Less than a week ago we had finished the Samarkand Raid, and although I did not feel tired, if I had a little respect for a trip that was the first time that Territori 4×4 made. Another great challenge in expedition format, to discover the landscapes, people and past of a good part of Central America, we started the Great Central American Route.
The departure from Spain could not have started worse, two of the participants missed the plane, although they were fortunate to be able to board another one without major problems the next day. Buff, what a nervous start ¡¡¡¡
The reception we had at the airport in Guatemala was apotheosis, or so we thought at first… just kidding, they were waiting for their soccer team that for the first time in history had passed to the round of 16 and a deafening crowd was waiting, evidently, not for us, but for their team. Who did come to greet us was Alfredo, who was to be our guide through Central America.
The first and pleasant surprise came with the first hotel of the trip, a 5* luxury hotel that despite the tiredness of the trip, we could not hold back and take a few pictures of the beautiful place, the hotel sincerely amazed us.
The next day the cars were delivered and we confirmed that the couple who had stayed in Barcelona were on their way.
EL SALVADOR The first stage of the trip took us to the Republic of El Salvador, crossing the border between this country and Guatemala was a delight if we compare it with those of Central Asia, in less than 30 minutes we had already crossed it.
This small country, beautiful and very fertile, but like most of the region devastated by a terrible civil war, and although it does not touch the Caribbean Sea, also constantly hit by earthquakes, hurricanes and raging volcanoes, tries to rise from its problems and excel in such a hostile area, we saw a young nation and eager to sail the future with enthusiasm and effort and it is for these reasons that we liked El Salvador.
Before staying in another magnificent hotel in San Salvador, its capital, we had the opportunity to visit the archaeological remains of Tazumal, the first archaeological park in El Salvador, and one of the oldest in the Central American region, where we were fortunate to receive explanations by one of its main researchers, the wisdom that had Guillermo, which was the name of the guide, was only comparable by the enthusiasm that he put to comment on the buildings and sculptures that were there. We ate at a regional fast food restaurant, and in the afternoon we went to the Joya de Ceren, the only place in the Mayan world that shows the daily life of that civilization. The site is very well protected from inclement weather and UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site.
With the sunset, we arrived at our “super” Hotel and without thinking twice we got into the Jacuzzi, which we only left to go to a restaurant of typical Salvadoran food, where we discovered the “pupusas” of chicharron and “tamales” filled with the ubiquitous beans. An excellent evening that not even the torrential rain that fell on us as we left the restaurant dampened one iota.
In the morning of the following day, the two companions who had traveled alone met up with the group, they had to get up early, but at last we were all together.
In the capital of El Salvador, we visited the monument to the Divine Savior of the World, a national symbol, and the Civic Plaza where the Cathedral stands, completed in 1999 and in whose crypt is buried Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated in 1980, For denouncing in his Sunday homilies numerous violations of human rights and expressing his solidarity with the victims of political violence in his country, the country’s fervent Catholics, who are very many, hope he will soon be canonized and thus celebrate the first saint and martyr of El Salvador.
In El Salvador there is a relatively young volcanic chain, located parallel to the Pacific coast and part of the Circumpacific ring of fire. Our route during the two days we were in Salvadoran territory was constantly monitored either by lakes of volcanic origin or directly by volcanoes, I had never seen so many and in a row, some of which showed unmistakable signs of activity, such as those of Santa Ana, Izalco, before reaching San Salvador or those of San Vicente or Tecapan before entering Honduras.
Since there is no direct road passage between El Salvador and Nicaragua, we had to travel through Honduras, where we were “forced” to buy a fire extinguisher and triangles, in order to respect the regulations in force in that country. As good tourists, we did it and before two kilometers, a police control stopped us and verified that we had these security tools, surprisingly this was not the only control, but every five or ten kilometers there were new controls that bored us, Alfredo, our local guide, told us that they are done by order of the Americans, that force the Honduran authorities to monitor the passage of drugs and criminals through that country, to hinder the free passage from South America to the United States, in short. that the damn controls were a real burden and we had no choice but to suffer them stoically, with the delay in time that this meant for us.
