible. Unlike the Grand Canyon, Copper Canyon has a lot of vegetation which adds to its beauty. I can see why it is one of Mexico's greatest tourist attractions.

Our drive then took us south on tarmac roads, so unlike yesterday's gravel roads. The road was virtually devoid of traffic as we rose to a height of nearly 8,000 ft. The road wound its way through wonderful mountain scenery, with towering mountains split by deep gorges.

The total distance to our destination, Hidalgo del Parral was 400 kms and we arrived around 3.30pm.

It was such a relief to arrive at our destination fresh for once!. The early arrival gave us time to have the car washed before supper in our hotel.

November 14th - Hidalgo del Parral to Zacatecas

2007-01-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Another long drive, this time over 700 kms, but all on tarmac.

Our start at 6 am was not helped by the fact we had virtually no sleep as a group of locals decided to have a party in the room directly above us which went on till nearly 4 am! Anyway, once on the road we quickly forgot our lack of sleep as we headed south for the World Heritage Site of Zacatecas. The road stretched endlessly into the distance, crossing dry scrubland all at an altitude above 5,000 ft.

As there was so much driving to do we decided to miss out on visiting the old movie sets used for making cowboy films just south of the large city of Durrango. A bit further south and we visited the Sierra Organi, the site of many John Wayne movies. The area is especially beautiful with colossal columns of basalt standing like giant organ pipes. This is where the name Organos originated. 40 kms further on and once again we crossed into the tropics at the Tropic of Cancer.

Our day ended at the unbelievably beautiful Hotel Quinta Real in the centre of Zacatecas, that is a converted bull ring. It is one of the most interesting hotels I have ever stayed in. Hopefully the photos below will do justice to this memorable place.

Hotel Quinta Real, Zacatecas, Mexico

A word or two on the driving standards here in Mexico. All the horror stories we were told about it being dangerous to drive in Mexico are simply untrue. The driving standards are very high indeed, with great courtesy shown by lorry drivers when you are trying pass them. They use the disconcerting code of letting you know that it is clear to pass, by flashing their offside indicators as though they are going to turn left in front of you! (In Mexico you drive on the right) Once you are used to this all you need to do is come up behind a truck and wait for them to flash you. They then move over as far as possible (the roads are generally quite narrow single lane highways) to make it easy for you to pass. Car and van drivers are similarly very courteous and noticeably non-aggressive. Such a change from the UK!

This evening we are being taken for walking tour of this great city. I will report more on this tomorrow.

November 15th - Zacatecas to Guanajuato

2007-01-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

First a catch up on last night. HERO had organised a walking tour of Zacatecas accompanied by a Mexican Mariachi band, consisting of about seven musicians and a donkey! We never discovered the reason for the donkey. We were each given a small china mug to carry which was constantly filled with four types of tequila! The band played as we walked, drank and danced, with many locals joining in! The walk lasted an hour going through the back streets of this beautiful city.

Now back to today, which was one of the shortest distances of the tour so far, a mere 366 kms and only 24 kms on gravel. The short distance meant we could start late and have a brief look at Zacatecas in the daylight. Wonderful buildings, tree lined squares and a real bustle of activity are how I will remember the city.

All too soon and we were on our way. Now we are on main highways with plenty of traffic. Gone are those empty roads of further north; such a shame. Two large cities on the way, First, Aguascalientes with a giant Nissan car plant on the outskirts and then Leon with 1.2 million people, the fifth largest town in Mexico. On their outskirts, these large cities, are like their US counterparts, with Walmart, Costco, Office Depot and The Home Depot dominating the retail centres. Still, the centres of these cities retain much of their original Mexican architecture.

Some 50 kms before Guanajuato we passed another giant motor plant, this time General Motors, at the the town of Silao. Silao is beneath the 8250 ft hilltop church of Cubilete which has a giant statue of Christ. We drove the 10 kms up the cobbled road to the church. The views from the top are incredible and standing above you is the statue of Christ. The building is quite modern, with a small covered in alter and a large open area where the congregation stand or sit. The alter has an enormous crown suspended from the ceiling with an equally enormous sculptured ring of thorns beneath it. I have never seen anything like it before.

With sunset only an hour away we headed for our final destination. First, 24 kms of smooth gravel through the hills and then the most amazing drive through the narrow streets and tunnels that are unique to Guanajuato. The tunnels, bored through solid rock, are single track, and with roads joining from side tunnels it's like a rabbit warren! I can't think of anywhere else in the world that has such a road system.

We drove the final 5 kms to our hotel just outside the town. Much to our surprise, waiting to greet us at the hotel, were Kenny and Dee-Ann Croucher and Fred and Ernie Nelan. They had flown down in Kenny's plane from their homes in Texas.

The day ended with us all having a drink in the central square of Guanajuato.

November 16th - Guanajuato rest day

2007-01-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

This was our second rest day of the tour and enabled us to spend the day exploring this wonderful city.

But first, I must mention the sad endings of the tour for two of our American entrants. The first were Richard and Toni Taylor, car 6, who had to head back to the States from Los Mochis because a member of their family is seriously ill. The second happened yesterday when Jim Moore and Steve Luckman, car 2, decided to call it a day after they had yet another serious mechanical problem with their 1977 GMC truck.. They broke down not far from Zacatecas, left their car to be repaired, and returned to the Qinta Real from where they too will be returning to the States. Everyone will miss them, especially for their great sense of humour.

Returning to today. Jingers spent some time trying to repair our Brantz which is still playing up. He has replaced a sensor, so let's hope that works. At around 11.30 we caught a taxi with Mike Johnston and Terry Mulligan, the group doctor, into the city.

We went first to the site of the giant statue of Pipila. This was erected in honour of the miner who, in the Mexican war of independence, early in the 19th century, set fire to the town's granary store doors. The Spanish were holding the grain store at a time when the peasants were starving.

The statue of Pipila, high above Guanajuato

From the statue site there is a panoramic view of the city and I hope the picture below conveys how beautiful the city is.

The beautiful city of Guanajuato

A short funicular ride down to the city centre, next to the Teatro Juarez, was a bit of fun. It ended at one of the many road tunnels where I snapped the photo below.

One of the many tunnels that connect the road system of Guanajuato. Single carriageway, hewn out of solid rock

The Teatro Juarez is a magnificent building with a stunningly beautiful ceiling in the auditorium.
We moved on to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato. This is a lovely 17th century building, and whilst we were there a service was being held.

