Guatemalan Mountain Bike Adventure with Hans Rey and Tom Oehler

Check out this sweet video on Pink Bike of our Guatemalan backcounty mountain bike adventure touring at its best!  When Old Town Outfitters got the call from world reknown mountain bike legend Hans Rey to help he and fellow Red Bull rider Thomas Oehler put together an epic multi-day mountain bike tour we dug deep to find the sweetest remtote single-track Guatemala has to offer. The riding did not disappoint!



We of course started off by highlighting the great trails that the Antigua Valley has to offer as well as the famous purpose built mountain bike park out at El Zur.  The real riding however started once we got to the Cuchumantan mountains in Western Guatemala.  There's a gold mine of single-track out in them hills if you just know how to find it and link them together.  This is something that Old Town Outfitters has been doing for nearly 20 years.  We know how to find the best of the best terrain and pull the logisitics together so you only need to show up and ride.  We pack the cars, buy all the food, make all the reservations, guide and of course, keep the beers cold!

The trip was one for the books ful of huge epic days, monster descents and super rocky technical trail.  We pushed further and deeper into the mountains than any other biker before being sure that the treads we left on the ground were first tracks.  If you want to retrace this epic mountain bike tour of Guatemala or plot your own be sure to get in touch with us.

It was not all smiles for miles and cold beers at the end of a long day of riding as the true purpose of the trip to Guatemala was to support Hans Rey's NGO "Wheels for Life"  whose mission is to provide transportation to folks in need in developing countries.  The idea that something as simply as a donated bicycle which provides someone the necessary transportation to get to school or work can be life changing to those individuals.  Wheels for Life donated over 25 bicycles to school kids in a village outside of Antigua, Guatemala.

A 5,000,000,000 Star Experience

Antigua to Atitlan Safari Trek

Our sister company Trek Guatemala has just returned from its first customer trip, trekking from Antigua to Lake Atitlan.  A vision that was crafted from a couple nights drinking bourbon around the campfire out in the back country, brought the idea to connect the two tourist centers together via a well thought out, carefully planned, community/culturally based trekking route.  While the walking itself is pretty spectacular the well-appointed safari style tent camps are down right mind blowing. Trek Guatemala wanted to create a rewarding and engaging trekking route while at the same time offering all the creature comforts that are typically forgotten about on an ordinary trekking holiday. Think hot showers and queen size beds with down duvets! 

The current trek is a three day two night experience starting just a few kilometers outside of Antigua.  It was carefully hand crafted to combine scenic trail passing through culturally interesting areas with rich community interactions and stunning campsite placements.  Day one has the group cresting out high above the Antigua valley before dropping in the Acatenango valley well known for its great coffee. The group walks through working coffee farms and then climbs up to a seemingly forgotten Mayan village at the end of a dirt road directly facing Acatenango and active Fuego volcanoes.  This is the “Fuego” camp, fittingly named after one of the two volcanoes that dominate the view.  With a little luck sipping wine around the campfire you will get a front row seat to one of Fuego’s famous lava eruptions. 

Employing locals from the villages along the route ensures that there is always an opportunity to gain some insight into the lives of those who live in the area but to also give back to the communities in which they pass through.  The group is always accompanied by a local guide who along the trek can point out and share their personal experiences in the area, be it the hardships of 35 years of civil war to peasant subsistence farming life.  They have also trained women and men from neighboring villages at each campsite as cooks, guides and camp helpers.

Day two of the trek takes you through lush cloud forest and up high on a ridge that separates the more arid highland plateau and the lush Pacific slope.  Traversing the ridge there are amble opportunities to see bird life and other animals.  After a full day of walking the group walks into the second overnight camp called the “Agua”, named for its huge views over the distant Lake Atitlan, your next and final objective.  The campsite is nestled in a hill top forest just outside a small village. Part of the philosophy with Trek Guatemala’s vision was to create a rewarding cultural experience with the people of Guatemala.  In this village there is a women’s weaving cooperative that create textiles on the centuries old fashion back strap looms.  These textiles are then gathered together and taken to such places as Antigua or Panajachel where they are sold to tourists.  Here you will be able to see first-hand how these wonderful textiles are made and have an opportunity to buy direct from the weavers themselves leaving a greater economic impact.

