The circle is complete

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Day 810 (18.06.09) to Day 814 (22.06.09)

We left El Tunco early and after several chicken buses and a couple of cycle taxis across an easy border crossing back into Guatemala, we eventually reached Antigua. We'd started our Central American journey here a few weeks ago and it was nice to complete the circle and return to somewhere familiar. The journey had taken us all day so all we really had energy for was to grab a quick bite to eat and make the most of some 2 for 1 cocktails at a local bar. It's amazing how much a fresh strawberry daiquiri can brighten a travel day!

We'd hoped to meet up with a friend here in Antigua but sadly it hadn't worked out so we just spent a couple of days catching up on some internet jobs, wandering the pretty cobbled steets (when the rainy season wasn't doing it's best to drown us), and eating some great meals we pulled together with the fantastically cheap and fresh ingredients we were able to pick up in the market. One night we went out to the lovely Rum Bar to catch some live acoustic music and sample their lovely happy hour mojitos, delicious!

We picked up the big holdall of souvenirs we'd left behind a few weeks ago and fully loaded down we began the long journey to Mexico City where we would be staying with our great friends Kate and Danny. We braved the downpour which wasn't to cease for at least another 24 hours and caught a chicken bus to Guatemala City. After a quick taxi ride across town we arrived at the TICA bus office and didn't have long to wait until our bus left for Tapachula, just over the Mexican border.

We arrived in the evening after an easy border crossing and a peaceful journey. Unfortunately that was all to change as we took our daypacks down from the rack and Chrissie felt a sudden and sharp sting to the hand. Panic ensued when we looked at the pack and discovered that the creature to deliver the sting was a scorpion. Yikes! After an uneasy few seconds the bus drivers convinced us that it wasn't a dangerous scorpion and that Chrissie would be fine - always good to know when you've been stung by what could have been a potentially deadly creature! Mark headed off in the pouring rain to a local pharmacy just to make sure and came back with some tablets and the advice that all would be well but that it would help Chrissie to drink the juice of 5 lemons. We're not quite sure what it was supposed to do (except for give Chrissie terrible indigestion for the rest of the night!) but we did it anyway just to be sure!

The scorpion episode over and done with and no bad after effects to report, we booked onto the first bus we could find to Mexico City and used our remaining few minutes before our night bus left to grab a few snacks for the journey. We didn't sleep too badly overnight but the snacks had all gone by early morning and we didn't have any Mexican money to buy food until we arrived - hungry Haywards!

We pulled into the bus station in the early afternoon and quickly found a cashpoint and a filling meal before grabbing a cab to Condesa, the area of town that Kate and Danny live in. It was great to finally arrive and to see them after so long (we'd last seen them in Laos more than 18 months ago).

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