Lake Titicaca Bolivia is exactly how I pictured South America to be - dense jungles, eerie deserts, high altitude cities, hot and steamy villages in the low lands... Everything looks like its meant to be here. And it is an amazing, if slightly difficult, country to explore. I started Bolivia by crossing Lake Titicaca (which borders both Peru and Bolivia). One of the highest navigable lakes in the world, Lake Titicaca has long been part of the Andean culture. The villages in this area are attempting to preserve as much of their traditions as possible, although now mostly in suppo [View Full Entry]

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Cusco Well after all that adventure in Northern Peru I travelled about a million hours (ok slight exaggeration) south to Lima, before connecting with another 22 hour long bus headed to Cusco. Arriving jetlagged, if you can get jetlag from a bus trip, I didn´t really take in too much of the city. High on the list of priorities was a visit to an awesome pub/restaurant I´d heard about in Huarez for a taste of home. Ok, so it was an english place, but they still had vegemite!! All I can say that after eating some dodgy dishes recently it was [View Full Entry]

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Chiclayo and Sipan Leaving the beauty of Ecuador I was extremely suprised to realise that Peru consists of a lot of desert. Hours and hours and hours of it, between the coast and the Andes. With Peru being so large, and with long bus trips the norm, I was suddenly a little doubtful of how I would pass the time without the views I had been used to. With a few overnights planned to stretch my legs in the towns of Piura, Chiclayo and Chimbote I started my venture to Huarez, the trekking capital of Peru and the Andes. I spent [View Full Entry]

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Quito What a country! A New Zealand of the Americas, Ecuador is packed with everything you could want: moutains, beaches, volcanoes, lakes, cities, farmland. It is absolutely breath taking, although that might have something to do with the altitude. Even though it sits on the equator (yep that´s where they got the name Ecuador from), its mostly high and chilly. Thermals, beanies and gloves have been the norm. Which is such a relief coming out of steamy hot Central America. This has definately been the country for me!! First stop in Ecuador was Quito - the capital but only second [View Full Entry]

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Bocas Del Toro Leaving one tropical destination for another was always going to be a risk... (what if it is not as good) but Bocas Del Toro is an amazing place and a must see if in Panama. Getting there was somewhat of a drama with my travel buddy realising just before the border that she had left her passport behind. So she had to turn around and I continued on. An interesting border crossing, it involved crossing a bridge best described as a little worse for wear then being made to buy a Panama to San Jose bus ticket (which [View Full Entry]

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Monteverde and Santa Elena Leaving Nicaragua and crossing into Costa Rica was not exactly the smooth border transition I´d hoped for. All I can say is expect to wait a while. Everyone I have met has remarked the same, so bring a book, put on your bikini and work on your tan with the hundreds of other people waiting to cross over. It was nothing if not social - I got to make lots of line buddies during the five hours I was there. But the line was worth the wait. Costa Rica is BEAUTIFUL. It was amazing the difference from [View Full Entry]

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Leon After leaving the fun filled metropolis of Teguicigalpa, I settled into a chicken bus expedition across the border. All was going really fine and I was feeling quite proud of my amazing spanish skills until at a transfer point I saw my pack drive off on top of a shuttle bus without me on it. I was in line for my quesadilla at the time so could only stand and watch. The bus driver had definitely told me quince minutos until it was time to go. Lucky for me, I just went out to the road, waited a while and [View Full Entry]

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Copan Well after the exciting adventures with the volcanoes and lava I decided a 4:00am bus journey to Honduras was called for. It turned out to be an excellent idea as it had started pouring just after I got back to my hostel (The Black Cat) from Pacaya and hadn't paused all night... Sightseeing and rain don't really mix. Given the early hour, I had the mini bus practically to myself. This was amazing!!!!!!!!!!! Guatemalans believe that at least 30 people can fit in a tarago size minibus with their luggage so I was very very very happy. A few hours [View Full Entry]

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Flores and Tikal Heading into Guatemala via a little used border crossing was just a taste of what the real Central America is like and an excellent introduction to Guatemalan time which is, well, not on time. Despite a very exciting morning (my travelling companions slept through their alarm, woke up 5 mins before the bus, and whilst speedily trying to pack, came across a scorpian hiding in their clothes - needless to say they were very awake despite it being only 6am) the trip quickly disintergrated. What should have been a four or five hour trip was slightly extended after [View Full Entry]

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Thank you all for your concern and messages over the past few days. To be honest, things don´t seem too bad here. Just writing to let you know I am safe and sound. Mexico was getting absolutely ridiculous - everything was closed (tourist attractions, restaurants, transport and museums etc) and there are a lot of very panicked people. Businesses especially tourism based are suffering and people are being laid off work already. Its not a good situation... Whilst a lot of countries are not accepting travellers from Mexico, I successfully crossed into Guatemala this morning via a little use [View Full Entry]

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