Leaving “Agua” camp on the morning of day three, the trail dives down through beet, corn, broccoli and bean fields and into shaded coffee and avocado farms on its way down to the Madre Vieja river.  It’s a steep climb up and out of the river valley to the top of the shelf overlooking Lake Atitlan.  The reward of nearly three full days of walking is evident as the group crests out over the lake and starts making its descent to the water’s edge.  Moving now through a distinctly different landscape the group drops steeply and steadily on the rocky trails overlooking Lake Atitlan.  There is an opportunity for a stop off at a Mayan Altar in a cave above the town of San Antonio.  Continuing down here the trail as it winds closer to town begins to weave through terraced onion and flower fields where local farmers channel the limited water into their terraces based on an age old water sharing practice.

Arriving to the lake trekkers can decide to either pack it in the bus and head back to Antigua or stay out on the lake at one of the many hotels there.  Trek Guatemala is in process to continue the trek from Atitlan across the altiplano to Quetzaltenango locally known as Xela.  For now however, they are offering extensions to the Hotel La Casa del Mundo in Jaibalito where trekkers can kayak or relax in a swinging in a hammock lakeside. 

For about $150 per person per day, the trek is all inclusive.  All you have to do is show up, lace up the ole boots and take in the sites of the trail.  The well-oiled machine of Trek Guatemala will do all the heavy lifting and logistical planning from getting you in from the airport to setting up the camps to keeping the beers cold. 

Old Town Outfitters is excited to be partnering with Trek Guatemala to help travelers find this unique, handcrafted trekking one-of-a-kind cultural trekking experience.

The Best Restaurants in Antigua Guatemala - OTO Staff Picks

If you find yourself visiting our lovely town of Antigua, Guatemala, you will be glad to know there is no lack of great restaurant options. Wonder around the cobble-stone streets and you will be able to find everything from local cuisine, Italian, Japanese, French, German, and so many more. A few of us here in the Old Town Outfitter's office decided to share a few of our top picks around town. We hope you try a few and enjoy your visit! 

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Chris' Picks

    Pitaya Juice Bar. Fresh fruit smoothies (liquados) are popular throughout Guatemala, Pitaya serves some of the best I’ve found so far. They also have a simple menu of fresh, healthy, and affordable breakfast and lunch options. My recommendations are the Chia Mia smoothie and the Mr. Aguacate wrap. Smoothies: Q20-30, Wraps: Q30-35

Metiz Delicatessen and Bistro. This small French restaurant has become one of my go-to spots among Antigua’s vast pool of choices. I have yet to try something I did not like on the menu and the staff is always friendly. It is hard for me to narrow down the choices, but my top two recommendations are the large salad (probably my favorite salad in Antigua) and the Croque Monsieur sandwich. Average dinner: Q60-80 per person

Rincon Tipico Comedor. This local restaurant has grown over the years from a closet sized lunch spot to a sizeable dining room that accommodates large groups. There is a reason they’ve grown over the years, they offer good portion plates at a super affordable price. Ask for the day’s options and then choose your meat and two sides. My suggestion:  start with a side of guacamole and chips for your table – hard to go wrong there. Lunch: Q30 including drink

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    Matt's Picks

    Cactus Grill. Mexican style tacos, cold Mexican beers and margaritas!  Need I say more?  Some of the best guacamole in town and do not pass up the Shrimp and Bacon burrito! 

-     Hector's Bistro. An Antigua establishment for a decade.  What started as a buddy’s (Hector) word of mouth restaurant without a name or sign out front has come to define small, quaint well thought out dining in Antigua.  Don't miss the original Antigua open faced steak sandwich                        and sweet potato fries!

Quincho's Street Ceviches. Starting Friday afternoon through the weekend you can be sure to catch someone you know out on the street fighting off last night’s bender with a 'picosito' (Antigua style prepared beer) and a shrimp ceviche.