NICARAGUA Around seven o’clock in the evening, at night, we arrived in Nicaragua, we were almost two hours at customs, we feared the worst in that country that a few years ago was world famous for its Sandinista revolution, but, surprise, Nicaragua presented us with fantastic roads, with asphalt in perfect condition, with signage difficult to improve and a very renewed vehicle fleet. Without a doubt, if you compare Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Nicaragua is light years away from the other three, a very unexpected surprise and above all very positive, since we were going to spend the next few days in this country and for us the better its infrastructures were, the better for the group.
We arrived in León around nine o’clock at night, and the hotel was once again outstanding, it was an old colonial building converted into a magnificent “boutique” or charming hotel, we had dinner in their restaurant and went to bed without further delay, the day had been long and we were tired.
The next day we had breakfast consistently outside the restaurant, in front of its magnificent garden with palm trees and a fountain surrounded by beautiful red flowers.
The current city of León, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, occupies a different place from the original one founded in 1523 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, a character who gives the name to the country’s currency, the córdoba, but maintains all the charm and beauty it once had. It was the capital of Nicaragua until 1857. The religious buildings of the colonial era are abundant, highlighting the Church of La Merced and especially the Cathedral, the largest in Central America and where the great poet of Castilian letters Rubén Darío is buried.
After the interesting visit to León, we went along dirt tracks to Lake Managua where we could contemplate two beautiful active volcanoes that catch you when you look at them for the first time and you are still captive to their image while you hear the murmur of the small waves reaching the shore.
We continued on the road, struggling with the mud of the tracks always surrounding the lake and having the volcanoes as silent observers, we ate in a restaurant located a few meters from the asphalt. It was a very pleasant meal but they took a long time to serve us and this forced a quick visit to the capital, Managua. At the end of the day we arrived at our destination, Granada.
What was our surprise that when we arrived at the correct, as it could not be otherwise, hotel in Granada, the city was in the middle of “fiestas agostinas”, a carnival parade that made more than one participant of the group wake up suddenly and after dinner they did not hesitate to enjoy it.
Since 1524, Granada has boasted of being the oldest city on the American continent on the mainland. Really we more than the city saw its atmosphere, spectacular and festive, first the parade and the next day a massive presence of decorated horses that walked with their proud riders through the main streets of the city to the Malecón of the great Lake Nicaragua.
As good tourists that we are, we took advantage of the morning to ascend to the crater of the Masaya volcano, with a visitor center in accordance with the whole country, modern and instructive, once again Nicaragua surprised us. The Masaya Volcano National Park is one of the most interesting and beautiful natural phenomena in Nicaragua. It was declared the first National Park in the entire country in 1979.
The Masaya volcano is also known as Popogatepe, which means “burning mountain” in the indigenous language of the Chorotegas. The crater is in permanent gaseous activity with a large sulfurous fumarole that rises to the sky and inside there is incandescent lava, the panorama that is enjoyed is simply spectacular. After the ecstasy of the visit, we were suggested to walk inside a 180-meter tunnel produced by the lava, which, as good tourists, we did too.
After the fantastic experience in the volcano we returned to Granada where we ate in a restaurant on the main street and oh surprise… the atmosphere was inside bars and restaurants, the final of the Spanish Super Cup was being played between Barça and Madrid, and the passion that was lived there for the natives who were there had nothing to envy to the fans who live in Spain.
We left Granada and promised to return, we loved the city and especially its people, it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
On somewhat muddy tracks we went to look for the road that was going to take us to our next and already known destination: Honduras.
HONDURAS The tour we made through Nicaragua and Honduras was very beautiful, always surrounded by exuberant nature, beautiful green mountains and very plentiful rivers, just to highlight a small issue that we had when crossing the border, which thanks to the kindness of the Honduran agent, who was right, was solved without further ado.
Honduras is slightly larger than Guatemala and is the second largest country in Central America, after Nicaragua.
All the police controls we had in our first experience in Honduras were wiped out on the stretch we made to Tegucigalpa, our destination that day. The hours lost in customs prevented us from visiting a National Park north of the city and we decided to go to our “correct” hotel to rest.
