After four nights in Antigua we were ready for a new country and to get back to the Pacific. We have had just the best time travelling across land but were really excited to be going back to the ocean and to one of the top surfing destinations in the world. Our transfer was uneventful and now we are starting to spot a Frontera town a mile off, they all just have this look and you know you are about to change countries. The Guatemalan / El Salvador one proved the easiest yet, as we were in a tourist bus we were driven to immirgration and literally got swiped out / in and were on our way. Not always so easy and it was apparent from the truckers that they were in for a wait as ... read more

The people are different again from those we came across in Coban. The main square is a key place where the locals ply their crafts and most are being sold by children under 12 it seemed. We were quickly approached by several people trying to sell stuff and by the time we had the cutest little 10 yr old who spoke excellent English come up to us we knew immediately she was charging way over the top for this cloth. That said in the end I bought it from here after some negotiation - it´s green so I think it has Nicola´s name on it! Mind you it really upset another girl when we would not buy from her and she called me stingy! and that my spanish was bad!! Well I know that but is ... read more

Imagine a place that has been completely untouched - a pure natural attraction which just a few dodgy sets of steps to help you access - this is Semuc Champey. First though a two hour journey from Coban with the last hour a unmade road to make even the most secure teeth shake loose we arrived in the small market town of Lanquin. The people here seem much smaller than even their other Mayan relatives and this seemed really apparent in the market where Neil had to duck continually to not bang into the stall canvas - he looked like gandalf visiting the shires! The people are so friendly and we enjoyed just wandering around before the final 40 minutes to Semuc where the most amazing waterfalls and natural swimming pools awaited. What we had not ... read more

Had the most amazing day at the Tikal national park. Over 160 sq km in size they have excavated just 20% of the ruins in this area. Completely protected so that the wild life and flora can continue to thrive. We had already been to ruins in Belize but these are the major ones to see and we were just blown away. The tour started with a walk through the canapy and as we went deeper into the park we arrived at the different temples and the main central Acropolis. As some parts of Guatemala still practice the Mayan religious beliefs and there was evidence of recent sacrifices within the main Acropolis. Temple wise this was a rare opportunity for us to get some exercise(!) so lots of clambering up the stone sides to get the ... read more

On our return to Belize City we played it safe and checked into a hotel called Chateau Caribbean. Now it sounds grand and looks very colonial from the outside but it was in need of a bit of paint inside but it was a great place to stay - a room almost as big as our flat and probably the biggest we will see this trip so on the blog is a photo of half of it before we trashed it and turned it into a laundry room. Belize City is one rough place and certainly you only go there if a) you are on a cruise ship or b) you need to catch a bus across land or a ferry out to the islands. After turning up early for our bus to Guatamala we then ... read more