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    Reinhard's Picks

    Saberico: If you like choices, get a load of their extensive menu. Even vegetarians may have a hard time deciding, which is usually not a problem they encounter in Guatemalan restaurants. Also great: the selection of comida típica. Try the authentic Guatemalan enchilada, you’ll see that it is a far cry from the Mexican variety! 

            

     Casa Santo Tomás: The best part about a smaller menu is that you can focus on doing fewer dishes exceptionally well. Casa Santo Tomás is great for entrées like spicy chicken with fennel seeds and Guatemalan specialties like Suban’ik, an aromatic stew that is served with sliced, fried tamales on the side. Extra plus: One of a handful of places that serves locally brewed craft beer.

La Canche: Not only is this a hole in the wall, you have to enter walking through the adjacent mom-and-pop store before finding a seat in the back room. Menu? Don’t look for one, it doesn’t exist. Just ask one of the little old ladies what’s for dinner today. Whether it’s chicken soup or Pepián, it’s bound to be simple, hearty, and a Guatemalan staple. If you go, make sure you come prepared to burst the bubble that Antigua can be.

    

The 2nd Annual El Mirador Jungle Epic

Last week we headed out again from the nice temperate weather of the Guatemala highlands to the steamy humid jungle of thePeten, Guatemala's Northern department and home to perhaps the highest concentration of Mayan sites known in the Mayan world.  We have done this before, this was to be our second time out, and quite frankly, after the first time I wasnt sure thatI would be returning. However, they say time heals and I must admit that in the car ride out last year I was happy to see the jungle disappear in the background as the lush, light and breezy highlands came into focus. However, oddly enough just a few short days after being back at home in Antigua, I found myself missing the jungle and all the hardships that she brought with her.  So we decided to make this a yearly pilgrimage.

For this years edition we headed out with a more paired down and better prepared (even if just mentally) team.  Three returning riders, Matt Hartell and Nico Marceca from Old Town Outfitters, Brian Zimmer from the Antigua Bicycle Coop and Tom Vanderbuilt, a free lance writer who was documenting this trip for the New York Times.    When Tom asked me about joining on this years edition we exchanged emails about the ride, timing, conditions etc. in preparation for the upcoming trip.  More than anything this was an opportunity for us to vet Tom.  After all, this was one of the hardest 42 km ride I had ever done.  When we got to topic of distance, 42 kms. or 26 miles, essentially the distance of a marathon, I remember Tom's disbelief that last year it took us nearly 8 hours.  That's 4x longer than it takes a world class runner to run the same distance.  "How  could 26 miles with only 1350 feet of climbing take that long" he asked me.  "That's the distance of my lunchtime ride" he said.

I told him that I understood that it seemed inexplicable to take that long but that last year the trail conditions were brutal.  The usual method to get out to El Mirador is on foot, a two journey through the jungle.  Mules carry all the gear so that hikers wont have to contend with the heat and their equipment.  These mule trains absolutely destroy the trail especially in the rain.  They create these deep ruts, channels and churn up these mud post holes that when dry become boulders of  cement hard dried mud.  Last year there was apparently late season rain so when we go there in Early may when  it was dry there hadn't been enough time for the mules and people hiking out to smooth out the boulders.  This year however, I was assured from our friends out there at the trailhead that the trail was in "great shape" a it had been dry since January and thus has had sufficient time for the mud to be smoothed out.  Armed with the knowledge that this year the trail was going to be great we headed out to Carmelita heads held high with the confidence that this year would be different.

