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Published: December 13th 2014
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Our journey to Central America started with a Transatlantic cruise. It was, of course, a fantastic 2 weeks of overeating and overindulgence, but the highlight for both of us was a stop in the Bahamas where we swam with stingrays – an amazing and memorable experience.
Our first destination in CA was Antigua, Guatemala – a beautiful colonial town with amazing coffee and cake shops (our idea of heaven). After only a brief visit to Guatemala it was onto Honduras, where our first stop was the quaint highland town of Copan – a nice place with Mayan ruins and surrounded by coffee plantations.
Our journey to the Caribbean island of Roatan was eventful to say the least. It started at 5am with 2 bus journeys totalling 10 hours. The transport was comfortable enough, but at nearly every stop locals would jump on board selling their wares, making it quite hectic. The craziest thing was when a clown got on board and started acting out a comedy routine with the odd magic trick thrown in. Whilst the second bus had the loudest music you have ever heard blaring out. The driver kept playing the same CD over and over –
which was a 70’s compilation of Boney M and Bonnie Tyler etc. After the 3
rd time around we pleaded for a change, only to get a madcap Mexican Mariachi band CD (absolutely hideous when played over and over and at a loud volume).
We only made the ferry connection by the skin of our teeth, to be told that the ferry over to the island was cancelled due to high winds and stormy seas. We returned to the ferry port the next morning and it was all aboard. Unfortunately the seas were still quite choppy and it was like a roller coaster with people were throwing up all over the place. That is why it’s nicknamed the ‘vomit comet’!
Our first stop in Nicaragua was Leon, a former capital where the most popular activities are volcano trekking and volcano boarding (a bit like snowboarding, but on a volcanic ash). We, of course, went for the easy option of trekking – not particularly strenuous, but dusty and dirty and an amazing sunset over the Pacific Ocean once at the top.
It was then on to the island of Ometepe via Granada (another former capital). Ometepe is an island
formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua – very scenic, but very windy. We opted to relax and unwind with a visit Ojo de Agua, two natural spring water swimming holes; lovely.
After a brief stop in Costa Rica we then doubled backed on ourselves to visit Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan Highlands. Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America and one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. "Atitlan" in Mayan means "the place where the rainbow gets its colours". We had a beautiful apartment overlooking the lake - it was just what the doctor ordered after 2 weeks of long travelling days. To top it all, included with the apartment was a xylophone!! Strange but true.
We were lucky enough to arrive at the island town of Flores just as a fiesta marking the beginning of the Christmas festivities was in full flow. For some reason the locals were merrily setting fire to small effigies of the devil packed with fireworks and firecrackers and anything else explosive that came to hand – it was clear that health and safety was not a consideration. Great fun to watch and a great experience.
Our last stop in Guatemala were the ruins of Tikal - a vast complex of Myan temples in the heart of the jungle, populated by monkeys, agoutis and toucans. The most memorable moment was when our guide uncovered a huge tarantula and Andrew stepped up to the plate and had it crawling up his arm. Rather him than me!
Just over the border in Belize (a former British colony) we went to San Ignacio, which was home to an Iguana Sanctuary. It was great fun feeding the iguanas and getting to handle the babies. Bizarrely enough the sanctuary was in the grounds of a 5-star hotel. As the Queen had visited in 1994, we decided that it was our patriotic duty to have lunch in the opulent surroundings.
Then it was on to the tropical island of Caye Caulker in the Caribbean. We went on a fantastic snorkelling trip where we saw stingrays, turtles and nurse sharks. The trip turned out to be very well run and we felt safe at all times, which was a relief as the company was called ‘Tsunami Tours’ and the boat was called ‘Cyclone’. Not sure that is
the best marketing attraction!
Our final destination was a lightning visit to the brash resort of Playa del Carmen, Mexico. After travelling through some very poor countries for the last 4 weeks it was quite a shock to the system to see all the bright lights and modernity of Playa – thankfully we were only there for 1 night as our next destination was calling. Cuba here we come!
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Lynda
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Travels and Adventures
Lovely to hear from you and thank you for taking us all the way to South America to enjoy the adventure and experiences with you. It looked amazing and I loved the photos. Keep safe and re charge your batteries for the next journey. Happy Christmas and a healthy 2015. XX