Teatro Juarez auditorium ceiling

The city is a very lively and friendly place. Hundreds of children were coming out of school as we caught a taxi back to the hotel.

A short drove in our car to see if the Brantz was working properly and a refuel before tomorrow's long drive to Mexico City and two more rest days.

November 17th - Guanajuato to Mexico City

2007-01-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

Today was meant to be one of the highlights of the tour, a visit to the winter resting grounds of the Monarch butterfly high up in the mountains of Michoacan state about 150 kms west of Mexico City. Yesterday evening we heard from Arne Hertz, travelling two days in front of the group, that he had not seen any butterflies at the three sites we could visit, but had heard there might be some at the third site.

The Monarch butterfly is one of nature's marvels. It migrates for thousands of miles, flying from Mexico to as far as Canada, over three thousand miles away. No one knows how it manages to fly back each year to the Mexican wintering grounds. The butterflies winter in Mexico from November to March, mate and then the males die. The females fly hundreds of miles north to lay their eggs on cotton plants, and then die. The eggs develop into caterpillars, larvae and then finally butterflies. The young butterflies fly as far all over north America and Canada and then make a return journey to the Mexican mountains of up to 3,000 miles to the exact place where they were conceived. How they manage to migrate to the winter resting grounds, a place they have never known, is a mystery.

A Monarch butterfly resting on the ground

We set off with a heavy heart, leaving at 6.15am in the dark. As the dawn broke we made the decision to visit the first of the three sites as it was only 12 kms off the main road and also if there really were no butterflies we could at least try one of the two other sites.

Four hours of driving brought us to El Rosario and we drove the 12 kms up into the mountains. When we arrived at the large car park, ours was the only car there, which did not bode well.
We attempted to ask two locals if the butterflies were wintering and they said yes, but we were far from certain they understood us. We asked one of them if he would take us the 500 metres from the car park up to the park entrance. We were at 9,700ft and the high altitude made walking quite difficult. We paid the 35 pesos entrance fee and headed up the mountain with our guide, who was a very friendly young man and who continued to insist there were many butterflies further up the mountain. We started to see our first Monarchs after walking for about 30 minutes flying high up amongst the pine trees. As we climbed higher into the forest the numbers increased dramatically. They were all around us, thousands of them, but the most wonderful sight was to see so many flying high up in the trees and on into the sky above the tree tops. Literally millions of butterflies. We had to be careful not to step on them as we walked on. Now we were over 10,000 ft and the density of butterflies was increasing. We came upon an open meadow area, in beautiful sunlight, and in every direction we looked there were Monarchs. The numbers were simply unbelievable.

Millions of Monarchs flying in the sunshine.

Our guide told us that we had only another few hundred metres to walk before we would be where the Monarchs rest by hanging on to the branches of the pine trees. So, finally at 10,570 ft we arrived at a grove of trees where you could see branches bending under the weight of butterflies. A sight which almost defied belief. We spent about 30 minutes at this very special place, taking photos and video before heading back down the mountain. I hope the photos I took with my mobile phone, which I use to e-mail for posting to the web, show some of the amazing things we saw. I will post my digital camera photos when I return to the UK.

Pine tree branches weighed down by resting Monarchs

We returned to our car and drove back to the main road. As it was now 2pm we decided to drive directly to Mexico City so that we would arrive well before dark. We headed for the large town of Toluca about 60 kms from Mexico City and then took the autopista. We arrived in Mexico City at 4.30pm and had to endure the city rush hour traffic which produces the most horrendous traffic jams. We were lucky to miss the worst of the traffic but others who arrived later were held up for hours.

Our first impressions of the city are mostly positive with many modern buildings and a large amount of green open space. As we have three nights here we will be able to spend two days sigh seeing and will report more fully on the Mexican capital.

November 18th - Mexico City

2007-01-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

After the driving of the past few days the three nights we are staying in Mexico City are a real delight. No early start required, which is quite a luxury and with our room on the 17th floor I snapped the photo below of the city with the haze of the renowned Mexico City smog hanging over it.

Early morning smog over Mexico City

We had decided that a visit to the Blue House, where Frida Kahlo lived was our first port of call. We hailed a taxi outside our hotel and for the first 20 minutes we crawled at a snail´s pace through the traffic. The photo below shows a typical view of the traffic - stationary!

Typical grid lock in the centre of Mexico City

Once out of the Centro Historico we made good progress and arrived at the house in 30 minutes. Frida Kahlo lived there until her death in the fifties. She was married to Diego Rivero, the famous Mexican painter and muralist. She also had an affair with Leo Trotsky and, after his assassination by one of Stalin´s assassins, Diego Rivera was held as a suspect. The house is an interesting time capsule. With many of both her and Diego´s personnel possessions on display.

The Blue House where artist Frida Kahlo lived and who was the wife of the famous Mexican artist, Diego Rivera

We had asked our cab driver to return in an hour, which much to our surprise he did! We then drove back into the centre and were dropped off at the central plaza, known locally as Tocolo. The cathedral dominates the plaza. It is a huge building with a wonderful alter of gilded gold. Much of Mexico City was severely damaged in the great earthquake of 1985. The floors of the cathedral are all at different levels where the ground moved.

Back in the plaza there was much activity as this weekend is a national holiday celebrating Mexican Independence on Monday. There were groups of native Indians dancing to tom tom drums. Adding to the cacophony of noise was a live band belting out rock music for one of the national Radio Stations, 7DIAS.

Native Indian dancers in the 'Zocolo', Plaza de la Constitucion, with the Palace National in the background

We then walked back to our hotel past the Palace of Belles Artes and the Monument to Benito Juarez a Mexican patriot.

Mexico City - monument to Mexican patriot Benito Juarez

The day ended with a meal organised by HERO at a restaurant in the suburbs with a huge fountain in the grounds outside.

Palace of Belles Artes in Mexico City

November 19th - Mexico City

2007-01-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

We had decided to drive the 50 kms out of the city to visit the ancient ruins at Teotihuacan. I always find it fun driving in foreign cities. The rules of the road are nearly always different from those that apply in the UK. Here people are pushing and changing lanes at every conceivable opportunity. Because the Mexicans are used to such driving everyone seems to accept it and always gives way. I have seen no examples of road rage at all. Quite a contrast to driving in London!

