George is 30, You'd Better Belieze It! We'll get on to the birthday part in a bit, but first something for the trivia buffs: Belize is officially small. It is the 150th largest country in the World The Belizian Flag is special. It is the only national flag with human beings on it and has 12 colours on it, 3 more than any other Is there anyone at home? It is one of the least densely populated countries in the World at 202nd and the 173rd most populous (301,270 at latest count) So they're not the most interesting facts, but hopefully [View Full Entry]

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Feeling Tikalish - by George Knackered from our epic journey through Guatemala we arrived in El Remate, our base for the next couple of days. What brought us to the North Eastern part of Guatemala, so close to Belize and Mexico? Tikal, heart of the Mayan Empire. Much of the history behind the Maya and more specifically Tikal is unknown and everything that is currently believed may be poo-poo'ed in the future. Tikal was first inhabited before the birth of Christ and was abandoned in the mid 10th Century. Currently En Vogue at the moment is the belief that there was [View Full Entry]

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Southern Guatemala - by George Fresh from Copan Ruinas (see earlier entry - Much More to Maya Liking) we arrived in Antigua, Gringo Capital of Central America. Wow, what a great place. I find it really annoying when I like something that everyone else likes, almost a sense of disappointment at being a sheep. In the case of Antigua I'll make an exception. It's beautiful, has excellent restaurants, lots of markets, good tours to do and if you arrive at the right time, as we did, they know how to throw a Fiesta! We had bands, fireworks, a concert, first class [View Full Entry]

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Success at Last? - by George "Shall we do it?" "Will it be worth it?" "Lava, yeah of course we'll see it..." All comments/questions we asked ourselves before signing up for the tour to Volcan Pacaya - definitely our last trip to see lava... I haven't got much time before the Internet café closes, so here's an executive summary: We climbed; We saw; We conquered! At the top of Pacaya we not only saw lava, but toasted marshmallows, bourbon buscuits and leghair on it. Kate and I were very happy to say the least. [View Full Entry]

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Copan Ruinas - Much More to Maya Liking, by George Having survived La Moskitia we were determined to spend the next few days well fed and watered. With this as our mission, Copan Ruinas was an excellent choice of location. A charming town nestled in the hills on the Guatamalan border, we enjoyed cocktails, frappuccinos, fresh fruit, brownies, burgers and plenty more besides. Our visit to the ruins, at the far edge of the Mayan empire, was very pleasant. The anticipated crowds failed to materialise, the surroundings were picturesque and the architecture different f [View Full Entry]

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La Mosquitia - George's version As I expect the three versions will testify, we're not really sure why we left Roatan, with its picture postcard sunsets, fabulous diving and nigh on perfect weather. I'd say it was the need to be able to say "We went off the Gringo Trail" that took us to Central America's Little Amazon. The journey there was an epic one and in the interests of trying out some bullet points was as follows: Tuesday 5:45 - Alarm goes off and it's up, up and away. 6:00 - Catch taxi to Coxen Hole as driver insists on [View Full Entry]

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Revolting Volcanoes - by George Actually that should read revolutions and volcanoes, but I prefer my version. After our spell in Granada we headed to Lake Nicaragua, home to Isla de Ometepe and its two volcanoes. For those interested in facts and figures, here you go: Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America The lake is home to the Freshwater Bull Shark The name derives from the Nahuatl, ome tepetl, meaning two mountains I was told that Ometepe is the largest island within a lake in the World, but can't find evidence to support this We ha [View Full Entry]

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¿Hablas Español? by George After an important stop in San Juan Del Sur we once again packed our "sacks" and got on the chicken bus. Despite pontificating with Rob and Rachel about the name we were still none the wiser after a whole bottle of Flora de Caña, the local rum. Popular suggsestions included "They pack you in like chickens", "It´s possible you could sit next to one" and my personal favourite "It´s what the drivers like to play". Anyway, despite our ignorance as to the name´s derivation we arrived safely in Granada, the oldest continually i [View Full Entry]

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A Break to Remember - by George Who knows what drove us to San Juan Del Sur*. Was it the promise of surfing lessons and a potential career on the World Tour? Was it Ed´s description of it as "A cool place to chill out, with amazing beaches and surfing"? Or could it have been part of my master plan to propose to Kate in an idyllic location? Surf lessons were a mixed bag. Day one was brilliant, as Alfredo (our Peruvian instructor) had us standing up in some particularly gnarly white water. Sadly we´d not realised that "You´ll be out [View Full Entry]

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Bordering on Embarrassment - by George Until Nicaragua it had all been going so well. Whilst in Phnom Penh airport I had an idea. Since the front cover of my travel diary was transparent, why not get it stamped at every border crossing? Thanks to the rather amused immigration official at Phnom Penh I got off to a good start. After refusals at Singapore and Hong Kong I´d decided there was a definite correlation between a country´s wealth and the likelihood of a stamp. Thus on arrival at Nicaragua I had already stamped my diary mentally... Sadly my "Quiero un sello [View Full Entry]

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