SC writes....So here we are in Antigua having waved off our touring companions. Surrounded by three more volcanoes, Antigua is "impossibly cute" to quote Lonely Planet. Cobbled streets, low colonial buildings that give nothing away on the out side but usually reveal beautiful interiors and gardens within. Our hotel is one such building and we will be very comfortable here. It is only 10 minutes from the centre of town but the streets are VERY quite at night and we have been advised to take a taxi when returning to base after evening meals !! Security is clearly an issue. So what does regrouping involve? A) Getting 20 lbs of laundry done at the local lavanderia. That's what you get after about 18 days travel. All good.B) Finding a place to get Cathy's back pack repaired ... read more

SC writes.. More trips out to different communities today, each of which has their own culture and way of celebrating the Day of Dead. See more on this below. I tried the local brew, called "Posh". Not quite fire water but a clear tasteless 36% proof variant on Rum. Many locals drink it mixed with Coca Cola which has assumed mythical status in these parts. We saw many Coke bottles left on graves (the departed's favourite drink) filled will this hooch. We also saw many locals filled with it too...very very drunk indeed at 11:00 in the morning. Also today we saw more evidence of the damage caused by last year's earthquake: some 25 churches in and around San Cristobal were badly damaged and remain closed. One where 3 massive bells had fallen to the ground ... read more

An eight hour slow drive today through the highlands but with fab scenery and a stop at some very photogenic waterfalls. We could have swum but chose not to. San Cristobal is delightful: Cobbled streets, markets and squares, lovely colonial syle buildings and, of course, everyone (and I do mean everyone) is gearing up for the festivals. We found a great steakhouse for dinner and while we promise not to bore you with food stories and pix, this meal was notewothy. - see picture. Over a late night drink we were pestered by small children "trick or treating". We had nothing to offer but will put that right tomrrow... The day of the dead!! SC adds : Apologies for the bits of junk text in ealier blog posts. That comes from copy / pasting text. I ... read more

(Cj writes) I’m very glad that we’re doing this trip the ‘wrong’ way around, because the Mayan sites are just getting better and better as we progress.Tikal, for example, was monumental - but heavily restored - ruins. Impressive, but not engaging. Uxmal (‘Ooshmal’) and Campeche have had the most marvellous carvings - almost all original (although they’ve had to be restored to their proper positions) - very crisp detail, and giving you (ie me) a real sense of how these cities really looked. Sc adds......Campeche itself is a old ... read more

Cj writes: The journey from Belize to Mexico was awful. Not the 8 hours driving - we knew about that - but the wholly unnecessary TWO HOURS at the border! All on the Mexican side - some sort of bureaucratic disagreement between governments, apparently. We were sniffed by a dog, (who sniffed out an apple in my bag... Duly confiscated) made to put all our luggage through an x ray machine, and then EVERY ONE of our bags was searched by hand. That's once the officials had been dragged away from their siesta. Hence we arrived at Tulum considerably later than expected - to find a delightful hotel literally next to the beach, with a large and airy room, two four poster beds, (see photo) verandah, etc - all very lovely and welcome. Today we visited ... read more