Anyway, the drive took us 40 minutes, going fairly quickly on the autopista north of the city. Teotihuacan is a vast archeological site. They do not know exactly how large the city was, but it covers many square miles. It is dominated by two huge pyramids, one dedicated to the Moon and the other to the Sun. Entering the city you walk down a wide roadway known as the Avenue of the Dead. Apparently the name came from the Aztecs, who when they first came to Teotihuacan they thought the rooms on either side of the roadway were tombs of the dead.

Beneath the Pyramid of the Sun, the third largest pyramid in the world.

The city was started in 100BC and deserted in the 8th century. The inhabitants built a very structured and well designed city that was influenced by religious beliefs. At the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead stands the Pyramid to the Moon, a tiered structure that originally had a temple on the top. The larger of the two pyramids, dedicated to the Sun, stands halfway along the Avenue of the Dead on the eastern side of the roadway. We decided to climb the 248 steps to the top. The view over the ancient city is magnificent and hopefully the photos below will give some indication of the size and magnificence of Teotihuacan, as well as proving we made it to the top!

The great pyramid site of Teotihuacan, just north of Mexico City, with the Avenue of the Dead leading to the Pyramid of the Sun on the right and the Pyramid of the Moon in the far centre.

Standing on top of the Pyramid of the Sun, having climbed 248 steps at an altitude of 7.560 feet.

We stayed for a couple of hours and then drove back into the city. On the way we had hoped to visit the Basilica of Guadalupe, but a combination of horrendous traffic and then rain made that impossible.

We arrived back at the hotel in time for a late lunch. With a very early start needed tomorrow, to get out of the city before the rush hour traffic makes travel virtually impossible, we packed our main bags and stowed them in the car. A short walk from the hotel and we were able to visit the museum where Diego Rivera´s famous 50 metre long mural hangs. It is a very impressive mural depicting dozens of famous Mexicans.

This evening eleven of us are heading for an Argentinian restaurant to say farewell to a wonderful city that has surprised us all. I´ve said it before, but I´ll say it again ´we will return´.

November 20th - Mexico City to Acapulco

2006-12-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

After three nights in Mexico City we now head for the No.1 resort in Mexico, Acapulco.
Yesterday evening we had a great meal at an Argentinian restaurant, organised by Bob & Thelma Howells. In the group were Rolf & Ines Pritz, Antoine, Maria & Victor de Hullu, Jim & Leejun Taylor.

This morning we left the city in the dark and rain. There followed a few wrong turns as we attempted to navigate our way out of the city but, with the aid of some great help from a van driver who led us for 10 miles to get us on the right road for Acapulco, we made it. The Mexicans are such friendly and helpful people.

We rose through cloud covered mountains to over 10,000 ft before descending to the tropical landscape on the way to the coast. We had a wonderful view of Popocatepetl, the 17,500 ft active volcano that erupted a few years ago.

Because of brake problems, with juddering front brakes, we decided to drive directly to Acapulco on the autopista and not visit Taxco, a pretty Mexican town.
Three hours later we drove into a Toyota dealership in Acapulco only to find them closed because of the public holiday celebrating independence. The brakes will have to wait.

We then had a short drive to our hotel on Baia de Puerto Marqez, the bay next to Acapulco Bay. A snack lunch, swim and a hairdo for the navigator and we are set for the evening high diving display that Acapulco is so famous for.

The view from our bedroom at the Camino Real Hotel of Bahia de Puerto Marquez

Before that we drove the 10 kms in to the centre of Acapulco. The guide books accurately describe it when they say it is a town of 'faded glory'. Rather tacky and not how I was expecting it to be.

November 21st - Acapulco to Huatulco

2006-12-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening we took mini-buses to see the famous cliff divers of Acapulco. They dive from 120ft into 12 feet of water. It was quite impressive, but not worth the $35 we were each charged.

The problems with the car are starting to mount up. First the juddering brakes and now a dreadful rattle from under the car. We decided to get Jingers to take a look before we left for the 300 mile drive down the coast to Huatulco.

In no time he found the cause: loose handbrake linkages due to a badly adjusted handbrake. We took both rear wheels off and adjusted the handbrake. Now, even if I still have a rattle I know what the cause is.

Disaster then struck. I inadvertently dropped my camcorder and broke it! No amount of 'fiddling' with it would make it work. Mark Gibbon happened to be walking past and I mentioned my misfortune to him. Without a second thought he produced a 'spare' camcorder which he said I could use. Then Antoine de Hullu came to the rescue providing me with a one hour tape. What a fantastic group of people we have on the tour.

We finally left the hotel around 8.30am. but not before we took a snap of us both on the hotel terrace, overlooking the bay.

Standing on the hotel terrace overlooking the bay

Acapulco Bay

The drive along the coast was very pleasant with lush green tropical vegetation. After driving for nearly five hours we stopped for a fish lunch on the beach at Puerto Escondido. Already there were John Brown, Mike Johnston and Roger & Sarah Lucas. Mark & Olpha Gibbon then turned up and I had the opportunity to thank Mark again for his generosity.

The fish restaurant at Puerto Escondido, with Do & Els Meeus and

Mark & Olpha Gibbon

After lunch a two hour drive brought us to tonight's hotel in Huatulco. A quick dip in the very warm sea and then an evening meal on the beach. A great way to end the day.

November 22nd - Huatulco to San Cristobel de las Casas

2006-12-29T16:58:00.000-08:00

We were able to sample the delights of the Camino Real Hotel in Huatulco late yesterday afternoon. The hotel is sited on a beautiful bay with a magnificent pool complex and wonderful beach. Just before sunset, which is getter earlier and earlier the further south we drive, I was able to swim in the Pacific. The water was wonderfully warm, and after a long drive, it was a great way to refresh myself. In the evening the hotel laid on a hot buffet on the beach. Everyone agreed it was a really special evening.

Back to today. Another drive of over 500 kms with the possibility of a boat ride down Sumidero Canyon near San Cristobel de las Casas. The boat ride apparently takes about two hours so most people headed out of Huatulco by 6.30am.

The drive initially was along the Pacific coast with great views over the ocean. After a couple of hours driving we came up behind a truck carrying a load of builders portable toilets. Unfortunately for the driver, and other road users, one of the toilets was about to fall off! We accelerated past the truck and then waved him down. He was oblivious to the danger as the load completely obscured his wing mirrors. As we were talking with the driver, the de Hullu´s stopped and asked us if we had any spare diesel as they were nearly empty. Apparently the last diesel station had no diesel and the next one was some 100 kms away. We agreed to follow them and hopefully we would find another station. Luck was with us as Rolf & Ines Pritz caught up with us and they had a five gallon Jerry can of diesel, which they gave to Antoine. We sped away on a new toll road and for the next 50 kms we were subjested to the most tremendous winds. I think they were similar to the Mistral in France as they appeared to be blowing from the land out to sea.

