October 21, 2021 to October 22, 2021
Flores
With only forty odd kilometers of comparatively easy riding to Flores we were able to enjoy a late lie in this morning. It gave me a chance to chat to my mother and my daughter back in South Africa as well as a have business call with our partners. I also had enough time to enjoy three cups of coffee before we set off, thanks to the hot water dispenser at Hotel Monja Blanc. I can recommend this hotel to anyone passing through La Libertad.
First stop once we got going was some breakfast at a comedor just down the road from the hotel and then it was onto the rather busy road to Flores. We have mostly had very little traffic since leaving Palenque so it took a bit of getting used to.
Flores town (not the island itself) is a bustling, busy town and we have booked into a nice hotel with a swimming pool for the next two days. Leigh is sure she deserves a bit of comfort after the the hard-ish riding and rough-ish digs we have had since leaving Palenque. I wasn't going to argue with her.
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From the border to Flores we saw little adherence to any COVID-19 regulations that might exist but here in Flores mask wearing is, as it was in Mexico, pretty universal and the hotel is strictly following the required protocols. Even the swimming pool needs to be booked on an exclusive basis.
Belize may be much of the same and there is a very good chance we might not even be admitted to that country traveling by bicycle. All will be revealed once we get to that border in a week or so's time.
This evening we took a stroll over to the island, just a few hundred meters away. With a storm having just expended itself, we sat in the gloom on the balcony of a lake side restaurant and had a rather heavy meal and some very forgettable Chilean Merlot. This is the first wine we have had on this trip because wine in Mexico had been just too expensive.
October 22nd, 2021
About the most important thing we achieved today was to find a bicycle shop that actually had 26x2" tubes with Presta valves. I have been feeling very vulnerable since the two spare tubes I have been carrying turned out to be in such poor condition.
I was also hoping to find a ISO-butane gas canister but despite going to all the shops recommended to me by locals none could be found. I do have white gas (of a sort) for the multi-fuel stove but I am loath to fire it up in a hotel room. Thankfully many of the hotels we have stayed in have a hot water dispenser so I have so far only used the multi-fuel stove a few times.
The hotel at which we have been staying, the Hotel del Patio (chosen almost entirely because of it's great swimming pool) is only a few hundred meters away from the causeway to the island. We cycled around the island this morning and again this evening. It is really very easy on the eye and with the lack of tourists is pleasantly quiet. I am sure the local businesses that rely on tourism have a very different view to us though. One disturbing thing is that the few foreign tourists we have seen are the only people not wearing masks.
Once again we had supper on the island, this time at a mostly seafood restaurant (I enjoyed a prawn pasta) at which we were the only patrons. It turned out to be happy hour without us being aware of it so Leigh got two for one when she ordered a mojito.
Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 1,716 km (1,066 miles)
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Finishing the Comrades in the top 1.25% of runners is a very respectable result. Re Dusi paddlers transitioning to the Comrades in my time they introduced the Ian Player trophy for the best combined time in the two events in a calendar year. Ian the big brother of Gary Player the golfer was one of the participants in the first race and may have been the winner. He joined the Natal Parks Board as a ranger and ended up quite high in that organisation.
3 years ago
3 years ago