We decided to stay in Merida for Christmas. Capital of the Yucatan state, we hoped it was big enough to find things open around the holiday. We were not disappointed .. but that is getting a little of ourselves. We arrived on the 23rd and took a taxi to the hotel we booked. We got a fairly indifferent welcome so left in search of a more welcoming hotel. Wanting the option of watching TV on Christmas Day we tried some of the mid-range hotels and found the Santa Lucia (same owner as the San Clemente in Valladolid) pleasant enough. Got a [View Full Entry]

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We took a second class bus to Coba, standing all the way. At Coba we tried the only budget hotel in town. It was acceptable for P$250 (US$24) so we decided to stay. We had a lovely breakfast in the restaurant and headed off to the archaeological site. It was a quick walk. Going past the lake we saw a man feeding a rather large crocodile. We started down the pier but when he said it would be P$10 each to see the croc we turned around. There were only a few small tourist vans in the car park when we [View Full Entry]

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It was a short hop from Corozal, Belize to Chetumal, Mexico. The ticket guy on the bus helped us get to the correct window for foreigners and fill in our forms. It was only ourselves and an American Jehovah Witness lady who were not from Belize or Mexico. Going through customs we had to press a button on some traffic lights. The American got a red light and had to open everything. We got a green and could go through. We wondered if someone behind a tinted window was controlling the response or if it was truly random. In Chetumal we [View Full Entry]

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We took a chicken bus from Belize City to Orange Walk. For the first time there was an alarm on the rear door and it gave us a fright when we opened it to put our bags in. It was B$5 (US$2.50) and took less than 2 hours. First thing we saw on arrival was a ute packed with young Mennonite ladies. They were so cute. First we tried Hotel Christopher from the Lonely Planet but it did not look so great and some clever bugger left a bunch of inattentive kids in charge. So we went to the Llamanai, a [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Belize City it was just as we remembered it from 3 years earlier. Slightly run down, bit dodgy but chilled. We tried one hotel which proved expensive for a small room. Then we went to Isabels guest house which was above a chemist next to the swing bridge. We paid US$33 for a huge room containing 5 double beds. Above downtown it was quite noisy but still very cool. Merge met us at the hotel. She looked the same. Her Grandson Glen was with her and he looked older. Not sure what to do we decided to go to [View Full Entry]

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We found a shuttle service going from Flores to Belize but it was US$20 to Belize City and we only wanted San Ignacio. They wouldn't give us a reduced fare but we did arrange to have them take us from San Ignacio to Belize City a couple of days later as part of the same fare. On the mini bus was Paul, the Australian, who we had met at Tikal. He was going all the way through to Mexico. Pieter sat next to a Dutch guy and talked all the way. It took 3 hours to reach the border where a [View Full Entry]

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We left Chichi at 5 am, taking a chicken bus for Guatemala City. It arrived from Quiche already packed so we had our bags thrown on top of the bus and we stood in the aisle, hanging on for dear life as the driver swerved around hairpin bends. People sat 3 to a seat with the one in the aisle hanging off the edge. This left a space between the rows of 6 people for one person to stand. It was strangely civilised. I (Rae) ended up at the back and could barely keep my footing as we were launched over [View Full Entry]

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We were planning to go to Xela but the girls we had been hanging around with in San Juan were keen to see the Gumarcaj Maya ruin which lives beyond Chichicastenango (Chichi) so we went along. It was quite a mission. A boat to Panajachel, a bus to Solola, another bus to Los Encuentros and finally a bus to Chichi. Arriving late morning we left the girls with our packs while we looked for accommodation. We eventually found something suitable for just over US$10 a night, the Hotel Mashito. It was bright green, friendly but strangely they had 2 doves and [View Full Entry]

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We took another shuttle to Lago Atitlan. It should have been quicker, going direct, but it took 50 minutes just to get around Antigua and pick up all the passengers. It was a long but lovely drive, with a well timed pee stop at the turnoff for the lake. We also had a photo stop as we followed the road down to Panajachel. Panajachel was a bit of a shock. All touristy. Full of shops and restaurants. I think the driver took us to the wrong dock. Wrong because kids started dragging us down to the boats, quoting some other people [View Full Entry]

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Pieter really wanted to visit Guatemala City but I wasn't too interested because of the reported crime but we trotted off there anyway for a day trip with reduced valuables, just a few hundred Quetzels and the camera. We caught one of the pretty chicken buses from the market in Antigua. Had to check the destination as they were just yelling 'Guate, Guate, Guate' for the capital. The bus took each sweeping curve in the windy road at full speed. Just about feel off the seat. We had to take a taxi to the centre of town and didn't piss around [View Full Entry]

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