The de Hullu family receiving emergency diesel supplies from Rolf & Ines Pritz

We arrived at the boat station for the ride down the canyon at around 1.30pm. A giant dam was constructed in 1974 and the lake that has built up behind it is now an attraction for tourists as it has a great variety of wildlife, including crocodiles!. The ride down the river was full of interesting moments as the guide pointed out the sleeping crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank of the river, pelicans and points of interest along the way. The canyon is some 3,000 deep in places and the lake is up to 800 feet deep!

After the boat ride we only had about 75 kms to our destination, San Cristobel de la Casas. We are in the heart of Indian areas of Mexico and there is a great deal of civil unrest at the moment. Paul and Jayne Wignall drove into one village in the countryside where there were burnt out cars littered around. We have all been advised not to do anything that might be considered contentious and that includes taking photos without the locals agreement.

San Cristobel is meant to be one of Mexico´s most beautiful towns. As our drive tomorrow to Palenque is only 250 kms we will have a late start and be able to the see the town before we leave. I will be posting photos tomorrow,

November 23rd - San Cristobal de las Casas to Palenque

2006-12-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

One of the shortest drives of the tour, a mere 235 kms, meant we could spend a couple of hours looking at San Cristobal de Las Casas. It's one of Mexico's most beautiful towns. It has 115,000 inhabitants and is located in the most magnificent mountain scenery. The colonial buildings have been maintained and the centre is unspoilt by modern buildings.

The central square in San Cristobal de las Casas, surrounding by beautiful white colonial buildings.

The magnificent cathedral in the centre of San Cristobal de las Casas

Our drive to Palenque was through wonderful mountain country. Mostly above 5,000 feet with pine forests and alpine meadows. As we neared Palenque we dropped to 2,000 feet and we entered the tropical rain forests of southern Mexico. Such a change in so short a distance. Lovely lush vegetation with palms, vines and exotic flowers and fruits.

We stopped at the Agua Azul waterfalls which are a popular tourist attraction and this is where I took the photo below.

Agua Azule waterfalls near Palenque in Chiapas state

We had hoped to see the Mayan ruins near Palenque but we arrived too late. We will see them first thing tomorrow morning.

Finally, I tried to have my brakes fixed at a mechanics workshop in Palenque but to no avail. They didn't have the right tools to do the work so it will have to wait until Belize City.

Wheels off! Mechanics in Palenque looking at my front discs in an attempt to stop the brakes juddering.

Bob Howells and my navigator trying to blend in with the locals!

I'll report on the the Mayan ruins of Palenque tomorrow. From there we head for Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico coast and then just three more nights in Mexico.

November 24th - Palenque to Campeche

2006-12-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

According to the information in the Road Book we navigate by, we are now officially in Central America, with most of Mexico designated as being part of North America.

We had to wait till 7.45 am to leave the hotel as the park gates to the Mayan ruins open at 8am. It was only a short drive of 4 kms to the ruins and what a spectacular sight they are.

Deep in the tropical rain forest they rise above the trees. The Mayans built their temples between 300 AD and 400 AD. They are truly magnificent structures and once again I hope the photos I took with my mobile phone do justice to them.

The Mayan ruins at Palenque

We spent about an hour there and then drove north through the wetlands area known as the Pantanos de Centla. It is a fantastic place to see. Mile after mile of wetland area with wildlife everywhere.

At the end of the wetlands we had our first sight of the Gulf of Mexico. We had now driven right across from the Pacific to the Gulf. Our drive up the Gulf coast included the crossing of two long bridges to Ciudad del Carmen, a bustling town. We had a great fish lunch in a waterside cafe and many of the group enjoyed the excellent food.

Three more hours of coastal driving brought us to our overnight halt of Campeche. We are now in the Yucatan peninsular and tomorrow we will be seeing more of the Mayan cultural heritage

November 25th - Campeche to Chichen Itza

2006-12-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Because of telephone calls/e-mails to the UK and Belize (to arrange with the Toyota dealer to skim my front brake discs when we are there in three days time) we didn´t leave Campeche with the rest of the group and decided to alter the route to the famous Mayan site of Chichen Itza, our overnight halt.

First we looked at the historical centre of Campeche which has one of the oldest cathedrals in Mexico. From there we drove 150 kms north to the little town of Becal where Panama hats are made by the locals in their houses. We were shown how they are made and then I bought one for myself and two small ones for two of our granddaughters.

Panama hats for sale in Becal, Yucatan.

The photo below shows the jipijapa palm fronds being bleached and dried in the sun.

The jipijapa palm fronds hanging out to dry.

We then drove to the regional capital of Yucatan, Merida, where the oldest cathedral in the Americas is located. It was built between 1561 and 1598 using stone from Mayan ruins.

After our drive out of Merida we took the autopista heading due east to Chichen Itza. The Mayan city at Chichen Itza spreads over four square miles and is dominated by the giant pyramid, Kukulkhan. There are so many fine buildings it is difficult to describe them all, but the photos below show some of the most famous.

Chichen Itza - Temple of the Warriors

Chichen Itza - The Pyramid Kukulkan

Chichen Itza - The 365 steps on the Pyramid Kukulkan

Chichen Itza - The astronomical observatory

Chichen Itza - The astronomical observatory illuminated by the setting sun

Tomorrow we head for the Caribbean coast of Yucatan for our last night in Mexico.

November 26th - Chichen Itza to Riviera Maya

2006-12-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Late yesterday evening we went back into the park to see a Son et Lumiere show played out against the backdrop of the Chichen Itza Pyramid and temples. We made the mistake of not hiring a headset for the English translation, so much of the narration we did not understand which was a shame because the narrators talked about Mayan history and culture and how the various building fitted in to Mayan life.

The drive today was only just over 200 kms, so we were able to leave our hotel after 9 am. We stopped off to see a cenote, which is a cavern in the limestone bedrock that is open to the sky and filled with water. They are amazing places to see. The cenote we looked down into was about 100 feet deep to the water. Vines hung down all the way to the water from the roof of the cavern and birds swooped in and out catching insects. You could swim in the pool but with limited time we chose not to.

