Hello everyone Once again, thanks for keeping the messages coming. It´s been a few days since the last blog entry so I´d better crack on. I set a new trip record with my final central American bus trip from Costa Rica to Panama. A meaty 18 hours. Not all of those hours were spent moving though. For some unknown reason, the bus arrived at the border at 3am in the morning. All fine and dandy for the 24 hour Panama immigration office but less good for completing the Costa Rican exit formalities as their office did not open until 6am! We [View Full Entry]

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Hiya folks The dog days of January are over. I´m sure you are all pleased to get that out of the way and move towards the lighter nights and the warmer weather. Regarding news from home, I felt a great disturbance in the Force last Saturday. A few days later, I discovered what it was. The last ever episode of Grandstand has aired. I probably missed a great last edition with loads of clips and all the old presenters coming back to the studio for a big party. If anyone recorded it, save it for me. What am I gonna do [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone Last week, the UK was gripped by storm and this week it's snow in London! Things are certainly interesting back home. Before I finish on Honduras, I must tell you about a couple of people I met on my last night there. I thought my journey was kinda adventurous until I met these people. First, there was a Danish copper and his missus who were travelling around central America in a similar way to me. Only difference was that they had their two children with them - aged 6 and 7! With no car, they were also travelling around [View Full Entry]

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Hi all I have just been reading about the bad storms in the UK. Hope you're all wrapped up with a mug of cocoa. I'll try not to mention the weather here in this blog. As you know if you've read the last blog, it was time for me to get moving through central America towards Panama. I opted to catch the Friday boat from Placencia to Puerto Cortes in Honduras. Around 25 passengers nestled into the small boat and, after an hour waiting for Belizean immigration to give us exit stamps in our passports, we were off. As usual, I [View Full Entry]

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Hi all I´ve had a load of messages since last time. Thanks for all the good wishes = it´s great to hear from you all. I left the jaguar sanctuary and headed for my final destination in Belize. It was a short bus ride to the small town of Independence. From there, I boarded the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi (real name) for the 15 minute hop to Placencia. The village of Placencia is on a peninsula (try saying that after a few beers) that sticks out of the southern end of Belize´s Caribbean coastline. It apparently appears in the Guiness Book [View Full Entry]

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Good afternoon all After a restful time on the island of Caye Caulker, it was time to see some locations in the rest of Belize. My next stop was Belmopan, the country's capital. Belmopan owes its existence to a hurricane. One feature of this coastline is that it has been constantly ravaged over the years by hurricanes with seemingly harmless names like Wilma, Iris, Stan, Mitch and my favourite, Hattie. (Back in Mexico, when someone asked me if I had heard what Wilma had done out in Cancun, I thought I'd missed out on a particurlarly exotic episode of The Flintstones. [View Full Entry]

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Hello there everyone With Christmas over, it was time for me to move on with my travels. The sea off the coast of Belize is dotted with dozens of small islands, known as cayes. I decided to head for Caye Caulker, a well known backpacker destination. A short journey of 45 minutes in a water taxi and I was there. Back in Mexico, an American called Chuck gave me a recommendation on a place to stay on Caye Caulker. It turned out to be good. Nice one Chuck. For a tenner a night, I stayed in a small wooden hut perched [View Full Entry]

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Happy New Year everyone. Can't believe it's 2007 already. I'll be honest with you, I didn't know an awful lot about Belize before I started planning this trip. I vaguely knew it was somewhere in the Caribbean (I've learnt how to spell that now) but I had visions of it being some kind of island. So I was pleased to see that it actually forms part of central America, bordering Mexico and Guatemala. Formerly British Honduras, Belize gained independence in 1981. The population is only 250,000 and 75,000 of those live in Belize City. From getting on the bus at the [View Full Entry]

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Hi blog readers (I was trying to think of a better name for you all than that but I haven't thought of one yet - suggestions on a postcard) After a week on Isla Mujeres, it was time to move on southwards down the rest of the Yucatan peninsula. My next stop was Playa del Carmen, known to the locals as simply Playa. The history of Cancun and Playa is interesting. In the 1970s, Cancun was simply a small strip of land hanging off the end of the Yucatan peninsula in the shape of a number 7. The main road bypassed [View Full Entry]

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Previously on the blog - after being a professional tourist for a week and a half, I decide it´s time for a good sit. How do from Quintana Roo. After deciding I needed a bit of r ´n´ r, I consulted the trusty guide book for a location. I wanted open the door - BEACH, open the window - BEACH, open the wardrobe - BEACH (c) Lenny Henry mid-80s. Well, maybe not beach in the wardrobe. A little place caught my eye and, when I translated the name of the place, I knew it was the one. A short ferry ride [View Full Entry]

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