So, finally my first entry after being back here at camp in New Hampshire for the third year! Leaving the Netherlands in the early hours of a Sunday morning, I slept through most of my journey to New York. In New York I had a few hours at the airport, which I spent trying to find my way around JFK airport, even the staff wasn't always able to tell me where my terminal or gate was... No wonder, when I saw my propeller plane, operated by "Freedom Airlines" - it was tiny and only had about 9 rows. Unlike the [View Full Entry]

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After 5 nights in Tulum it was time to move on yet again. Our next stop was Playa del Carmen, where we had heard it was pretty touristy and as we arrived we quickly saw this was true. Everything is written in English and everyone speaks English...and all the shops have their prices in US Dollars, just to make it that little easier for the tourists I guess...not that the exchange rate is a tough calculation, but whatever. We found a hostel opposite the bus station in the main street, which we quickly opted for especially since our backpacks were getting [View Full Entry]

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Back in Mexico after our wonderful weeks in the somewhat chillier but beautiful Guatemala and the super laidback lifestyle of Belize. Our last night in Caye Caulker had been spent in the local dive "Oceanside Bar" where a local band (which means they were actually two old guys from the US who have settled in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye) It had become a late night (about 2am, which is pretty crazy over here) so our initial plan of taking the 8.30am ferry back to Belize City had failed. The 10am would have to do. And that left at about 10.30 [View Full Entry]

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San Ignacio and Caye Caulker We left Guatemala early - at half past seven - and as a pleasant surprise the bus driver was grumpy for a reason we still don't know, but it didn't make our drive pleasant at all..... However we enjoyed our last views of Guatemala and crossed the border where the first real Belizean people that told us that we probably never wanted to leave Belize again, as it was just like paradise...:) In San Ignacio we noticed the obvious differences with Guatemala (colonial houses instead of the Maya huts) and the rasta people that obviously took [View Full Entry]

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From rainy rainy Coban we left our hotel early to get the one direct bus which we had been told left at 10am. While walking through the market looking for the bus terminal, we were stopped by a guy who asked us where we were going. We told him Flores and he said, hang on, got out his cellphone and phoned someone. Next thing we know he tells us sit in the cafe , order a coffee, the bus will be here in a moment. This was strange because we were told it was a large pullman bus that left at [View Full Entry]

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From Antigua we went to a very remote little town called Lanquin, to the El Retiro Lodge, a laid-back backpackers place alongside the river...we fell in love with it the moment we saw it!! See the pictures to believe it :) The first day we just relaxed with our Israeli friends who had come with us from Antigua, relaxing on the swings and the hammocks on the porch of our little huts and playing cards. (This was extremely funny as our Israeli friend Yaron explained (shouted) the rules at us, like a real Israeli Army officer that he was..) And I [View Full Entry]

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After a short trip from San Pedro, we arrived in Antigua, a cute cobblestone colonial city in the early afternoon. I (Flora) was quite sick and went to have a lie-down in our small dorm in the Black Cat hostel, a place which is full and buzzing every night. With a Norwegian who was on our bus we explored the city centre a little bit later that day, around the Parque Central, where you have a great view of Volcan de Agua, a huge volcano which overlooks the city. We spent 4 nights at the Black Cat, a definite highlight (of [View Full Entry]

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Our first diary from Guatemala!! After a bumpy ride of 10 hours from San Cristobal to Panajachel, we could barely feel our behinds and were definitely feeling the horseride from the previous day! When we arrived at the border we switched shuttle buses and we had one extra person in the van so we were the lucky two to share one little chair. This meant awkward positions for about one and a half hours, let´s just say we weren´t worried about our sore muscles because we couldn´t feel them anymore. Luckily the extra person got off in Huehuetenango and we both [View Full Entry]

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In San Cristobal (a very cute colonial and clean city in the mountains) we found the"Magic Hostel" (recommended by the Lonely Planet) close to the city center. When we arrived we already felt the cold and we were really tired of all the activities of all the previous days and decided to go to bed early. It was quite strange to sleep under two, three thick blankets and wearing our warmest clothes- instead of the thin sheets that were even too much in Palenque, but we slept long...we obviously had a bit of sleep to catch up on. The next day [View Full Entry]

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From Merida we took the nightbus to Palenque what seemed to be a good idea but turned out not to be such a good idea, or at least not for me (krista). The bus driver was more or less a wild rider who just bumped his horn when overtaking another car, besides he got confused with his light and turned it of and on and off all the time.... As you can imagine it gave me small heart attacks and kept my eyes wide open... Luckely Flora had a good night rest and we arrived in the early morning in Palenque [View Full Entry]

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