From Guatemala City we had only three days of riding to the border with El Salvador. Yet Guatemala continued to enchant us, with pre-Christmas festivities in one town and a colorful saint’s day procession in another. After a difficult border crossing, we once again marveled at the differences between countries as El Salvador revealed its own, unique character and beauty - even though our holiday plans in San Salvador didn’t quite work out as planned.

After the big climb out of Lake Atitlan’s ancient crater, we cycled through more of the Guatemalan Highlands. In the historic city of Antigua, we soaked up the interesting mix of Mayan and Spanish influences before climbing a volcano. A final push took us to Guatemala City, where we celebrated the approaching Christmas holiday as we worked on bike repairs.