After a relaxing time in Belize, if not damn expensive, I headed down to Cobán in the Alta Verapez highlands, a lush green plateau in Central Guatemala atop a limestone shelf marked with fast rivers and huge networks of caves. I spent the first day mucking about Cobán, and treated myself to an expensive ($4 US) dinner at a Chinese joint; a welcome break from chicken, rice and beans. I went on a cool tour of a coffee finca owned by German immigrants. Cobán is renown for it´s perfect altitude and soil that yield supposedly the best beans in Central America, so I had no choice but to pick up some of the product on my way out. The second day was absolutely amazing. We (a french girl, spanish guy and me) started at Semuc Chapney, ... read more

After a hasty escape from the cold, but very admirable streets of San Cristobal, we found ourselves in Quetzaltenango, the second biggest city in Guatemala (only 200,000...Guatemala City has 3 million!) We got off the bus, only to be sheparded into a hotel by the two 60-year-old Slovenians that rode in with us. We spent the first day in Chichicastenango (Guatemala loves their 'castenangos') which is one of the world's most famous markets. For some reason we decided to go at 5:30am, hey why not have another ridiculously early morning. It was really an experience. Chichi was a labyrinth of stalls, with bright handwoven Mayan tapestries walling you in on either side. At some points there were walls and walls of wooden masks, others there were stalls selling completely random appliance parts and childrens clothes. In ... read more

After a hazy three days in San Pedro, Calum and I headed off for the Rio Dulce, supposedly the Amazon of Central America. It was beautiful, the boat ride down the river was two hours of high cliffs on either bank and lush jungle tumbling into the river. We stopped at a hot springs and a birding island, before cruising to the ultra-laid back Garifuna town of Livingston. It is the only real Carribbean town in Guatemala, and really feels more like Jamaica. We stayed right on the river, in a cool joint that was built over the water, basically a network of wooden pathways cutting through the mangroves. The next day we headed off for the famed Tikal. We spent a day en route, stopping to hike at a nature reserve overlooking Lake Petzen Itza ... read more

After three solid days with my knees in my mouth crammed in a bus, I've finally made it to Antigua, Guatemala...and it's about as gorgeous as all the guidebooks and postcards make it out to be. I met up with a Scottish guy, Callum, and a guy from California, Eric, and we're travelling together for the meanwhile. We stayed a night in San Salvador (ten dollars a person for a dirty little room in the slums!). It's by far the most crowded city I've seen so far. The sketchiest being Managua, the confusing sprawl of the Nicaraguan capital offering no remorse to the weary travellers stepping off the bus into a dirty market at the edge of town. Had to spend a night there before the early bus, and my hostel owner basically said don't walk ... read more

My past week was spent on the beautiful sunny Atlantic coast, which accommodated my first few days of no rain and blistering heat. My first stop was Cahuita, and on the way we stopped in Limon, a big port town, to take a break from the bus. We were getting off, when all of a sudden there was smoke everywhere, from behind which a group of riot police emerged herding us indoors. Turns out they were firing off tear gas at a bunch of protesters that were rioting against a pro-upper class government reform. After the chaos settled, and we were back on the bus, a local beside me explained that this makes him proud to be a Costa Rican, because they actually have the freedom to protest, where as neighbouring countries don´t have that same ... read more