The day started again with the typical Flores breakfast. Pancakes with maple syrup, fruit juice and bottomless coffee, by the waterfront. This time we visited a different restaurant, called Casa Amelia. I spent breakfast reading about the history of Guatemala, learning that they only recently returned to democracy in 1996, and have had difficulty enforcing rule of law and managing crime rates since. After breakfast we had a few hours before the bus left for Tikal, so we bought snacks, water and sandwiches for the trip, bus tickets for the next day’s travel and packed for the day trip. Just after midday a very friendly minibus driver, or chauffeur as he referred to himself in Spanish called Manuel picked us up from our hostel. It was a bit of an empty mini bus with just us ... read more

The arrival to Guatemala was pleasant despite two days traveling, three flights and only 3 hours of sleep. I’ve always had a feeling of excitement being in Latin America as it feels like the beginning of an adventure. I met Ben at the airport, and we ventured towards our first port of call, Antigua, a small charming city just outside of Guatemala City and much less dangerous. We woke up at 7am, the following day and decided to visit a coffee plantation and ranch just two miles from Antigua. I had heard that Guatemala is well known for coffee and wanted to see how it was made, and to try it from the source. We walked there through Antigua and a small suburban town just outside called 3 Ángeles. The ranch was just outside, Finca Filadelfia. ... read more

I decided to skip breakfast, which in hindsight was a great decision. A day of scuba diving lay ahead at Gordon Rocks, just off Santa Cruz Island and the sea was rougher today causing some of us to feel a little sea sick. We stopped off near the dive site so that the new divers could check their gear and be briefed on hand signals. In the meantime we admired the sea life by the rocks. The blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, sea lions among others. On the boat was a biologist, who passed me his binoculars pointing out all of the animals. It was a really great to hear about all of the animals from an expert and to see them so close. We approached the rocks, where the current felt much more strong and the ... read more

Tonight I decided that I would take a stroll around the neighbourhood by my flat. I am about to embark on a South American adventure, the holidays that I have been building up to for the past few years. A new chapter in my attempt to learn Spanish, and also visiting other areas of the world. It seemed like an apt time to reflect and take in what I was about to do. I arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador tomorrow evening and I have only just begun to sink in. It is a little nerve-racking, in part because its so far and I don't really know what to expect. I also only just booked hotels for the first week a couple of hours ago, and travelling to a unknown country seems a little risky, and a step ... read more

I woke up in a hotel room, still tired, at 7am and began to get ready to leave. I showered, ate breakfast, which was the best breakfast I’d had all trip with yogurts and bagels available. I walked outside to find the sun out and the sky blue with not a cloud in the sky, yet again. Despite the -6C temperatures, the car was no frosted up. I later discovered this may have been because two of the windows were left open ajar from the night before. Inside the car was almost colder than outside the car. I packed up the car and turned on the heating for a while. I then returned to the hotel room and watched TV until everyone else was ready to leave. It wasn’t until around 9.30am that we eventually left ... read more