Hbc001

“To travel is to live.” ― Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography 17th January Over and over again on this trip I am impressed with my daughter’s ability to go at it like a kid double her age. This morning, after a minor tantrum (her) about me not wanting her to fill her pockets with pebbles from the gardens of the hotel, we all set off to follow the track which winds its way on the side of the mountain softly up and up, through tea plantations, eventually culminating in – you guessed it - some steep climbing to the top of what is known as Little Adam’s Peak at 3743feet. The gentle little brother to the sacred and mighty Adam’s Peak at over 7000ft. I carried her for a while ... read more

"“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop 12th January 2018 So it was in at the deep end today with a long drive from Negombo on the West Coast through to Sigyria, a small town in the Central Province – some 4ish hours. The children have already bonded after an afternoon of pool fun so no colouring books/dot to dots/ stickering was required on the ride on our mini-bus, complete with a/c and even wifi, that will accompany us throughout the two weeks. By now all feelings of “WTF have I done” have vanished. Travel Hannah is back with a vengeance! Triangular mountains, clad in palms and bamboo rose up out of the paddy fields as we cut northwards inland. Arriving for a BBQ lunch at The Hideout https://www.sigiriyahideout.com/ , we sated ourselves on an extensive selection of ... read more

“Man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it” George Moore, English Analytic Philosopher "Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone." The Dhammapada So this is it. The End. My final Central America blog. The journey started 3 months ago in Mexico and now finishes in Panama – a country I will remember for all the time I have spent on its beautiful islands – be it on Bocas del Toro, Isla Coiba or the archipelago of San Blas. In fact come to think of it, I don’t seem to have spent much time on the mainland at all… I left you last from the beaches of Isla Bastiamentos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastimentos_Island) and the blue waters of deserted Turtle Beach (no turtles... read more

“The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them” Amelia E Barr, Writer & Journalist I have arrived in Costa Rica, the penultimate country on this Central American odyssey and it’s hot. My god, it is hot. But not a comfortable dry heat like northern Nicaragua where it felt like a warm hairdryer was constantly blowing in your face because of the Pacific winds. Nope. Here in La Fortuna in the shadow of Volcan Arenal it’s hot and humid and wet. No matter how many showers a day you have, you feel like your body is coated in a fine layer of sweat at all times. It drips off you even if you are standing still – the backs of your knees, under your chest, the back ... read more

“Make voyages! Attempt them… there’s nothing else” Tennessee Williams. The idyll of Belize seems a lot time ago now. We are now in Nicaragua, on the Pacific Coast where the ocean waves thunder down onto the black sands, enraged and tumultuous. Woe betide any surfer who wipes out in these foaming tempestuous waters. Leaving Tobacco Caye, the waters of the Caribbean were pretty turbulent. A Westerley wind had picked up shaking the coconut palms and causing waves to break on the peaceful side of the island. Munch, our boat captain was prepared to take us (hope he wasn’t stoned) back to the mainland and we navigated the crossing back to Dandriga in his little plastic boat bouncing and vaulting the swell. Reaching dry land was a relief as I don’t think our backs and butts could ... read more