The cenote at Chichen Itza with vines hanging from the cavern entrance all the way to the water below

We made the decision to skip some of the other cenotes that are scattered about the Yucatan peninsular and head for the Caribbean coast on the eastern shores of the peninsular at Tulum. Tulum is famous for the Mayan town overlooking the Caribbean. It is a late period Mayan town dating from the 12th century. The castillo, which is very well preserved overlooks the sea and you can see many fine Mayan carvings on the the buildings.
The well preserved Mayan castillo at Tulum overlooking the Caribbean

A short drive up the coast to our resort hotel meant we arrived around 1.30pm which gave us time to have a buffet lunch and then a swim in the wonderfully warm azure blue Caribbean waters.

Relaxing on the Caribbean coast at our hotel in Riviera Maya the resort area south of Cancun

Tomorrow we leave Mexico after nearly three weeks. We have driven just under 5,000 miles from the far north of Baja California to the the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas. We have seen every conceivable variety of scenery and been welcomed by the Mexicans in a most friendly and hospitable way. Not once have we felt threatened, or had cause to be concerned for our safety. A far cry from the horror stories we had heard about Mexico before we arrived. We will leave wanting to come back again. Our thanks go to the Mexican people for making our journey such an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

We will cross the border in to Belize tomorrow morning for our two night stay in Belize City.

Nov 27th - Riviera Maya to Belize City

2006-12-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Our last few hours in Mexico and our first frontier crossing in over three weeks.

We left our resort hotel at Riviera Maya at 6.15 am for the 300 kms drive down the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula to the border with Belize. The drive was an easy, fast run on long straight roads. The further south we went the more dense the vegetation on either side of the road became.

At the last fuel station in Mexico many of the group were filling up their fuel tanks as petrol/diesel is twice as expensive in Belize as it is in Mexico. Another 50 kms and we were at the border. Goodbye to Mexico.

It took us about an hour to get through the two border controls with a lot of form filling and administrative work by mostly friendly officials. Once in Belize it was, once again, amazing to see how different one country can be from another. The houses, many in a very run down state, were obviously from the British colonial period and quite unlike anything in Mexico. Signs are all in English and we have gone from kilometres to miles!

Our first view of Belize and how different the country's buildings are from those in Mexico

About 75 kms south of the border we stopped to take a river boat trip along the New River to the Mayan site of Lamanai, deep in the rain forest. Belize is about 75% rain forest with 60% of that in national parks and under protection. The variety of wildlife here is huge. Every conceivable tropical bird, howler monkeys and jaguars.

Speeding up the New River, Belize to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai

Our boat ride, at high speed, up the New River took about 50 minutes. On the way we went past one of the Mennonite (German origin) communities of Belize. Very similar to the Amish in the US, these groups live a very simple farming life and do not use modern conveniences such as cars, radios or TVs.

The guides had laid on a great lunch for us all, which we had at the boat station at Lamanai and then we took the walk into the rain forest to see the Mayan ruins. Some of these ruins are over 2,500 years old and hidden deep in the forest are very impressive. With others, I climbed to the top of the highest pyramid, some 75 metres high. The view over the forest from the top was wonderful.

The impressive Mayan Temple at Lamanai in the middle of the rain forest, with several members of our group climbing the giant staircase to the top.

After a further hour at the site we left for the boat ride back. By now the sun was starting to set and a fast drive to Belize City enabled us to arrive just before dark. We didn't have a chance to see the city, but as we have two nights here, I will report more tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be our last rest day of the tour and then we have another nine days of driving through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

I am having difficulty e-mailing photos from here so those will have to wait until later in the trip or when we get back to the UK.

Nov 28th - Belize City

2006-12-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Our last rest day started early for me as I had to deliver the Landcruiser to the local Toyota dealer by 8 am.

I retraced the journey into Belize City that we had taken yesterday evening and quickly found the garage. They kindly arranged for one of their drivers to take me back to the hotel.

We had decided to stay in the city for the day rather than take one of the excursions to the neighbouring islands for snorkeling or diving. We found a cab driver who took us on a tour of the town. I say town because it really is more of a town than a city with only 90,000 inhabitants and you can drive from one side to the other in about 15 minutes.

St.John's Cathedral in the centre of Belize City built by slaves in the 1812

The Belize economy is going through tough times and it shows everywhere you go. Apparently there is high unemployment and on every street corner there are lots of men standing around. The great thing though was when we walked past them they were always very friendly. The mainstay of the economy is tourism and the cruise ships anchor offshore and the passengers take a tender to shore, where they are immediately directed to the Duty Free shopping plaza. Not the greatest place, with mainly diamond and T shirt shops!

Looking across the harbour in Belize City at the former British Governor's residence

We went back to the hotel and had a lovely swim in the hotel pool and then a snack lunch. Several phone calls to the garage to see if the car was ready and then they delivered it back to me. Everything has been done, with new front brake discs and pads. They even sorted out the handbrake that has been causing such a racket when I drive over bumpy roads. Now all I can hope is that the remainder of our trip is free from mechanical trouble.

Other members of the group have also taken the opportunity of this final rest day to get work done on their cars. Terence English had the oil changed on his Landcruiser. Bob Howells had the steering of his Landcruiser re-tracked, punctures repaired and a tyre replaced. Whilst Mike Taylor had the front discs re-skimmed on his Landcruiser. Strange that all the work being done is on the Toyota's!

Tomorrow we leave Belize for Guatemala. Our stay here has been far too short, but at least we have had the opportunity of seeing one of the smallest Central American countries.

Nov 29th - Belize City to Flores, Guatemala

2006-12-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

Only two nights in Belize as this morning we drive to our third country of the tour so far, Guatemala.

It´s always a shame to only stay for one or two nights in a place you have never been to before. Having seen Belize for such a short time we both would like to come back and have a longer look at this beautiful country with its rain forests and Caribbean shoreline.

Our drive took us out of Belize City and south through rain forest in the rain!. The heavens opened up as we drove on 50 kms of gravel tracks to the beginning of the section of road known as the Hummingbird Highway. This is a wonderful tarmac road that winds through the mountains of southern Belize. The low cloud cover spoilt the views but the forest all around made it a memorable drive.

A typical Belize village house on stilts. Not much protection from a hurricane!

After another 50 kms we came to the capital of Belize, Belmopan. After hurricane Hattie struck Belize in 1961, killing more than 3,000 in Belize City, it was decided to move the capital inland. Belmopan is a small town with a few government building and not much else. A strange out of the way capital. Whilst driving through the streets of we came across an accident involving a motorcycle and a cyclist. The cyclist was lying on the ground and at first sight appeared to be dead. One of the drivers in front of us who had stopped, jumped out of his car and with the help of the motorcycle rider picked up the injured man and literally threw him in the back of his pickup truck and drove off! We hope it was to the hospital but they way they ignored the man´s injuries we are far from certain!

