Chloe N

It was time for me to cross the border into Peru and to be honest I wasn´t really that excited about it. Despite having always wanted to hike the Inca trail I had for some reason decided that I wouldn´t like the rest of Peru. I wish I understood where this anti-Peru feeling came from, I hadn´t heard anything negative about Peru. Luckily I was completely wrong, the scenary is so diverse it is impossible to not fall in love with Peru. One second I would be driving through a desert and then suddenly in front of you would appear the sensational Andes moutains. I arrived at the border crossing about 2am in the morning, which despite being a ridiculous early time in the morning was perfect as we were the only people waiting to cross ... read more

So Nicaragua, this is one country I had heard loads about from other backpackers travelling the other way. It seemed to be one of these countries that people either love or hate.....for myself I loved it. The country itself is beautiful with a different volcano around every corner and despite poverty levels that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world the people were so friendly. So the first stop in Nicaragua was Leon, it’s a colonial town in the North of the country and as cities go it was pretty but there wasn’t really that much to see. After a day wandering around the city with the highlight being a really bizarre fairytale museum that was solely made up of manikins dressed up as the fairytale creatures, they kind of all looked the same. It’s ... read more

Of all the countries within Central America my next stop, Costa Rica, was the one that really excited me the least. From a backpackers perspective it is expensive (the price of dorm rooms tripled on crossing the border) and it is filled with American tourists looking to have an American experience outside of America. The country is literally packed with MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts and KFC´s, basically everything that I am not missing from home. It didn´t help that it rained virtually every day I was in the country and that Facebook was filled with the October heatwave in the UK. The first stop we had planned was a town in the Northern Highlands called Monteverde. According to the Lonely Planet this was one of the easiest journeys we would have to do; simply jump ... read more

Another week in Central America and yet another week of some beautiful places and slightly bizarre people. In the last 10 days I have lazed on a Pacific beach, climbed a mountain, had a fight with a Hondurian taxi driver and dived into the Caribbean Sea on the not especially beautiful island of Utila. It is impossible not to love this region! After the grey, wet Guatamalan highlands and far too many hours spent on buses we ended last week desperate to head to a beach and relax potentially with a cheeky beer or two in the evening. Luckily around 45 minutes away from San Salvador is a surfing hot spot called El Tunco, it met all the above criteria! We jumped onto the local bus to a coastal town called La Libertad which is about ... read more

Week 3 has been a bit of a strange week; both weather, locations and the culture of the Guatemalan people. One of the things that I have noticed is how spiritual people are in Central America. So far I have had my palm read (apparently my palm shows that I am a genius who is suppose to get pregnant in the next 6 months), discussed my "white" energy on more than one occasion and bizarrely I was told that my redeeming feature of my body is my "exotic knees", apparently it is part of their horoscope readings. These beliefs are so strong that it is really difficult to respond to these conversations without offending people. Week 3 began in Antigua, this is a beautiful colonial town just outside Guatamala City. Luckily at the same time I ... read more

The hardest part is knowing where to start, whilst I have only been out here for 2 weeks it feels more like months. With 3 countries visited and multiple days spent on buses a lot has happened. With scuba diving with sharks, ancient mayan ruins visited, accidentally being involved in a Guatamalan Political Protest for 9.5 hours that that made the Guatamalan National news, caving, tarrantulas and scorpions and relaxing times on the hammocks there is a lot to say. My flight landed in Mexico City but I was pretty keen to start heading towards Belize and the beautiful sunny beaches for some sun. After a day walking around Mexico City I jumped on the bus to Cancun, what I didn't realise was that the bus took 25 hours (and as our bus driver got lost ... read more

The last blog entry I left off I was almost at the end of the epic journey right across the entirety of Honduras. Having experienced long bus trips and evil taxi drivers I was not overly impressed with Honduras, it just didn´t have the same vibe as the rest of Central America has. On more than one occasion during the journey I considered jumping off the bus and heading straight to Nicaragua. However with the promise of cheap diving ahead I kept going. To get onto the Bay Islands most people have to spend one night in a town called La Ceiba. By the time I arrived it felt like I hadn´t had any normal conversations in days (well 48 hours, but it felt like an eternity). On arriving in the bus station myself and one ... read more