Indeed it would.  We arrived in Carmelita after 11 hours on the road and quickly went to the tienda to find few cold beers to fight the heat while unpacking and prepping our gear.  We talked to the folks out there who all told us that we were in luck that the trails were in great shape to to not worry about the ride.  The following day we set out on the trail and quickly found that yes, the trail was in better shape.  In fact, they were right, it was in great shape.  Now I must back up to say that even in great shape the ride is still tough.  The low, boggy, dried mud "bajos" as they called them were still bumpy but much better than last year.  You could actually ride them as opposed to last year where you had to surgically attack them with precision, balance and a huge amount of determination.  We bumped our way through the bajos, cruised the fun rocky altos and made it out to El Mirador in just about four and a half hours of riding time.  Again, even these times are mind boggling if you were only to see the stats.  How could 26 miles take that long?  Some how it just does.  If its not the bouncy bajos, its a short techy rocky climb to the altos and always the heat.  If you are not accustomed to the heat and humidity of the Guatemalan jungle you WILL suffer. After nearly 8 liters of water, more than I probably drink in a week, my pee was still dark yellow, if I could even go.  The jungle takes every ounce of it out of you.  Arriving in Mirador, a trail and heat weary Tom looked over at me and told me that now he "gets it".  He finally understood what I was talking about when I said it was the toughest flat 26 miles you'll do.

It sounds like a lot of pain and suffering, which it is, but the payoff is amazing.  El Mirador is very remote and hard to get to. Unless you have the funds to helicopter in, which on more occasions than one I wished I had had, you have to walk 2 days to get there or in our case one long brutal day on the bike.  And that's only one way!  Only about 3,000 visitors a year make this trip overland so there is definitely a sense of accomplishment.  The site of El Mirador is nestled in a unique part of the "protected" Mayan Biosphere.  This area is being threaten by the communities near by and the devastating slash and burn practices for clearing cattle grazing land.  El Mirador boasts the highest man made temples in the Ancient world.  Bigger than the pyramids of Egypt and larger in volume than the entire main plaza of Tikal.  With only a handful of other tourists out there who had made the walk we felt that we nearly had the site to ourselves.  The sunset from the top of the temple alone, made the journey worth while.  There is something special about looking out from the top of the temple seeing nothing but jungle as far as you can see in every direction.

Forest covered Mayan pyramids dot the landscape on the horizon and leave you imaging what other sites are still out there to be discovered.  Unconsciously the planning for next years ride had already begun.  How to tie the trail into El Mirador to other further a field sites out in the jungle.  Next year we will push past El Mirador, now our old friend, and find new brutal trails that will lead us to another temple and another sunset over the jungle. I can only imagine that sitting on another new temple at sunset will only mean yet another new ride the following year.  As hard as it is, I'm already looking forward to future rides.

Get in touch with us if you are interested in next years 3rd annual ride which will be weather permitting around the end of April or the beginning of May.

The Double Header

Check out this sweet client posted video of a recent Old town Outfitters trip up the twin summits of Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes. 

36 Hours in Antigua

The New York Times 36 hour column just featured Antigua as one of its destinations!  Our Old Town Outfitters trip to Pacaya Volcano was featured as one of the top experiences while here in country.  It is indeed a great trip.  If your thinking to visit Guatemala, get in touch and lket us get you out there off the beaten track and onto a unique adventure trip.  Congratulations to all the other folks that also  were featured.

Here is a video of a recent trip down to the pacific coast of Guatemala to the beach town of Monterrico.  Old Town Outfitters offers a one a two day sea kayaking trip in the mangrove canals of this quaint little beach town.  This trip is a great opportunity to see the diverse waterfowl and other animals that make this mangrove ecosystem their home.  We head out to the sea turtle conservation project on the beach to see what is being done to help the resident population of turtles and with a little luck during the right time of year you will be able to sponsor your own turtle for release.

Biking to the ruins of El Mirador

Just just recently got back from an one of a kind mountain bike trip out to the Northen Jungles of Peten, Guatemala.  Our idea was to be the first to ride the famous Carmelita to El Mirador trail.  This trail has long existed, infact it dates back to the Mayan pre-classic period and follows much of the original Mayan Sakbe or Mayan highway from Carmelita to the ruins themselves.

 In its heyday Mirador was one of the largest Mayan city/states in the area.  It still boasts the largest pyramids built by ancient peoples, ANYWHERE!  In modern times these trails have been used by Chicleros, or the men who walk out into the junlge to harvest Chicle.  This is the stuff that we used to use to make gum.  Today the chicle trade isnt quite what it used to be but the trails still exist.  Most of the traffic on the Sakbe these days are adventurous backpackers and gear laiden mules headed out to the ruins.

