After successfully navigating a border crossing I arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico to utterly torrential rain last Monday. Taking refuge in the nearest cafe, waiting to for the rain to die down I turned to the lady on next table and asked 'Que hora es?´ (I wasn't sure if there was a time difference in Guatemala). The lady replied in English, 'it's 6:15 and welcome to Mexico!', soon after the waiter brought me a cup of perfectly made coffee (I have endured over a month of horrendous Guatemalan coffee - they export all the good stuff'. Only 15 minutes into my Mexican adventure, with rain pouring down outside, I knew I was going to enjoy my time here. San Cristobal is beautiful colonial town with plazas, parks and magnificent cathedrals round every corner. ... read more

In summary: Mishaps: Turbulence, white t-shirts and cups of tea do NOT mix well on long-haul journerys. Diahorrea tablets and laxatives should never be confused - always read the label! Men: Guatemalan men are not where it´s at. Incredibly short nation of people, for once I feel like a giant. Size zero: Despite the mishap described above, my size-zero quest is not going well. Mango season and sweet Guatemalan bread are proving irresistible. Since I arrived I have been staying in Antigua, a beautiful colonial city, tirelessly learning Spanish for 3 and half hours a day. You´d expect after 3 weeks I´d be able to cobble together some sort of conversation, but I´m still struggling (unless the conversation is purely in the present tense and invloves nothing more sophisticated than ´I like to cook´). Still, thanks ... read more