Another 100 kms driving west out of Belize and we came to the border with Guatemala. Much form filling and going from one office to another enabled us to cross into Guatemala in about an hour. Once again we experienced the transition from one nation to another. This time we went from colonial Britain to Latin America. We could have been back in Mexico again with everyone coming from an Latin American Indian origin.

We had one place to see before we made our way to our hotel just outside the town of Flores and that was the Mayan site of Tikal. Tikal is the largest and most impressive of the Guatemalan Mayan sites. Giant pyramids dominate the site, with Temple 2 being the highest in the American continent.

The highest temples in Mezoamerica at Tikal

We spent about an hour exploring the site and while we were walking through the ruins we came across a group of coatimundi. Very pretty and tame animals that weren't bothered by us at all.

A coatimundi scavenging amongst the ruins of Tikal

We left Tikal and drove the short distance to our hotel on the edge of Lago Peten. The Villa Maya hotel was a very special place indeed being beautifully situated in the middle of tropical vegetation. We had drinks on the patio overlooking the lake and feeding the freshwater crocodiles, whilst the sun set behind the lake. A great way to end the day.
One of our first impressions of Guatemala is how green the countryside is. Tomorrow we will be driving through the mountains of central Guatemala and their magnificent volcanoes

Nov 30th - Flores to Panajachel

2006-12-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

A very long day of over 500 kms, much of it on road that is being upgraded from gravel to tarmac. This meant an early start from our lovely lakeside hotel, Villa Maya.

The driving now is more or less due south, all the way to Panama. Our first interesting event occurred when we had to take a ferry across the River de la Pasion. The ferry, powered by four outboard motors, takes about 12 cars. We had special clearance from the tourist police to load ahead of the local traffic, much to their annoyance!. It took three trips to ferry us all across the river.

The ferry, powered by four outboard motors, taking our cars across the Rio de la Pasion

We were now driving on wonderful straight roads towards the Guatemalan mountains. Most of the rain forest has been cut down for agriculture and to see so much pristine forest destroyed is all rather depressing but when you see how poor the locals are you can understand why they need to turn the land over to food production.

Around lunchtime we hit the roadworks and what roadworks they were! They reminded me of the Chinese roadworks we experienced in 2004. The works went on for mile after mile. Extremely slow going with trucks carrying road materials blocking the way at virtually every turn. We then came across the first of two lengthy delays when the road was blocked whilst heavy machines were being used to move earth and grade the new road.
Queuing at the first road block due to roadworks

The total delay amounted to nearly two hours. Finally, we were on our way again and heading for our hotel on Lake Atitlan, famous for the volcanoes that are the magnificent backdrop to the lake.

The road wound its way through magnificent mountain scenery with one hairpin bend after another. How glad I was to have had my brakes seen to in Belize. Several cars suffered brake fade due to the extremely steep descent from above 7,000 ft to below 5,000 ft. I never realised how high the mountains were in Central America.

Sadly, the delays on the journey meant we arrived at Lake Aititlin after sunset and missed the fabulous views of the lake you see as you descend from the mountains. Still, we have a late start to tomorrow and we will be able to explore the area in the morning.

Photos for the past few days will be posted as soon as I re-establish e-mail contact through my mobile phone which does not work here in Guatemala.

Dec 1st - Panajachel to Antigua

2006-12-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

Sunrise at Lake Atitlan with one of the volcanoes that make the most magnificent backdrop to the lake

Today was the shortest drive of the tour, only 83 kms. This allowed us time to see the truly wonderful Lake Atitlan. Opposite the hotel stand three dormant volcanoes, Atitlan, the highest at over 3,750 metres, San Pedro and Tomalpin. With the deep blue water of the lake the whole setting is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Volcan San Pedro

The highest of the volcanoes at Lake Atitlan, Volcan Atitlan, 3,537 metres

The hotel has fantastic gardens with a huge collection of roses from all over the world. Flowers abound and the gardens are a mass of colour. Everyone agreed this was a very special place.

The beautiful gardens of Hotel Atitlan

With such a short drive to Antigua, which used to be the capital of Guatemala until a devastating earthquake hit in the 18th century and it was moved to Guatemala City about 70 kms north, we could enjoy a late start. A short drive brought us to a view point high above the lake. After about 20 minutes of taking photos and video we drove on minor roads to Antigua. Again the scenery we encountered was really impressive with deep valleys and steep mountain passes.

We arrived in Antigua around 1 pm after having the car washed at a garage where we filled up with diesel. The price of fuel in Guatemala is very cheap at about half the price in the UK and each time I fill up the tank I appreciate how less I have to pay here.

One of the beautiful old colonial buildings in the centre of Antigua

This evening we have an event being hosted by the Guatemalan tourist board at our hotel. It will give us a chance to thank the Guatemalans for their hospitality during our all too brief stay in their beautiful country.

Dec 2nd - Antigua to Copan Ruinas, Honduras

2006-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Our hotel in Antigua, the Casa Santa Domingo, used to be a monastery. It has religious artifacts all over the hotel. A very pleasant place to stay. The Guatamala tourist office had laid on a show of traditional dancing and then a great buffet in the gardens of the hotel. The only problem was that once the dancing finished the rain came down and the evening had to be moved inside.

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo that was formerly a monastery

We had a chance to see the centre of the town, which reminded me of San Cristobel de las Casas in Mexico, with old colonial buildings, coloured houses and cobbled streets. The cathedral in the main square suffered terribly from an earthquake over 200 years ago and is now a fraction of its original size. The town is dominated by an extinct volcano which towers above it.

The central square in Antigua with Volcan de Agua shrouded in clouds.

We left around 8.30 am and headed up into the mountains on tarmac and then farm tracks. Beautiful countryside with everything wonderfully green. We rose to over 8,000 ft on rutted and muddy roads. Much of the journey was interrupted by road works as the road was being upgraded to tarmac. The roadworks lasted virtually to the border with Honduras.

Rolf & Ines Pritz followed by Eric & Lyn Woolley going through one of the many roadworks in the Guatemalan mountains.

Our impressions of Guatemala have been good all round, with everyone being very friendly and helpful, although the armed police, guards and soldiers, especially in the north of the country where there is a big drugs problem, caused us some concern.

