Dora The Explorer

25th MAY 2009 - TRAVEL TO MANUEL ANTONIO We headed away from Fortuna in the taxi. The lady that spoke to us was in the front, the driver was driving (obviously) and another guy was in the back with us. I was a little apprehensive about taxis after the story about the American girls getting robbed, but my fears heightened when the taxi stopped en route to pick two more guys up. I had such bad feeling that we were going to get robbed and so once again, I slyly transferred some money and my bank card to my bra. Better to be safe as we would not have had a prayer if they had tried to rob us. I was probably stupid to even worry about it as the lady and driver had seemed so ... read more

22nd MAY 2009 - ARRIVAL IN COSTA RICA!! Loads of taxi men outside the bus station again but after hearing the American girls story we decided to give the taxi a miss. We asked at the bus station for the nearest ATM and luckily it was just up the road. I drew 70,000 colones out!! Love it!! Armed with cash we managed to find a hostel nearby. It wasn’t anything special but much better than the previous night and the hostel couple seemed really nice. I felt loads more relaxed in Costa Rica as it did not have the dangerous vibe going on!! So glad that we had finally arrived!! Once we had dumped our stuff the hostel man walked us to a nearby food place so that we could get some tea. Not a great ... read more

19th MAY 2009 - A LITTLE TIME IN COPAN!! My alarm went off at around 3.30am. I tried putting the covers over my head and wishing I could just have another hour at least but unfortunately, the time kept ticking and I had to get up. After a quick wash, I dressed and we headed down to wait for the bus. Sooooo sleepy and as usual being on the mini bus was like being on a rollercoaster but I did manage to get a little bit of shut eye!! Would have got more sleep if 2 English guys hadn’t kept jabbering on to us. Honestly….I love meeting people but at 4am, my conversation skills are limited!! One of them never shut up but I think he was a little bit special so I overlooked it!! We ... read more

17th MAY 2009 - A DAY AT THE LAKE! I woke up at around 6am. Our bus pick up was at 7.15am and we had to be downstairs 15 minutes prior. Once ready, we headed down, picked our pre-made sandwiches up (no substitute for the free breakfast...I mean who wants a ham and cheese sandwich at 6am when they could have had pancakes?!!) and then sat in the bar waiting for the bus. Again, security was paramount and the night watchman kept lookout through his peephole for us until the bus pulled up. It was early...7am and we were on the road. On the bus, I ate my sandwich and listened to my music for the 3 hour journey to Panajachel - a small town by Lake Atitlan. The town was really busy and consisted on ... read more

15th MAY 2009 - A DAY FOR FILMS AND SLEEPING!! We got off the bus driven by Colin Mcray at around 6am after arriving in Guatemala City. Despite it being the capital city, we had been advised that it was very dangerous and not to stay there. We therefore jumped straight on another bus with the 2 girls from last night and 4 folk from Israel (who were in their pajamas) and headed to Antigua. All the roads were cobbled and it was a pretty bumpy ride. Only on it for an hour though before arriving in Antigua. It was raining pretty heavily which was a shame as it is never nice to arrive somewhere new when its raining. Can taint your first impressions!! Didn't help that I was very tired either. I hoped things got ... read more