Flores Very early the next morning we hitched a ride to Flores with Milos, a Czech guy now living in the Virgin Islands who had hired a car to travel around Guatemala. We met him at Semuc Champey and again later in the lodge. We took the scenic route up to Flores, attempting to navigate through various unsealed and unsignposted tracks. We didn't really know if we were going the right way (although we pretty much were) and neither did most of the locals we asked. Eventually we were escorted by two policemen on a motorbike back on to the main highway. We did pass through some beautiful countryside, eat lunch in a village off the beaten track, and swim in a little river. The swim in the river was kind of funny as when we ... read more

We took a particularly bumpy and long chicken bus ride to San Pedro La Laguna, a village on the shore of Lake Atitlan. Aldous Huxley apparantly proclaimed that it is the most beautiful lake in the world, and in my experience to date I would agree with him. Lake Atitlan is the largest lake in Central America and is around 340m deep with a surface area of 50 sq miles. It was formed by volcanic activity and is surrounded by three volcanoes, mountains, and small Mayan villages. The water is a crystal clear turquoise, warm, and edged with rocky volanic slopes, a few beaches, and reed beds that support various species of bird life. We hired a canoe to explore the end of the lake close to San Pedro village, around the base of Volcan San ... read more

From Mazunte we took a Collectivo (mini bus) to San Christobal De Las Casas, a charming colonial town nestled in the mountains of Chiapas. Chiapas is the most southerly region of Mexico, the poorest, and has a high proportion of indigenous people. It is apparantly quite similar to Guatemala as it is tropical, mountainous, covered in forest, and the people of the many different indigenous villages wear brightly coloured textiles. Chiapas is also home to the infamous Zapatista, a guerilla group justifiably fighting for the rights of the supressed and previously under-represented indigenous people. The state also froms the border with Guatemala, creating problems of drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and bandits. However, the entire area is crawling with the national guard patrols and roadblocks, which appear to have stablised the area and we felt quite safe. ... read more

I took the 15 hour bus journey from Palenque to Oaxaca - a beautiful colonial town further north surrounded by hills - and arrived 8am in the morning tired and bleary eyed and checked into a hotel. I had arranged to meet up with a friend, Martina, that I met in Habana and we spent the rest of the day exploring the city. Later that evening we met a local guy through couch surfing called Octavio and had dinner and beers with him and his friends at his house just outside of the city. Octavio invited us to stay with him for the rest of our time in Oaxaca so we spent the day hanging out in the town and then later in the evening, when he had finished work, we got a lift back with ... read more

You might be suprised to know ( ;-) ) that what I have mostly been doing in Havana is partying. However, it really is the thing to do in Havana as it seems that what the place is all about. It is afterall the home of Salsa and Reggaeton. There is live music everywhere, cheap rum, and the clubs and bars have a terrific atmosphere. I have been taking salsa lessons most days that I have stayed in Havana, and that´s one of the reasons for staying so long. I really got the bug for it and wanted to crack the basics until I could free dance fairly fluidly. After 11 two hour lessons, I´ve pretty much got the basics but still need a lot of practice with keeping time when the music is fast and ... read more