We hired a two-man canoe and after a minimal briefing from Dave (the driver - who enjoys a good fig) we paddled off on the 31 mile canoe trip through Escalante and Dominguez Canyons. Part of the enjoyment of adventure is not knowing who or where your decisions will lead. This is what I was thinking when Dave waved us off without any safety briefing, and just the vague arrangement of picking us up from the side of the river bank in two days time. The next 3 days we spent paddling down stream and parking up where we fancied, taking breaks by tying the canoe up to a rock and listening to the lapping of the current whilst lying back and watching the clouds above. There was the usual; "Your side! Paddle your side"; "mind ... read more

We set up camp as soon as we arrived and got on with the task of looking for firewood, basically anything dry. Then I set about putting up the tent and unpacking everything from the car whilst Rich built the fire. 10 mins later, just as Rich was about to light the carefully constructed fire, the storm clouds decided to give us everything they had. For the next two hours we sat in the car, with some candles, waiting for the storm to pass. Later that night, Rich cooked an amazing spicey bean stew on the fire and we went to bed dry and ready for the hike tomorrow. After taking down the camp and packing everything up, we set off around the lake to a waterfall we had spotted the previous day. It was quite ... read more

We arrived in Merida for party month! Whether this was just an excuse to dance a lot and listen to a lot of music or whether it genuinely was an official anniversary of something, I never found out, I just liked the idea of celebrating for a whole month! You couldn't go to any Zocollo (main plaza) without some sort of live music playing and folk dancing. And it wasn't really the young who were out shaking their butt, it was Mum and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. And they weren't shy. Also it was great to see that alcohol wasn't needed. People were relaxed just to be in each others company, enjoyment was had in the old fashioned wholesome way. Shared. Out in the open, for all to see creating a fantastic communal atmosphere. There was ... read more

This place was Weird, with a capital W. At the bus station in Campeche a guy recommended "this vegetarian camp with hammocks and gardens, close to the ruins." That sounded Ok to me, so I decided to scrub staying at the hostel and check his place out. I arrived as the sun went down, there didn't seem to be any real reception area, just a bar and open plan restaurants. So, after waiting for a bit I enquired about beds. The guy brusquely retorted that the place was full. It was dark, I wasn't about to trudge back to the entrance of the "camp" and try and flag an expensive taxi, with all my bags, so I decided that that was not the answer I would settle for. "Is there anyone else I can talk to?" ... read more

Anywhere with a zona hotelera should be avoided, unless Disneyland is your second favourite place on earth. Saturated with Burger Kings, Starbucks and all things American, including the language, I was confused as to where I was. It's true I wasn't in Central America, Mexico is in fact part of North America, but it's also definitely a different country. Mexico definitely has a different language, a distinct culture, a Mayan history and indigenous people. Didn't it? Doesn't it? So, we quickly left Cancun, but not before spending a couple of hours fighting with hotel security to get onto the beach, to then fight with the "lifeguard" for some shade, which was more of a priority for him than actually saving a drowning man, who he was unaware of until we insited he get in the water ... read more