Twelve hours on three different buses from Guatemala City and I finally arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. I had planned to meet up with Stephanie, a friend of mine from New Zealand that I met in Rio Dulce, so I headed straight for the Posada Ganesha, the hostal she was staying in. Even from that first stroll through the town I could see it was amazingly beautiful everywhere and I knew I was going to like it. For anyone that doesn't know, Chiapas is the south westerly state of Mexico that has been fighting for independance or at least human rights for the native Mayans, since 1994 when the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista para la Liberación Nacional, The Zapatista Army for National Liberation) was formed and came to light rather violently. Since ... read more

Just thought I'd give a quick mention for the best bar and restaurant in town. And its not just because I'm working with them, it really is the best in town, thats why we went there every wednesday and saturday for dinner and beers while still at the orphanage. It does the best food, including an extensive sandwich range done on home baked bread which is famous throughout the town and ordered daily by other locals and eateries. They also offer some dinner specials such as home made lasagne (vegetarian but amazingly good), stir-frys, currys, soups and salads. The specials usually change eveyday, but every dish is great so you'll never be disapointed. They also have the best music, nice change from Reggaeton and Bachata, which are usually blasting out of the bars around here. On ... read more

Big sorry about the lack of blogs, been a bit of a mad month. Another month in the orphanage means another descanso, this time I headed off to the City with Andrés, Montse and Quique, the first time me and Andrés have been allowed on descanso together ever, since we were both english teachers. So to start off we headed up to his house in the city for a night. After having spent a bit more time in around the city centre I'm actually starting to like it. But Andrés lives in Zone 10, far from where I had seen before. We drove into an area that looked like I would imagine the states looks like, with supermerkets, shopping centres, and neon signs everywhere. We drove on into his estate which would remind you of the ... read more

Two hours on a chicken bus from the lake and we arrive in Xela, otherwise known as Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala and probably the nicest. Not a lot to do here as a tourist but we got a pick up truck up one of the mountains to some natural hot springs and pools, known as Las Fuentes Georginas . Lovely day out, well worth the 30 min ride up the mountain through the clouds. Also spent a good 30 mins walking up a little jungle path to find it stop dead at a water pipe, good fun. The setting alone was worth the visit but the pools are amazing. It really is the cleanest you feel here after showering in cold water all the time. One other good thing about Xela is their ... read more

Second descanso and I was headed off to Honduras to go scuba diving just off Utila in the Bay Islands. We thought it was a shorter trip but ended up taking us about 2 days due to a pretty poor infrastructure along the coast. So we ended up stopping off in San Pedro Sula, which was nothing really to talk about, had a pizza from Pizza Hut and head on to La Ceiba in the morning to catch the ferry to Utila. The main reason I went was because Kelly has a phobia of water and decided she wanted to face her fear and go scuba diving, so of course being the gentleman that I am, I thought I should come along and laugh at her. We arrived in Utila and headed straight for a dive ... read more