After the bustle and excitement of Mexico City, I traveled to LA. This time I cheated and bought an Airline ticket. Areo California, a small Mexican Airline. Arriving at Mexico City Airport at 6.30am was one of the most confusing experiences yet. despite speaking some Spanish I could understand very little, as with all public places the public announcements were completely muffled, unintelligible and spoken in the bored tones of someone who doesn't really care anyway. Eventually I made it to the one monitor that actually had my flight details on it, and caught the flight. On the flight, no meal, no movie, not many other passengers, but I was given a small bag of pretzels. I decided that this time I would stay at Venice Beach, hopefully meet someone or some people that would want ... read more

Entering Belize was strange, I had to resist the urge to speak bad Spanish when talking with the locals, the first language of the country is English. We had taken the shuttle bus service offered by San Juan travel in Flores. Spent 1 1/2 hours on the border waiting for the three Israelis on the bus to be allowed in. New travelling tip in Central America don't travel with people from countries beginning with I. The Irish that I had spoken with had also had trouble obtaining VISAs - after the trouble in Columbia. Sharon, Lizette and I parted ways in San Ignacio. Near San Ignacio another set of Mayan ruins attract visitors, I have no idea whether these are more impressive than any of the other ruins I have seen but Sharon and Lizette needed ... read more

The bus for Flores leaves Rio Dulce fairly regularly - every 1 1/2 hours. We had decided to catch the 9am. At 8.30am we met Alexandro he was driving to Flores and offered us a lift. Alexandro is currently a tobacco salesman but would like to be President of Guatemala, really interesting conversations in the pickup on the nature of democracy, the quality of the education in Guatemala and the mess that the British left in various parts of the world. Alexandro finishes his political science degree next summer. The police only stopped us twice, each time Alexandro had to explain that the many boxes of rolling tobacco in the back of the truck and show papers. For the last part of the journey we were accompanied by a policeman and his revolver, I think he ... read more

Semuc Champey some say is the most beautiful area in Guatemala, I think this claim may be true, though it is hard to give the accolade to just one area when there are so many so beautiful. Both guide books (Rough Guide and Lonely Planet) included information on Semuc Champey, including the general advice that it is better to take a tour. Tours all cost $35, way too much for a savvy budget traveller such as I. The Rough Guide goes as far as to mention that some guy called Fernandez in an unnamed green shop near the main plaza will take you for only $10. What kind of advice is that? We wandered around the plaza several times without seeing any unnamed green shops... the general consensus from the tour companies was that it also ... read more

My friends from Xela and I went to Antigua for the weekend. For some this would be but a brief rest from the near constant rain of Xela, for others this would possibly be the search for a new home, for me a new phase of my travels, the journey to Tikal and return to Los Angeles. I have just 3 weeks left before I fly on to Hawaii. Antigua has changed in the three weeks since I left, not in any major way, but there are many fewer tourists and students, this must be the depths of the low season. Clubs and bars that were busy even on a Monday or Tuesday are empty, I'm stopped more often in the streets by people extolling the virtues of one Spanish School or another. On the flip ... read more