 After having hiked this trail years ago I wanted to be the first to take a crew in on bikes.  Having seen the trail, the lack up elevation that I am acustomed to in the Guatemalan highlands,  and mapping the distances it didnt seem like this was going to be too hard.  After all, the trail is only 43 kms. from Carmelita to Mirador.  Most groups walk this in two days overnighting on day one at the ruins of Tintal.  

 We sent an advance team to Carmelita with the gear and food that we would need and loaded the mules.  They set out a day ahead of us so that, assuming all went to plan that they would be arriving in Mirador about the same time as us.  We had caluclated that the mules would take a full 2 days to get there while we on bikes moving much faster (we hoped) would be able to cover the 43 kms. in a hard day.

                                  
We didnt really take into account the heat and humidity into our calculations of effort and time needed to make it to Mirador.  It is totally do-able in a day.  But you need to be prepared to have access to a LOT of water.  Upon planning the trip everyone that we spoke with out in Carmelita tod us that it was going to be hard going and hot but at the very least that it was dry.  What no one told us was that it would be potentially better to go a little later in the season.  They had gotten a  lot of late season rain which with all the mule train traffic had created this lunar hardened mud post hole effect that was like riding through a 43 km. boulder field in 35* heat and 90% humidity.

 We did make it though.  Crossing the many altos and bajos (high and low ground) where the terrain would change from rolling, beautiful singletrack to hardened mud post hole hell out to the ruins.  We slung our hammocks and listened to the sounds of the jungle and mosquitos lull us to sleep.  We decided that we would give this trip another shot the next May a little later in the season when enough mule traffic would work to smooth out the crusted mud formations and thus make it a slightly easier ride.

We spent 3 nights in the woods riding from ruin to ruin far away from anywhere.  It was a pretty amazing experience.  One that although was the hardest 43 km ride ive ever done and looking forward to next years trip.  We are hoping to create a tour to help the locals promote and protect this amazing resource.  Stay tuned to jump on the next ride out.

Volcano Bashing in El Salvador

Our neighbor to the East, El Salvador doesnt seem to get the tourism focused on the outdoors quite like we do here in Guatemala.  So we decided to head over and check things out.

I must say we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.  Only a few short hours from La Antigua, Guatemala you can be cruising the "Ruta de las Flores", an old back-roads Salvador feel with cool little colonial and artisan towns with quaint B&B's and fun bars.

But crusing Salvadors backroads wasnt why we went.  We wanted to check out the rarely visited interior of the country with her National Parks, caves, waterfalls and volcanic peaks.  We headed first for the sulfuric crater lake volcano of Santa Ana.  Its an hour or so hike up to the cone where you are looking down on this super cool blue crater lake.  Its not a super hard hike but is very different from the Guatemalan peaks that we normally hike.

Its an easy 4 hour drive to Santa Ana from Antigua and after your hike its only a bit further to the Ruta de Las Flores where you can find food festivals, outdoor beer gardens, scenic lakes, caves and waterfalls.  We headed to Juayua first and caught up with the street-side feast that was going on.  It was like a little piece of Guatemalan Europe.  Folks drinking beers and eating food in the streets.

Just outside town is a waterfall with a system of caves that you can swim through.  Each tunnel takes you further into the mountainside and into a larger chamber.  Pretty sweet! After lounging in the pools we headed back to town for beers and a night out before we headed over to Lago de Coatepeque, the Salvadoran version of Guate's Atitlan.  It wasn't as big but it sure was pretty, we had seen it from the tops of Izalco and Santa Ana volcanoes and knew we wanted to head over and check it out.

Funny how after so much time here in Guatemala that I had neglected our Central American neighbor.  She's so close and offers so much to do than just hanging on the beach and surfing.  Dont get me wrong, Zonte and the rest of the beaches are pretty stellar.  But this highlands "Ruta de las Flores" side of Salvador was a great change from my normal trip.
We'll most likely be adding this to the long list of amazing trips on the Old Town Outfitters website.  Stop in and get yourself booked up on our next adventure!

