central america

With the biggest days of the Guna Yala revolution celebration coming up, Kacper and I decide to spend a few days in Ailigandi to experience it. With no idea what to expect, we have an amazing experience where we are welcomed and included in the celebrations. After the celebrations, we continue towards Colombia.

Kacper and I enter the territoriiy of Guna Yala and the San Blas Islands. This was the region we had been dreaming of paddling through. Islands as far as the eye can see, endless reefs full of sea life, and as many coconuts as you can open. While it was this remote island life we were dreaming of, the true surprise of this section would be the Guna people we would meet.

After talking about this trip for months and planning for weeks, the moment to embark on one of the most ambitious journeys of my life was about to begin. My mind was running with thoughts and doubts about this adventure the more we learned what we were about to encounter, sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.

I had decided to take a bus from Costa Rica to Panama City to catch up with my good buddy, Kacper. He and I were planning a big adventure to cross from North America to South America and we needed to start getting ready. While planning for this adventure, we made a great group of friends who we experienced some of Panama's beauty with.

Back to traveling solo again I headed into Costa Rica. The most popular of all Central American countries for traveling as it is know for beautiful beaches, diverse wildlife, and is very safe.

Having met a wonderful French cyclist couple, we started making great progress together. There was a time early in my trip when I tried to avoid traveling with others, but now I was starting to crave it. I was seeing how much more beautiful things can be when shared with others.

After two months back in the States, I was more than ready to get back to Guatemala and finally continue my journey south. I had been dreaming of the biking life for a while. I wanted to go back to the daily adventure with the excitement of not knowing what lays ahead. To push my body and my mind further and further each day.

One of my goals on this trip was finding somewhere to volunteer. I had heard many amazing experiences from friends who had done something similar. I landed a spot at a beautiful hostel on a lake in Guatemala after becoming friends with Joy, a manager at the hostel. I had planned to volunteer for 6 weeks but that turned into nearly 5 months as I loved it here and became a manager.

Volcano Tajumulco is the tallest volcano and point in all of Central America, standing at 4203m (13659ft). Argo and I had been wanting to climb this one for a while and when a new volunteer, Kirk, came along, we decided it was finally had a good crew to do it with.

Since I have been in Santa Cruz working, I spent more time each day admiring the three beautiful volcanoes across from me: Atitlan, Toliman, and San Pedro. I had already climbed one volcano in Guatemala, and I knew I needed to climb these as well. This blog contains two trips: the first is an epic three-day hike to Atitlan and Toliman, and the second is a quick day hike up San Pedro.

It was pretty hard to leave Mexico behind. It was a beautiful country with incredible food and extremely kind people. In Guatemala things would be similar but more extreme. The culture was stronger, the towns were busier, and the hills were much steeper.

After some coastal riding I was itching for some mountains again. The Trans Mex Sur route was a fantastic route through the southern mountains of Mexico. It was extremely challenging with extreme heat, but thankfully I had some good friends riding with me most of the time.