In the morning we visit Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras since 1880, a bustling and disorderly city, enclosed between mountains covered with pine trees, almost 1,000 meters above sea level. Its name, in local dialect, means “silver hill”; That’s what it was called when the Spaniards founded it as a mining center in 1578. Its main attraction is the 18th-century domed Cathedral and the Central Park, located in front of the cathedral.
After the quick visit we cross the river that bathes the city, the Choluteca and we go along a highway under construction towards San Pedro Sula.
It must be recognized that each of the Central American countries has its own physiognomy, and Honduras was no exception, its mountains were no longer volcanoes as in Nicaragua or El Salvador, but had their own particular physiognomy, the result of the materials that form them and the erosion that they have suffered and continue to suffer from rain and tropical storms.
After several hours of driving, we arrive in Copan, a world-famous archaeological site and one of the main tourist attractions in Honduras.
The archaeological site of Copan, located in one of the most beautiful and little-known places in Central America, was an important governmental and ceremonial center of the ancient Mayan civilization, which UNESCO has recognized as a World Heritage Site.
Accompanied by a local guide, we discovered the most emblematic corners of the ruins, where the Ball Court stands out with its stone macaws and the magnificent Staircase of the Hieroglyphics, an extraordinary relic and work of art made of stone, where the story of the 16 kings who ruled the city-state of Copan is narrated. the most important of their lives, their descendants, their wars, their conquests and their alliances.
After two hours of very interesting visit, we were able to recreate ourselves on our way out with a colony of friendly red macaws, beautiful macaws of magnificent red, blue and yellow colors, which are being reintroduced in the Valley.
We go to the town that receives the same name as the ruins that have made it famous, it is a small and charming place of cobblestone streets framed by adobe houses with red roofs that has a beautiful colonial church, shops and places to taste the “licuados” an excellent very refreshing drink made from fruits such as melon or papaya.
We returned to the Hotel to enjoy a good swim in its magnificent pool and have a “special mojito” that good old Alfredo prepared for us. We decided to dine al fresco at a steakhouse in the village.
In the morning, with a delicious temperature, we had the pleasure of having breakfast on the terrace of the hotel with a garden that doubles that of a football field, some participants commented that this was the hotel they liked the most, although the truth is that choice is very difficult for me, because they all had their charm and surpassed the qualities of the normal 5*.
GUATEMALA With our vehicles we traveled the scarce 15 kilometers that brought us closer to the border with Guatemala, where there were no incidents to note.
We filled the fuel tanks and set out to make our first track in Guatemala, we ascended dry ramps, between coffee plantations and other tropical humid mountain plantations, the landscapes were as they had been throughout the trip, beautiful, green and lush, after several kilometers enjoying the journey, the track was in very bad condition, As a result of a landslide, which was followed by a steep ramp of very difficult ascent, after several attempts we managed to climb, panted by the children of a nearby school who came to see us, quite a spectacle, but for them!
After the “entertaining” drive through wonderful tropical mountain landscapes, dotted with small villages inhabited by friendly people who are always willing to help us, we arrive at a restaurant serving prepared food, where we have lunch.
The afternoon was very complete, first Quiriguá, a Mayan site declared a World Heritage Site and then sailing with a boat to go up the “Amazonian” Rio Dulce to Livingston, in the Caribbean Sea.
In the early afternoon we arrive at Quiriguá, a small archaeological site but of great importance for the stelae (huge sandstone stones with excellent engravings of the Mayan hierarchs) that have been found there. It was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century by the Americans, but before that, in 810 BC, it had been abandoned by a flood of the relentless Montagua River, which produces so many catastrophes, and was never more populated.
We left the vehicles in good safety and a boat took us through the spectacular jungle of the canyon of the Rio Dulce to its mouth in the Caribbean, from where we went to our “shack” in Livingston, the management of the hotel invited us to an exhibition of Garifuna music, the Garifuna are black and arrived here in 1802 from the island of Roatan in Honduras, who have since lived in perfect harmony with the Q’eqchi, descendants of the Maya.