We reached the border around 3 pm and then spent an hour an a half while two Honduran customs officials attempted to deal with the temporary importation of our cars. It was pretty slow and one wonders what is done with all the paperwork!

Once through the border it was only 30 minutes to our hotel in Copan Ruinas. The town is famous for the Mayan site nearby. This is the southernmost city of the Mayans and we will see it tomorrow morning

Dec 3rd - Copan Ruinas to Tegucigalpa

2006-12-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

We are only staying two nights in Honduras on our way south.

Today we drove about 400 kms to the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. First, we visited the Mayan ruins at Copan. I was prepared to be underwhelmed by them as we have seen so many magnificent Mayan structures on the trip. I was wrong. They are very beautiful, having been reclaimed from the rain forest at the end of the 19th century and then further excavation in the 1940's.

The one truly amazing structure is the staircase of hieroglyphs. The staircase rises high above you and each stone of each step is wonderfully carved with Mayan glyphs. We noticed that the Paul Getty Museum of Los Angeles is involved in the conservation of this national treasure.

The unique staircase of hieroglyphs at Copan Ruinas

Below is a photo of one of the carved stelae that stand in the main plaza at Copan Ruinas. The detail on these stelae is simply incredible.

I couldn't leave Copan Ruinas without mentioning the carved figurehead below. It was located just below the top of one of the pyramids and hidden away beneath some trees that were growing out of the pyramid. Looked at from the front it was another stone carving, but when I climbed down to look at in profile I thought it came alive.

We spent about an hour at the site and then drove for the next four hours to the capital, arriving around 2 pm. The countryside is very green and the local inhabitants are predominantly very poor. Apparently Honduras is the second poorest country, after Nicaragua, in Central America. Literacy levels are low and many live in very basic conditions.

My afternoon hoping to see the capital was spoilt by a stomach bug I have picked up and the rest of the day was spent in bed!

Tomorrow we head for our one night in Nicaragua, driving via the capital Managua and then on to Lake Nicaragua and the very beautiful old town of Granada on its shore.

APOLOGIES!!

2006-12-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

I've had real problems over the past week with the fact that my method of posting to the site has been via my Orange mobile and unfortunately Orange do not have a roaming agreement with Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama. The result has been no posts since December 3rd. Now that I am back in communication again, via a PC, I will have the final few days of the tour on the site within the next couple of days. Finally, I will be posting many more photos to all the days of the tour, so keep reading mexicotopanama.

Dec 4th - Tegucigalpa to Granada, Nicaragua

2006-12-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

I suffered with a stomach bug for most of the night, so leaving the hotel at 6 am was not the easiest thing to do!

Our two night stay in Honduras, like our brief time in Guatemala has proved to be an education for us. Even though the country is obviously very poor, the people have shown us nothing but friendliness and our fears of crime and corrupt officials has proved unfounded. We will leave the country with a much more positive view of it than when we entered.

Following the somewhat chaotic situations at the borders we decided not to stop at the points of interest HERO had mentioned in the road book and we drove to the border crossing without stopping; about 200 kms. At the border we were pestered by money changers and young children begging. While we were waiting I decided to have my shoes cleaned by a small boy who could not have been older than ten. Once my shoes were cleaned I paid and gave him a tip. Another shoe shine boy came up and asked me for a dollar. Both boys were very grubby and unkempt and I decided to give them each a dollar. The look of surprise and happiness on their faces was worth every cent.

Once across the border we drove to Leon, the former capital and another very old city with fine colonial buildings. Sadly, the cathedral, the largest in Central America, was closed for lunch and we were unable to look inside.

The cathedral in Leon, the former capital of Nicaragua

A brief stop for a bit of shopping and we then drove south, along the southern side of Lake Managua and the outskirts of the capital, Managua, to our destination of the day, Granada on the shores of Lake Nicaragua.

Granada is in the shadow of the active volcano, Masaya. We made the mistake of not doing the 10 km round trip from the main road. Those who did said how fascinating the volcano was with steam and sulphurous gases being given off.

We arrived in Granada around 3pm, in time for a late lunch. We learnt that this evening there would a parade of the Virgin Mary in the central square opposite our hotel.

The Hotel Alamabra, Granada, Nicaragua

The central square in Granada with its Christmas tree and the cathedral in the background.

The parade of the Virgin Mary started in the evening accompanied by loud fireworks and a brass band. Hundreds of people crowded the square to watch the Virgin pass on her way to the cathedral.

Granada is on the shores of lake Nicaragua and it was a shame that we never managed to see the lake as we had another early start tomorrow.

Dec 5th - Granada - San Jose, Costa Rica

2006-12-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

We were unable to have a tour of Granada as we had another long day of nearly 500 kms driving to the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose.

We left Granada driving along the shore of Lake Nicaragua which is a very large lake. A strong wind was blowing and the lake waters looked more like an ocean than a lake! We reached the border with Costa Rica after about 100 kms. Once again we had to endure the petty officialdom of customs officials, especially those on the Costa Rica side.

For the first time in several days we had our first really rough section of roads as we drove through the wonderfully green and lush Costa Rican countryside.

The first section of gravel road in Costa Rica, with the clouds descending before the heavy rain started.

Costa Rica really lived up to its billing as a tropical paradise and once across the border you immediately see that this is a much wealthier country than its neighbours to the north.

We drove across hills to Lake Arenal for a lunch stop at a German bakery. The food was OK but nothing special and did not live up to the description in the road book.

Members of the group having lunch at the German bakery near Lake Arenal. My car is on the right in the background.

As we left the bakery the weather changed. From the bright sunny weather we have experienced for virtually the whole tour we now had low clouds and heavy tropical rain.b We managed to see a small botanical gardens with a few butterflies, but the poor weather made the visit pretty unrewarding.

About 20 kms further on we came to the famous Hanging Bridges park in the rain forest. Even though the rain continued we had a great time walking through the forest via a succession of suspension bridges strung out across deep ravines. It was a wonderful walk, especially as you looked down onto the tree tops.

My navigator/co-driver enjoying the walk across one of the many suspension bridges through the Costa Rican rain forest.

By now the weather was really very poor, and with over 200 kms to go to San Jose we decided to skip the nearby hot springs and waterfalls.

A very slow drive on winding roads to the crowded city Cuidad Quesada made us decide on taking a different route to San Jose than shown in the road book. It turned out to be an inspired move as our route took us into San Jose on a six lane motorway as opposed to small roads through the outskirts of San Jose. With the aid of a mini-bus driver to help us negotiate some terrible traffic jams, we reached our hotel before nearly everyone else.

