My 3 weeks as a house-building volunteer started just over 2 weeks ago and I've been overwhelmed by the experience. We have so far completed 2 houses (1 of which I was here for from start to finish) in a little town called Santa Maria de Jesus, which is about 20 minutes outside Antigua up the slopes of Volcan Agua, via the back of a pick-up truck! I won't be here for the last day of the 3rd house which we are working on now, but to be honest I'm not sure I can take another goodbye from these beautiful, generous, [View Full Entry]

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So I took myself off towards the north west of Guatemela to a town called Quetzaltenango - mercifully abbreviated to Xela (pron. Shayla) by the locals - to learn spanish. It´s the second largest town here with a paltry population of 125,000 compared to the 7 million in Guatemala city! I loved Xela; it´s relaxed, not very touristy, has a strong student population and alot of music. The english speakers who go there to learn spanish tend to stay for longer in central America and be on more of a budget than in Antigua. It was kind of comforting to be [View Full Entry]

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Just enjoyed a quick 3 day trip to Semuc Champey before I get down to some spanish studies and serious house-building! After another 7 hours in a bus, including the last 20km on an untarred road we finally reached the beautiful wilderness of this place. Stayed in an eco-lodge i.e. limited electricity, only cold water, and an "interesting" smell from the toilet. It's a beautiful national park with towering cliffs, jungles, and a bridge of limestone pools over a river. We swam and jumped from 1 pool to the next, and took ropes down and up waterfalls while I bravely avoided [View Full Entry]

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For 2 nights we stayed with a local Mayan family in the village of San Jorge le Laguna on the shores of Lake Atitlan in western Guatemala. To get there we took several chicken buses and minivans through windy and bumpy roads, including what must be a record - getting 23 people in an 11 seater minivan! Living with family Ajcalon for 2 nights was truly a humbling and inspiring experience. They were welcoming, generous, fun and curious, despite living in dusty conditions with limited heating and occasional cold running water. We had great evenings explaining in a mixture of pigeon [View Full Entry]

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I've discovered a new type of personal torture - being the only person in a minibus on a 3 hour journey who doesn't have an iPOD or is asleep, and so having nobody to talk to!;-) Oh well, once the trip was over we arrived in hot and humid Rio Dulce on the river near the east coast. A very loaded water taxi ride later and arrived in a great little eco-hotel by the river. Had a choice of using the free kayaks in the afternoon or drinking cuba libres in the hammock - unfortunately the photos of me kayaking energetically [View Full Entry]

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Another interesting border crossing where you queue to pay and leave one country and then walk a few hundred metres to the next border, where you queue and pay to enter it. Guatemela is immediately different, with lots of ranches/farms, white cowboy-hatted farmers on horses and fields of maize on cleared jungle hills. After arriving on the small pretty island of Flores, we spent the afternoon cooling down in a hotel pool (our tour leader has connections!) drinking cocktails. I normally don't like margaritas but somehow they taste a lot lot better over here! The mayan riuns of Tikal deep in [View Full Entry]

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I don't know what I was expecting of mainlaind Belize, but certainly not what I got. It's the only english speaking country in central America, which is surprising enough, but then they speak it with an impossibly strong caribbean accent, are a mix of all races and colours and most of them look like cowboys from the Wild West or dudes straight out of Harlem. On top of that there are the Mennonite people (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749d532.html) who look like cousins of the Amish in NA. Belize city is a bit edgy, and we came across a parade celebrating one of the many [View Full Entry]

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After an 11 hour trip via 3 buses, 1 very interesting border crossing and 1 water taxi to the caribbean island we've made it to the island of Caye Caulker off Belize. What a place! Wish we were staying here longer. Most of the locals speak Creole, it's full of ice-cream coloured wooden houses, sounds of reggae, and smells constantly of rum and fish or chicken barbecues. I need more time to upload photos, so hope they have done it justice! In fact I have a lobster getting ready for a hot barbecue for me now and need to be there [View Full Entry]

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I had a feeling it would be hot here, but I had no idea I'd be walking into a steamroom! 30+ degrees and feels more like 40+ with the humidity apparently. It's taken me a few days but I'm slowly getting used to being permanently wet and having really very very curly hair all the time :-) Spent the first few days in Playa del Carmen - a small nice touristy place on the beach. My kind of water - very warm and very turquoise. Really interesting listening to the gringos in the cafes about their expat lives here. Met the [View Full Entry]

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Things are looking good - I made the first leg of my journey from Kerry to London with no problems;-) 17 hours to go until the long flights begin via Miami to Cancun Mexico. Rucksack is stuffed full but still only weighs 12kg, and that is without a hairdyer ladies! Will probably be eating steak, pasta and pizza tonight in anticipation of 4 months of beans. Adios chicos y chicas, speak soon, S x [View Full Entry]

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