Waking up bright and early at 4.30am to get our taxi to the bus station went surprisingly well, and our broken Spanish got us to a bus going to San Salvador - not the one we had planned though, so our carefully calculated remaining money wasn't enough to pay for our tickets... luckily, they were totally happy to accept payment in a mix of Lempira and US dollars! The troublesome 4 extra dollars were worth it though, as we ended up in the cheap seats on a luxury bus (instead of our planned standard bus). The cheap seats still reclined to nearly horizontal, had WiFi and air conditioning. Money accidentally well spent!! Crossing to El Salvador was trouble free, although lining up with our bags just passed the border for a narcotics police check was pretty ... read more

Tourism from outside Honduras to Lake Yojoa almost exclusively revolves around D&D Brewery (Hostel, Hotel and Tour company). It's super lovely with beers brewed on site, a fire pit to sit around in the evening and probably the friendliest tour guide in the world. When we arrived from Copan, via the biggest bus station I've ever seen in San Pedro Sula, the bus knew exactly where to drop us off - very handy! We spent the afternoon playing cornhole (a bean bag toss game) and trying a couple of the brews. The hostel is surrounded by trees and there are lots of hummingbird feeders - I was very entertained watching them fly around, but don't think I will ever manage to photo one! The next morning we went down the canal by rowing boat, looking at ... read more

Lago Atitlan was a stunning location to arrive on my birthday, having had birthday cake and leftover pizza for breakfast on the bus ride over. We checked into our hostel, who insisted on giving me birthday tequila, and had a pretty relaxed afternoon in front of the lake. We also visited the local women's weaving cooperative- so many beautiful handmade materials, but unfortunately no space in our bags (well, none in mine, which is ridiculously heavy and full. Amateur first time backpacking mistake...!) The next day we went on a horse trek up to a coffee plantation and factory, and to a view point just outside San Pedro with stunning views across the lake. The coffee plantation and factory was super interesting - the factory is basically owned be a cooperative of local growers, and buys ... read more

Arriving in Semuc Champey from Flores involved two buses and one ride in the back of a pick up truck. Standing on the back of the truck seemed pretty fun to start with, despite the crazy bumps in the road, but after half hour of gripping for dear life on the steepest roads (up and down) I have ever experienced, arriving at Utopia was literally like arriving in paradise. I can't rave about this hostel enough, set close to the river, about 8km from Lanquin, the nearest village, and 3km from the Semuc Champey Park. The hostel is basically a massive wooden hut, with beautiful views, everything made from local wood, delicious meals and the most chilled out atmosphere ever. Each morning I woke up to stunning views slowly revealing from the clouds just outside, no ... read more

Two nights on Caye Caulker was more than enough, especially with the heat during the day being crazy, so we headed to San Ignacio, in the western border of Belize. Catching the chicken bus was an experience, but the journey only took 3 hours and arrived to a much cooler temperature (turns out the weather has just taken a turn everywhere, but we definitely took a shine to the place on this account). The hostel in San Ignacio - Bella's Backpackers - was really lovely, and we spent our first full day with the owner and her daughter on their farm just outside the town, and at the falls in Cristo Rey - called Monkey Tree Falls. We spent the evening back in town, on the eve of Belize's Independence, which culminated in a half hour ... read more