As we arrived at night, we could not see until the morning of the next day the paradise where we were, the Caribbean just 50 meters away, surrounded by palm trees and other tropical trees, and a blue sky illuminated by the Sun that was stretching to start its daily journey. A boat picked us up at the hotel dock and we headed for the Sapodilla Cays, a Belize Marine Reserve that UNESCO has declared a World Heritage Site.
Undoubtedly, diving through its shallow water coral reefs just 100 meters from the keys, among marine species of all kinds, shapes, colors and sizes, was a unique experience. Unfortunately when we went to the key for lunch, we had an unpleasant surprise, produced by recent tropical storms and the passage of hurricanes, which had covered the idyllic beach of white sand and palm trees, with remains of river deposits, and despite the efforts that our guides made to clean it, we could not fully enjoy that paradise located two hours by boat from Guatemala. The food, made in real time, was magnificent, shrimp, a very tasty fish, meat tenderloin and fruit, a pleasure considering that the Cayo was not inhabited and all the material had to be brought from the mainland. Before returning we bathed again in the crystal clear waters of the dirty cay and took the boat to return to Livingston. After a few minutes, nature saddened by our comments delighted us with an incredible surprise, a horde of ten to twelve dolphins decided to approach us and accompany us for several minutes next to the boat, it was a wonderful experience that none of us who had lived there before, at least so close, since you could almost touch them with your hand.
The next day we returned in search of the car with a splendid tour of the Dulce River, much more detailed and with sunlight, which delayed us until lunchtime. Afterwards, we approached a hot water waterfall, where the combination of the cold water of the river and the heat of the water that came down from the waterfall, allowed us to find the ideal temperature of the water, enjoying an exceptional swim in the middle of the tropical jungle.
We went straight to Flores in the Guatemalan Peten, we had to rest early because the next day one of the most important sites of the trip was waiting for us, the Mayan city of Tikal.
So we did, the next day with the first rays of the sun, we moved to the most important archaeological site of the Mayan world, Tikal, after having breakfast in the restaurant of the site and masterfully led by our dear guide, in the middle of the jungle and through trails far from any tourist, listening to the songs of the birds and the terrifying cries of the howler monkeys, among lianas, spider monkeys, coatis, large trees and remains of pyramids still covered by earth and plants, we felt like archaeologists and explorers at the same time, it was a fantastic experience, the temples were magically appearing in front of us, thanks to Alfredo’s superb knowledge of the place.
Amazed by everything we were seeing, the guide wanted to put the finishing touch, and asked us to hold each other by the waist, with our eyes closed and walk ten meters in single file, and that we did; a few seconds later, we stopped and he told us to open our eyes, it was incredible, the Central Plaza of Tikal, with the majestic Temple of the Jaguar next to us; It was an exceptional view of the place.
Tikal is a unique and spectacular wonder, not only for the archaeological remains, which are unsurpassable, but for the natural paradise that surrounds it, I certainly do not know how to describe it and with the memory that I have of the exceptional visit, I can only allow myself a modest recommendation, visit it once in your life, it is without a doubt, one of the most fascinating places in the entire world.
After eating right there, we went along tracks to other ruins that were very little explored and that allowed us to continue dreaming that we were adventurers from the beginning of the last century in search of the secret enigma of the Mayans. We returned to the hotel in Flores where we had dinner and commented on the sublime natural and monumental beauty that we had had the honor of admiring throughout the day.
The next day I had most of its journey on tracks, dirt roads and driving through the jungle, it had rained a lot and an adrenaline excitement overwhelmed us.
We left the hotel heading for the 4×4 adventure, and we were not disappointed, an off-piste through the pure jungle on the mud is a very fun, entertaining and above all exciting experience, we really enjoyed it, then we did a navigation with the GPS, on defined tracks but with a lot of mud, which in no way hindered the good progress of the stage. Just before sunset we arrive at the border of Guatemala, ready to cross the Usumacinta River, the natural border between Guatemala and Mexico and enter the Mexican state of Chiapas, our next destination.
CHIAPAS (MEXICO) We arrived on the other side of the river and just 200 meters away was the hotel where we spent the next two nights, it was raining heavily and we decided to have dinner right there.
