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October 07 Photo Trip to 10 places...This photo trip took us to England, Many Greek Islands, Egypt and Turkey... 10 locations in 22 days, that was quite a TRIP !! it was a fantastic adventure. We decided to go LOCAL all the way, eating local and trying to do things as "local" as our stomachs and health would allow. London, England was great, very friendly and colorful . Then we headed to Athens Greece, where our odyssey began, Island hopping was a true pleasure, one of the most spectacular places to photograph on earth - Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Iraklion, Crete, just to name a few, are simply wow !!. Never thought my finger (my photo finger, that is) would actually hurt of so many photos. Egypt is just magnificent, I never get tired of going there - Alexandria and Cairo - were simply great. Turkey is a simply awesome place, Istanbul is timeless, simply fantastic. Expedition to Merendon Mountains in HondurasWith the new Yamaha Rhino we proceeded to go to the mountains of Merendon in Honduras. It proved a wonderful instrument for photographers, since its 4x4 worked great !! Crossing rivers, going up steep hills, we had a great time in the jungles in Merendon. January 29 Checkin' out Rio Dulce GuatemalaRio Dulce is a few hours away from San Pedro Sula, and we had wanted to go there for quite some time, we usually have to pass by it to go to Tikal or to go to Belice. Almost all points in this village are achievable by motorboat, you can go through "Quineles" or chanels to various jungle residences that are very nice looking. They have several Water Hotels , a Castle or fort and some wildlife, interesting location, perfect for a short vacation. Photo expedition to Cusuco in Hunt for reptilesSeveral photographers and I traveled to the Cusuco National Forest, but January is rainy season in Honduras, so getting there was a complete adventure !!! Narrow paths, mud everywhere, the car sliding all over the place, mountain on one side, certain death on the other (200 meter fall) it made the trip much more ....interesting !!! I think that some members of our expedition required a clean set of underwear ...he he he. After crossing 4 mountain rivers, we finally made it to the park, and of course the park never dissapoints.... we encountered weird species of insects, lizzards, frogs, etc. As usual , highly recommended. October 29 Motorcycle trek in the Mayan Route to MexicoThe Adventure of a Lifetime !
The trip started in San Pedro Sula, traveling in our BMW R1200GS motorcycles, going through the Atlantic coast near Puerto Barrios Guatemala, traveling well into the the Peten Jungles, our first stop: Tikal - A great place, full of fantastic birds. The lagune that is front of the aldea el Remate was blue clear- it was fantastic. The took advantage of the beautiful sunset for some photos.
From Tikal we headed to Melchor de Mencos, a remote village with a road....well.... a challenge (to put it mildly!) with some parts paved , some parts with huge holes and 30 km or so, dirt road, all the way to the belize border. It was a great adventure, thankfully it was great weather all the way. After going through customs in Belize, we headed through several villages and made our way up to belmopan. Belize people were very helpful and nice.
Finally in the border with Mexico !
Going through borders is not fun, it makes you loose a hour or more of traveling, making it hectic at times.
In Mexico.... what a change... the roads where much nicer, we stopped and spent the night in Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo and a pretty large city, it was surprising to find a good commercial district featuring a well stocked Sams, and a barrage of stores including Walmart Clones, etc.
The Mexican food in Chetumal was great.
In Chetumal we met with fellow bikers from El Salvador, great people like Jose Luis and Junior, the whole gang was a blast. We headed up to playa del Carmen (another 350 Km north) the 4 lane highway was fantastic, the Government is really developing the infrastructure there.
It was a pleasure to be in Playa del Carmen, the beaches where fantastic, the Hotels just great, and the bars, restaurants and shopping where all first class, we had a great time. We decided to stay two days there.
Next stop, CANCUN, our final destination in Mexico. I have to say that it was pure joy to see the great turquoise ocean, the many many hotels, and a very sweet location, very impressive. In this location, it happened to be the Meeting for BMW clubs, where hundreds of riders from U.S.A., Mexico and Central America met for a great time. I have never seen so much bikes together !!!
After a few days, it was time for reality again, so we headed back.... there is when all HELL broke loose !
First my motorcycle just DIED, thank God it was right after we arrived at Chetumal, there after reviewing the different BMW forums, we found that my problem was not uncommon, it was a relay from the fuel pump.
After several calls to the people of BMW Cancun (not helpful) and BMW Guatemala (very helpful and great people) we determined to make a bypass (done by my brilliant brother Eddy (he he he) ) and it worked !!!
This made us practically loose a day, but we were not stranded for a week (like the Mexican BMW implied) we started our way back to Belize and UNDER THE RAIN all the way, the whole country was under the rain....bummer. Crossing the border...uneventful.
After that we got to Melchor Guatemala, and... remember the nice dirt road... well now it was a soup of mud, slippery and well... soupy, it was fun, what an adventure, this demonstrated that these motorcycles can take abuse, a great adventure going where even trucks and tractors where getting stuck and sliding all over the place.
We finally got to Tikal, and even had a chance to photograph some birds, then back the next day to San Pedro Sula. Fantastic, awesome, a dream of a trip.
May 14 The Fantastic Quetzal in Honduran JunglesIn the Jungles of Cusuco National Park...
After a long journey in our 4x4 we finally arrived at the jungles of the Cusuco, which were as pristine as my last visit 8 years ago, it is a fantastic place.
We have always heard that we could find the fabulous quetzales there but they eluded us, this time we decided that we were not coming down the park until we photographed one !!!
After Hours of hiking through the trails with our two spotters, they finally spotted a female Quetzal, as soon as we prepared to photograph the bird... it flew !!
Minutes later we were rewarded with the most magnificent view of a male Quetzal, these are not small birds ! they are just incredible, when they fly they rule !!! no wonder the Mayan indians considered them Gods. April 28 Expedition to Peten and Tikal GuatemalaThe jungles of Peten, magnificent, although we went in dry season in a very hot and humid environment, and as usual we were rewarded by the screams of the howling monkeys, hundreds of spider monkeys, some "pizotes" and "watusas" , not to mention the great mayan ruins of Tikal, this was the "New York" of the mayan empire, super tall buildings, great monument to the classic period of the mayan indians... just mind boggling.
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