Cara and her $100 Mongoose, in front of one of the beautiful murals in the lakeside village of San Juan.

Me and my considerably pricier Thorn.

San Pedro de la Laguna. A backpacker favourite, for good reason. When the sun’s out, it’s idyllic. Pizza, falafel, fry ups, it's all on the menu here.

Just ahead of the onset of the daily deluge of rain, we kayaked on the lake. I loved it. A little inspiration and training for my anticipated journey from Panama to Colombia?

Jesus is The Man. The traditionally Catholic Guatemala is undergoing a massive Evangelical takeover – apparently the loud, upbeat (and cantancerous) songs are a big hit with church goers. What does this mean to the tourist? Mind what hotel you book yourself into…

For the last year, and almost up to the very hour she left Virginia, Cara has been working feverishly to finish her Masters in Health Policy. So we bought some fresh manzanilla – camomile – from a wizened elderly lady in the market to make some herbal tea, and help chill her out (Cara, that is).

And to wake her up again, we found this locally made, tasty salsa picante. Every Central American cyclist should have one of these little fellas in their panniers. Guaranteed to add a kick to those tortillas and give energy to tired legs.

Crazy steep cobbled streets in San Pedro. Straight off the boat and into the granny gear...

Did I mention how steep those switchbacks were out of San Pablo? Awesome panoramas though.

In case you’re curious to see what they would look like to descend… I’m not sure what the road crew were thinking of around here. A ladder might have been a better way to get up and down this hill...