There's only one thing more awkward than leaving a message on an answerphone. Leaving the message in Spanish, asking to meet a lady who has no idea who I am, whilst being watched by three (greatly amused) staff of the Hotel Boston. Maybe because of the entertainment value or out of sympathy, they refused to charge us for the call. I was trying to contact Zoila - to cut a long story short, a friend of a mum of a friend back home. We had her name, a phone number, plus some photos and a small gift from Ireland, carried through five other counties before reaching Honduras. There was little more we could do except explore Tegucigalpa and hope not only that it was a current phone number but that she would return our call before ... read more

It seemed we were all alone. When entering the park, the cupboard-like box office was empty. We made our way down a short lane, not a soul in sight. Large trees joined hands and formed a tunnel of green, the bright midday sun shone over the river at the end. Grinning like Cheshire cats thinking we got away without paying the 40 Lempira entrance fee, half way down the path the ticket man appears. He took our money and offered to take us INTO the waterfall! Surely not. We must have taken him up wrong, lost in translation. The riverbank was adorned with large leafed trees stepping away from the fast-flowing river. We walked along the riverside path listening to birds singing and water rushing over weirs, hushing like a teacher shushes her students quiet. We ... read more

There is no single episode in El Salvador that stands out for us. Previous blogs flowed with ease from the memory box. This did not. So here´s a general review of the 6 days we spent in the country. On 2nd January, we left wonderful green Guatemala and headed for its brown deforested neighbour. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America - its about the size of Wales but a lot more cramped for space (6.7 million vesrsus 2.9 million). The Border Crossing No man´s land was a sweaty 300m hike. The sun cooked up the tar and returned to the sky with a wave, the air visibly shaking. Rubbish was everywhere, tons of plastic bags and bottles. Our first encounter with a Salvadorean: a man with wild eyes and morning hair approached us. ... read more

Markets in Guatemala are colourful and bustling. From the Aladdin´s Cave that is the indoor market in Panajachel to the hectic Friday morning affair in Solola or the fruit and veg stalls lining the streets of San Pedro - the sights and sounds make Dublin´s Moore Street seems subdued. These markets around the Lake Atitlan attract traders in traditional dress from the surrounding highland villages who come and sell everything and anything you can think of. While staying on the Lake Atitlan, the markets have been a great source for our daily dose of avocadoes, bananas and tortillas. Lake Atitlan is a spectacular setting - framed by three volcanoes against a backdrop of lush green hills. Inspiring stuff...so inspiring James hit the oils! With Gaspar, a local artist from San Pedro as his guide, James created ... read more

Semuc Champey is without a doubt the most beautiful location we have visited so far in Central America, even an overcast sky could not detract from its beauty. The word beautiful actually seems like a lame way of describing it - the place is a natural wonder and I have never heard or read about a similar phenomenon. The Rio Cahabon is a rushing gushing torrent of water, which thunders down from a picture perfect misty mountain valley covered in every shade of green imaginable. Then at Semuc Champey the river is suddenly gone, it disappears down through a hole deep, into darkness, into far inside the earth, into the underworld. My mouth gaped open in awe, almost dropping as wide as the subterranean tunnel entrance. We walked on, over where the river logically should be, ... read more