We are up at 7am to shower, dress and have breakfast. OK, it’s not in the true spirit of backpacking we know, but we have booked a taxi to take us to Cuidad Valles. It is due at 8am. Eva brings us tamalle, iced sponge cake and lemon tea. Our bags are packed and stacked in the hallway ready to go. We chat with another couple of guests, a Mexican and his Colombian wife whilst we await our transport. It’s hard saying goodbye to Eva - her warmth and the hospitality we have received over the last few days make it feel like we are parting with an old friend. Our transport is here and Eva has given us a letter of explanation to hand in to the ticket desk in Cuidad Valles but she also ... read more

Today we are visiting a surrealist garden, Las Pozas. It is a work of art created by Edward James, an English poet who came to live here in 1945. The creation, said to represent the Garden of Eden took 35 years to construct and you may be forgiven for thinking it is still incomplete! The garden of concrete flowers and fairytale castles has steep staircases that end abruptly and go nowhere. Edward James moved from England to America but then he fell in love with Xilitla on a visit to Mexico. He began buying up parcels of coffee plantation land in which to create his garden and grow his precious orchids. A bad frost killed the plants one year and he decided to replace them with concrete replicas which the weather would have a harder time ... read more

I am awake before seven so Ian gets me a coffee and by 8am it’s time for a Skype call. Dad had a good night and is feeling a lot better - the doc has doubled his painkillers. Mum and Di are preparing lunch whilst dad relaxes. Sounds as if that is doing both of them some good. I am rudely interrupted by a woman who wants me to end my call. Apparently I am disturbing their sleep. This is the same woman who allowed her very young toddler to stay in the pool till 10pm last night shrieking with joy. Same toddler continued with tantrum shrieking until midnight - presumably he didn’t want to leave the pool! She speaks enough English to tell me to keep quiet so I soon tell her what’s what! It’s ... read more

Today we are up early for our visit to the waterfalls. A call home reveals that dad is in hospital again. He passed out at home in the early hours. Full marks to my mum who managed to get downstairs, unbolt the front door (heavy, old type, slide bolts...top and bottom!) and raise the alarm with their neighbour. Upshot is that dad was whisked away in an ambulance again. There will be no news till later on so we decide on a half day trip so that we can be back in time to get an update. This is the time when I am thankful for the internet and smartphones (instead of cursing them) - we just would not want to travel if we could not stay in touch. We pick up some sugared croissants from ... read more

We had a bit of a scare last night as we had a message to say that my dad had been rushed to hospital in an ambulance. A call to the hospital at 3am UK time (evening here) confirmed that he was OK, but we would like a confirmation following a consultants opinion. We are hanging around here to see if we need to get a flight back as we are not too far from Mexico City. If we move on it won’t be so easy. It’s 6am here, noon in the UK and a call to my brother confirms dad is OK now and has been discharged. We have a long Skype call with video and it looks like he is fine. My brother and sister assure me they are keeping an eye on mum ... read more