San Jose is not a particularly pretty city as most of the old colonial building have been destroyed in earthquakes that have hit this region. Still, our drive took us past some interesting places and buildings.

We have only one night in Costa Rica before we enter our final country of the tour, Panama.

Dec 6th - San Jose - Bambito, Panama

2006-12-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

As usual I had changed far too much money into local currency so, even though fuel is cheaper in Panama than Costa Rica, I used up all my Costa Rica currency filling my tanks up completely. I now had sufficient fuel to get to the finish in Panama and hopefully not too much for the shipping the car back to California as fuel tanks should be nearly empty when shipping a car by container.

We left the hotel at 6.30 am and headed out of San Jose in much lighter traffic than the evening before. The weather had definitely changed for the worse and as we rose up through the mountains south of San Jose the clouds covered the mountains so that we were driving in rain and fog! The journey was unbelievably slow as we were held up by slow moving trucks and vans struggling to climb the mountain passes.

We rose to just over 10,000 feet on the Col de la Muerte (Death Pass!!) and then started our descent through a magnificent valley bathed in sunshine. Our journey was delayed by several road works but eventually we reached the town of San Isidro.

From there the traffic decreased and we were able to make up time driving on the Interamericana. We made the decision to continue on the main road, as opposed to following the pot holed road book route of the tour. The traffic all but disappeared and we drove on empty roads following the line of the Rio Grande de Terraba to Palma Norte. It was the most magnificent road with towering mountains on either side of the river, wonderfully lush vegetation and flowers everywhere. England will be quite difficult to return to! Fortunately we managed to avoid two vividly green iguanas that ran across the road in front of us.

After 100 kms we rejoined the road book route near to the border. We both had the same thoughts as we went through the border controls - this was the last one!! It was quick initially but slow on the Panamanian side clearing the car for entry into Panama.

Once through the border we went 'off piste' for quickness and drover via the small town of La Concepcion to the hotel Bambito resort in very alpine looking hills, near Volcan Baru.

Dec 7th - Bambito - Panama City

2006-12-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

So this was it! The last day of the Panamericana Tour. Thirty days had simply flown past and now we had the last 500 kms to drive from Bambito to Panama City.

We decided to take the easy route and follow the Interamericana all the way to Panama City as opposed to doing the two off-road sections. I had to take the car to the shipping agent first thing the next day and needed time in Panama City to clean the car and empty it of all our belongings before it was delivered to the shipping agent.

Our journey started easily with about 50 kms of dual carriageway, then it became single carriageway and with trucks slowing us up we thought it would take much longer than we had expected. During this section the 'Dutch Contingent' made up of four cars led by Tom and Rosalie Gatsonides, swept past us at speed. I commented that if there were any police speed traps they would be the ones who would be stopped! As the traffic cleared and we made much better progress we came across the Dutch stopped by the side of the road by a police check. We learned later that after negotiations they paid $30 instead of $60 speeding fines on the understanding that they did NOT receive a receipt!!

The journey from then on was fairly uneventful and after about five hours we crossed the Bridge of the Americas which spans the southern end of the Panama Canal. Looking out to the Pacific we could see the ships lined up waiting their turn to enter the canal. It was another special moment from this great tour of Central America.

Our journey into Panama City was easy and as we turned onto the seafront we saw the great Panama City skyline of ultra modern skyscrapers. They made a great combination with the Pacific Ocean and a fitting place to end the Tour.

Panama City skyline

We arrived at our hotel at about 2.30 pm and I had time to get the car washed and pressure cleaned underneath. The American customs do not like dirty cars entering the US. We emptied the car of all our personal belongings. With the help of Nigel and John who willingly agreed to take a hammock we had bought in Mexico back in their car to the UK, as ours would not be in the UK for another year, we cleared the car of everything we would not need on our tour of the US in March/April 2007.

Just a few minutes before the official driving across the line ceremony being held in the car park of the hotel, the heavens opened up and a torrential tropical downpour ensued. Not to be deterred John Brown stood in the rain and flagged each one of us across the line. Quite an ending!

Crossing the finishing line with John Brown waving the Panamanian flag

We then headed back to the hotel for a champagne reception with dancing by traditionally dressed Panamanian dancers. It was great fun to watch.

Panamanian dancers in traditional dress

The day ended with a finishing party held at the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal.

What a great place to end the Tour! We watched the giant ships being pulled by the railway engines on either side of the canal and being held by two more at the rear of the ship. The largest ships have only 6 inches room on either side and that is one of the reasons that a new canal and locks are being built over the next eight years, just to the north of the existing locks.

Tomorrow I take the car to the shipping agent and we fly out to Los Angeles in the evening. Another tour is over, our fourth with HERO. All have been great fun and enabled us to see places we had never dreamed we would see and places we never even knew existed!

Our thanks go to John & Joanna Brown and their team, to all the other participants who make these events such fun and finally to all the wonderful people we have met from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Dec 8th - Panama City

2006-12-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

The final few miles of the whole tour.

We have now covered 7,448 miles in 31 days. We have visited seven Central American countries. Of the original 25 cars only two have been unable to complete the tour. We have crossed from the Pacific to the Caribbean and back again. We have visited six capital cities, missing out on Guatemala City, although we glimpsed it from the mountain pass we climbed to the south of the city. The weather has been almost total sunshine except for a couple days towards the very end of the tour. The hottest day was in Baja California when the temperature reached 35 Celsius and the coldest when we climbed the mountains south of San Jose and it fell to five degrees.

The drive from the hotel to the shipping agent located by the Panama Canal took just twenty minutes. I was joined by Bob & Thelma Howells and Terence English, both in the Landcruisers.

It took us an hour and a half to get all the customs documentation done so that the cars can be shipped out. I learnt that mine will be leaving Panama on the 27th and arriving in Los Angeles on January 3rd. It will be sharing a container with Bob & Thelma Howells' Landcruiser as they will be joining us on our drive across the States in March/April 2007. This will be our own private trip and once again I will be doing a blog of our adventures.

Once the trip across the States is finished we both aim to ship our cars direct to India for the HERO 4x4xplore Indian event, starting in October 2007. If it is half as good as Panamericana has been we will be well satisfied.

Dec 10th - THE BLOG IS FINISHED!!!!!

2006-12-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

I've written it all up and posted loads more photos.

Hope everyone who reads the blog will enjoy it and comments (positive only please!) will be welcomed.