The next day in the morning we went up the Usumacinta River to reach Yaxchilan, “the place of the green stones”, a Mayan city lost in the jungle that rises on the banks of the river, the only way to get there.
Its origin dates back about two thousand years, when a group of men settled forming a village that over the centuries, became one of the most beautiful and powerful cities in the Usumacinta basin, until it vanished around 900 A.D.
There are notable and beautiful buildings in the complex, such as The Labyrinth, which in its intricate interior is currently inhabited by a large number of bats. The Great Plaza, a large monumental staircase, joins it with the Great Acropolis located at the top of a limestone hill where a magnificent building stands out, which thanks to its elaborate cresting, its hieroglyphic staircase and the lintels with beautiful sculptures, is the most superb in the city.
The walk back along the Usumacinta River brought us several surprises, spider monkeys jumping through the treetops and several crocodiles, covered by beautiful orange butterflies.
We ate at a local restaurant before leaving for the Lacandon Jungle, a beautiful nature reserve, where an ethnic group that descends directly from the Mayans lives, the so-called Lacandons, in this jungle also live a large number of different species: spider monkeys, jaguars, macaws, mahogany trees, orchids of many species, countless insects, abundant reptiles and even the elegant quetzal. If this is not enough, in the middle of the jungle hides another wonder of the Mayan civilization, Bonampak.
When we arrived at the Reserve, a bus driven by the Lacandons, since they are responsible for taking care of the reserve and the archaeological site, took us to Bonampak, known worldwide for preserving in one of its buildings paintings in very good condition of the Mayans who lived here. The place is worth visiting not only for the paintings or the archaeological site itself, but for the spectacular environment that surrounds it.
We returned to the Hotel, where we arrived when the Sun was disappearing, we had dinner right there and went to sleep, since tomorrow we had another intense day of 4×4.
In the morning, just at dawn, we crossed the river again and passed the immigration procedures without any problem. A good dirt track led us to the Passion River, which we crossed with the help of a barge. We continued alternating tracks on asphalt with dirt until noon when we stopped for lunch.
After lunch, we enter Alta Verapaz, a natural paradise, with caves, lagoons, waterfalls, natural pools, mighty rivers and lush forests, where a huge variety of flora and fauna coexist with simple people who live from agriculture or livestock.
On a small track but in quite good condition we arrived at a beautiful lagoon, the road was beautiful boxed between mountains, where corn crops and wild flora harmonized in a delicious way. Small villages dotted the route and their surprised inhabitants greeted us, reflecting on their faces the joy of being able to see tourists in their lands.
The lagoon was followed by another magnificent surprise, a gigantic cave with stalactites from which a small river was born, which at that point had very cold water, someone dared to walk through the incipient stream and enter a few meters into the depths of the earth.
The route continued to offer us beautiful landscapes, people happy to see us and an entertaining driving, in total about three exciting hours of 4×4 and coexistence with the locals. We arrived at a main track that rose towards the mountains of Las Verapaces, the landslides caused some complicated passage, especially if another vehicle was coming from the front. In the end, everything will remain in our memories as an unforgettable day, especially because of the good people and the natural “discoveries” that we had found along the way.
The next day was a liaison stage with almost half of the route on dirt tracks, surrounded at all times by very beautiful mountainous landscapes, where apparently fragile bridges were crossed that crossed rivers of water in some cases, transparent and in others very turbid, as a result of the landslides that occurred in this region. At the end of the afternoon we arrived in Chichicastenango, our destination today and as every day the accommodation booked by the organization was “correct”, in this case also, the next morning after breakfast, we could play with the parrots and macaws of all colors that were in the beautiful courtyard of the hotel, it was fantastic to share with those beautiful birds a few moments.
During the morning we visit the ancestral market, with a symphony of colors and smells that radiated the magic and mysticism of the place, visiting “Chichi” as the locals call it, is to contact in a direct and very special way with the descendants of the ancient Mayans, it is a different experience that I recommend doing, since it reflects and mixes in an equidistant way the heritage left by the Spanish Catholics with the beliefs of their Mayan ancestors.