An Exploratory trip to Guate's Green Heart

This past weekend we took off and headed north from Antigua the the lush green department of Alta Verapaz to the hidden travelers hang out near Las conchas.  This is a place that we had heard about for years but just hadnt for whatever reason found the time to get out and check it out.  It had always be rumored to be what Semuc Champey was before the tourist crowds had taken it over and made it a mainstream Guatemalan dstination of the "Gringo Trail."

No, no, this place is legit!  It is a bit far removed from Antigua but perfected placed in the middle of the country to become THE stopover spot on an overland trip between Antigua and Tikal or the Rio Dulce.
Las Conchas definitely lived up to all the hype that had been circulating  about the remote jungle river and cave system.

We loaded up the 4x4 and rolled out to our friends hostal on the Rio Chiyu just downstream from Las Conchas.  We set out not only to take advantage of cold beers, jungle swimholes and jumping off the staircased waterfalls but to create an all-in-one tour of this area of Guatemala that is not focused on Semuc Champey and the overrun town of Lanquin.

What we found was pretty amazing!  A short pick up truck ride away from the lodge is the trail head to the Setzol caves system.  Its an hour hike through the lush forest to the entrance of Setzol where a beautiful river emerges from the cave.  We spend an hour or so exploring this cave before heading further down the trail to yet another cave that seemingly no one knows the name of!  This cave still has Mayan artifacts inside, making it a truly special place.

Our recee trip has turned into a new classic Old Town Outfitters tour called the  "caves and waterfalls"  tour.  Get in touch with us and join onto our next adventure to Las Conchas before it gets turned into another Semcu Champey!

The OTO Underground

Its not every weekend that we are lucky enough to make it out to the sleepy mountain town of Lanquin, but when we do, it certainly always puts a smile on our faces.  This past weekend was that weekend.

The drive to get there is long, but once you leave the congestion of Guatemala City behind the scenery changes and so does your mood.  Along the way we stopped off to break up the drive with a cool hike to a remote waterfall for a picnic lunch and a swim.  This part of Guatemala is incredible!  Full of rivers, waterfalls, big hills and more shades of green that you thought was possible,and the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the elusive Quetzal.

After an hour at the swim hole, we loaded up and pushed further into the back-country and finally made it to Lanquin just in time to pull into the local cave system to watch thousands of bats come pouring out at sunset.
After checking into our digs for the night at El Retiro  we had a drink down by the river and then headed over to pour friends place at  The Zephyr Lodge for good eats and and some quality time overlooking the river.

This being a 4 day trip we are definitely able to take advantage of all the amazing things there are to do in the this adventure travelers play ground.  The limestone geology of the Lanquin area means that rivers and caves abound.  We stopped into the Lanquin caves and crawled our way past where the lights end and tourist trail stops.  Here we found ourselves at the edge of a dark cliff.  Our headlamps just barely making out the stalagmites at the bottom some 50 feet below.  We set up the repel and headed down into that dark cavern below.  There's something special about lowering off tierra firma and dropping into the unknown.

Our next objective was the cave system of Can Ba.  Can Ba is a water cave so we pull on wetsuits to be able to go well past the candle holding bikini clad tourists and push deep inside the mountain.  Up and over waterfalls, swimming dark channels, and scaling around rock formations we plunged some 3 hours into this seemingly never ending cave until we came to our turn around time at "La Playa" a nice sandy beach inside the cave where we had lunch.

Emerging back out into the warm sunlight we strolled across the Cahabon River to the pools of Semuch Champey.  This is a place like no other!  A raging river disappears under a limestone mesa formed by multiple creeks that have dropped their mineral loads forming the terraced pools of Semuc Champey.  Each pool cascades into the next before returning to the raging torrent of the Cahabon exiting the cave formed by la mesa.

