Markio

After so long in the Spanish speaking world, Belize came as a bit of a shock – a small English speaking enclave on the shores of the Caribbean!! The language comes from the country's pre-independence history as British Honduras and the fact that apparently a good proportion of its population are descended from the pirates and buccaneers that used to frequent these parts!! I say that the language spoken is English – but not quite as we know it!! When the locals are speaking with native English speakers they have an amazing caribbean lilt that makes you want to break out into a big grin just on hearing it. But when they embark on a conversation amongst themselves the creole becomes a familiar yet indecipherable stream of words that you think might be English, but you're ... read more

Probably like most people in the world, El Salvador hadn't really entered into my general consciousness, apart perhaps as the title of a song by Athlete back in 2003! (http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858505487/) In my time travelling through South and Central America I had met a grand total of one person that had been there, and so this, combined with the fact it would continue my trip's “achievement” of having visited every South and Central American country (admittedly I have to exclude the isolated Guayane, French Guyana and Suriname from that though!) it seemed just the ticket for a few days of my time! The journey from Honduras took a day and a half, but I arrived in Suchitoto, a small colonial town located on a lake, with seemingly every house painted a different colour, in good spi... read more

I entered Nicaragua on my birthday – and what better way to celebrate than a 6a.m. taxi to a bus station and then a full day of travelling! Luckily the travelling ended up at the wonderful Isla Ometepe, two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua which join together and lay claim to be the largest freshwater island in the world. Despite being pretty remote, our guest-house also had just enough Wi-Fi to allow me to speak to Erika and for her to sing me happy birthday in Spanish, blow out the candle on the cake she'd made for me and show me my present. It may not have started out as the best birthday, but it certainly ended like that!! Thank you! Of the two volcanoes, which are joined by a narrow isthmus, I obviously decided to ... read more

Getting my exit stamp from Colombia was a sad moment. The country that had been my home for 4 months, had given me so many amazing experiences and memories, and of course best of all had been where I met Erika, was now sadly behind me. My exit point was Sapzurro, a tiny coastal village on the border with Panama from where I walked over one of the most relaxed border crossings I’ve encountered, a tiny military hut on a ridge separating Sapzurro and its Panamanian neighbour La Miel. My method of travel to Panama proper would be a 4 day boat trip through the San Blas islands, a beautiful chain of palm lined, white sand beaches and aquamarine waters inhabited by the Kuna people. But before starting the tour we were given a free night’s ... read more

Sandwiched either side of my visa run to Venezuela, I was able to first visit the rugged interior in and around Bogota and then travel along Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The stint around Bogota saw me visit some smaller towns which were hugely enjoyable and once again showed why Colombia has been the country I have enjoyed most on my travels so far. Places like San Gil and Villa de Leyva have the potential to become household names as the popularity of Colombia increases, given their natural beauty, variety of activities and relative proximity to the capital Bogota. In fact if I was to dish out sage investment advice, it would be that starting up a top notch hostel in either of those two spots would be a sound choice…expect that someone has got there first and ... read more