We leave the Chichi market and head to another of the most special places of the trip, Lake Atitlan, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful in the world and which UNESCO has declared a World Heritage Site.
At fifteen hundred meters above sea level, Lake Atitlan rests at the foot of three dormant volcanoes, which give it the charm and beauty that has given it such a well-deserved fame. Small Mayan villages are located on its banks, under steep hills covered with oaks and pines, where their inhabitants are dressed in colorful costumes and shapes that, for those who know how to make it notice, allow them to know which town they belong to, they are like the shirts of a sports team that differentiate them from their competitors. We went around the lake with the 4×4 to Santiago Atitlan, a strong storm was about to fall and the possibility of going by boat to our hotel was offered, all the occupants of the 4×4, except the long-suffering drivers, accepted and sailed on the lake, although we the pilots, enjoyed driving on some muddy tracks bordering the lake, under an intense storm wonderfully Dantesque and beautiful landscapes. At the end of the afternoon, with the last drops of rain, we arrived at the hotel, where our co-drivers had been savoring cold “birrillas” or taking a hot sauna for hours.
In the morning of the next day, the day was splendid and we were able to admire the lake in all its splendor, we spent an hour enjoying it and we understood why it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
After the panoramic joy that Lake Atitlán was, we went to the most important icon of the Hispanic colonial heritage and one of the most charming places of our trip, the Old City of Guatemala, where we were able to experience as it was a capital of the New World, walking through its stone streets where very well restored colonial houses rise. contemplating the saint’s day of the portico of its Cathedral or the great porch of the City Hall, both buildings in the Plaza Mayor, its countless convents and churches, many in ruins that confers a singular beauty to this unique place in the world, declared by UNESCO, a World Heritage Site, and that even made some participants say that Antigua seemed like a different country within Guatemala.
Surrounded by three superb volcanoes, one of which, Agua, forced the colonizers to move the previous capital here, from then on it was no longer the water or the lava of the volcanoes, but the earthquakes that had no mercy on the city and in 1773, at the height of Baroque art, A terrible earthquake nipped in the bud its development and growth. This is the reason why its buildings retain the charm and grandeur of this opulent type of art, as opposed to the neoclassicism that prevails in the rest of the Hispanic constructions of Central America.
We spent two nights in the most charming hotel of the entire trip, a luxury of details in a small accommodation and with an exquisite touch of romanticism.
Some participants, took advantage of the morning of the next day to climb to the top of one of the three active volcanoes of Guatemala, the Pacaya, it took us more than two hours to reach the very edge of the crater, fortunately it was covered by a dense cloud of water vapor and gases that emanated from the depths of the earth. I say fortunately because if we got to see it as we did minutes later from below that it was clear, we probably would not have gotten so close, it was really impressive and gave a lot of respect.
It had exploded a little over a year ago and you could see a huge river of dry lava that had managed to break the uniformity of the crater causing a huge crack through which the volcano vomited lava and pyroplastic bombs, which in such an interesting way the guide who accompanied us all the way showed us.
Unlike the other crater that we also climbed (by car) in Nicaragua, Pacaya was one of the most active in America and had recently exploded, specifically on May 29, 2010, which gave a plus of excitement to the ascent, but that day according to our guide it was not going to explode and that risk did not exist. since it was a “strombolian” type volcano and this type of volcanoes warn of an upcoming eruption through periodic explosions that that day, nor the previous ones, had been heard, hence we were so daring.
We returned to Antigua pleasantly surprised by the exciting experience at the Pacaya, spent the afternoon shopping in the many local craft shops and allowed ourselves the luxury of dining in our hotel’s cozy restaurant, a fantastic end to a trip that has once again been for most of us the best or one of the best we have ever made.
I would like to end this story to thank Alfredo, our main guide and Rony, for everything they have done for us, which has been a lot and good, all of us who were with you on this trip say it from the bottom of our hearts and we convey our affection and gratitude, for teaching us so many things about your culture, your nature and your country. For all of us who made the trip, a new challenge awaits us for 2012. See you very soon friends!
Jordi Tobeña
Great Central American Route August 2011