This place is worthy of a National Geographic cover!  We soaked up the warm sun and lounged on the rocks separating the pools until thoroughly water-logged.  We headed back over the bumpy road to Lanquin for a huge Mexican BBQ feast at the lodge and fell into hammocks for the rest of the evening.

If you got a few days and want to see a unique part of Guatemala, a world away, underground, floating rivers, and chasing the Quetzal, this is your place.  Get in touch with us at the shop and we'll pull a trip together for you.

See ya out on the trail or perhaps under it...

                                                                    Mateo

Canyoneering on the Rio Xaya

Always looking to forge new ground, we headed out on an expedition to the Rio Xaya.  We were looking to get a first descent of thie upper part of the river and scout it out for a future kayak run later on in the year when the rains come.

It was pretty tough going but we found sweet tight canyons and fun rapids and managed to make it out with only a torn pant leg.  The run during the rainy season looked do-able although you better bring your A game as its a steep canyon all the way to the take out.  

Rio Dulce - "Paddling in Paradise"

Just back in from the field!  Old Town guides just brought in pictures and stories from the trail, our most recent trip out the to Rio Dulce, an amazing jungle river on Guatemala's Caribbean coast. 

 This is must hit do-it-all outdoor excursion for the adventurer who wants a good mix of culture, adventure and nature all rolled up into one fantastic 4 day tour.

 This part of Guatemala is riddled with limestone river canyons, beautiful lakes and plenty of other cool stuff stuff to do like caves, waterfalls and even a stop in at a thermal waterfall hot-spring! 

The trip starts out with an early leave from Antigua to beat the traffic in Guatemala City.  As we drop out of the city we start to leave the mountains behind and move into a Caribbean the landscape past vast banana plantations and covered Mayan temples

 Arriving to the River we detour for a stop in at "Finca Paraiso" where there is the most unique oppotunity to shower under a natural thermal waterfall.  The falls cascade into a cold river that comes out of cave just upstream.  You are able to mix the hot and cold of the falls and river to find just the right balance.   

After a picnic lunch we river walk upstream to a hidden cave entrance in the forest where we don headlamps and navigate our way to where the fresh water river exits the cave and float back to the hot-springs!  Pretty insane really.

Each night we move on to a new and unique riverside jungle hostal  as we paddle our way down the Rio Dulce towards Livingston, Guatemala's only Garifuna village.  The paddling on the river gives us plenty of opportunity for bird-watching and if we are lucky enough perhaps a glimpse of the endangered manatee.  As we float down stream we'll pass local fisherman out for looking for the days catch, which most likely will end up on our plates that evening.

 As the river gets closer to Livingston we float through perhaps the nicest part of the, the Canyon, where the river narrows and steep limestone walls rise out of the water hundreds of feet over head.  It is a truly amazing site.  

The town of Livingston with its funky mix of Guatemalan and Caribbean culture is at the mouth of the Rio Dulce and the Caribbean ocean.  It is an amazingly vibrant town with the sounds of steel drums in the air, open cafes and cool Garifuna culture. 

 To round out the trip to Guate's Caribbean coast we stop in at the Mayan ruins of Quirigua on the way back to Antigua.  These ruins once controlled the Mayan lowland area between Copan las Ruinas, Honduras and the mighty ruins of Tikal.  Quirigua boasts the largest stelae known in the Mayan world.

If you are looking for something different and off the mainstream tourist track this is certainly a great option.  Get in touch with us at the shop and we'll help you  put together a custom trip out this way.  There's loads more to do out here than this and we know it all!   

Antigua Bicycle Co-op!!

Finally! 

 A good local bike shop for Antigua.  We blew out the wall between Old Town and the space next door and got the Co-op going.

  We have a full inventory of all the bits and bobs your bike could ever need.  The new Guatemalan National XC jersey is in too.  Stop in and see what we have or just come in to say hello and have a cold Brooklyn IPA or Lager.

 We have plenty of new Kona 29'ers in stock and a few used bikes as well.  Look for us on Facebook to find out about up coming events, rides and specials.

See ya on the trail!