Costa Rica

A unique border crossing has brought us to Costa Rica. We motored down a river that snaked through the jungle, past military checkpoints and spotting lots of birds and monkeys on the riverbank. Our pulses did raise a little when the Nicaraguan army boarded our boat and instructed everyone to put on their life jackets, and Babs (true to form) insisted on questioning exactly why we should comply. After their curt response in Spanish and a glance at the automatic rifles, we quickly followed everyone else in wearing our neon safety vests. Costa Rica has fairly strict laws governing what foodstuffs can be brought into the country, so as we approached the landing point it was amusing to see quite a few people pass their contraband to the captain, who was able to bypass the normal bag search and smuggle the goods into the country. We're just assuming the jars contained spices and not heroin...

Crossing into Costa Rica

After a couple of bus journeys from the dock, we arrive in La Fortuna in the late afternoon. It's a stunningly-located town, dominated by Volcán Arenal which rises up above the town and is wreathed in mist when we arrive. The relative affluence of Costa Rica, compared to other central american countries, is also immediately apparent. Instead of dusty streets and shanty huts, every building is bricks and mortar, with well-kept lawns and lots of modern cars on the streets. We have to admit that it's great to be back to modern ways after more than a month of some pretty 'rustic' places. The return to modernity also allows us to get a replacement ipod cable and enjoy some great food: the highlight was definitely the burgers at a local soda, which were the best we've ever had. Although La Fortuna seems like a nice town to spend a few days in, we have to move on the next morning, so we set off on a jeep-boat-jeep trip over the mountains towards the west of the country, taking in some stunning landscape on the way.

Our jeep-boat-jeep scenery

After arriving in Santa Elena, we spent a bit of time shopping around for the best zip-line tours, which are set up over the top of the jungle. Each company competes to have the longest and highest zip lines, with the current leader Xtremo who offers zip lines up to a kilometre long and 200m high. We were not disappointed. The whole experience was amazing, with a combination of zip lines , swings and hiking through the jungle. Probably the scariest of the lot was the tarzan swing, which at first looked just like a regular swing from a height. It's not until after you are pushed from the platform that you realize there's a 10 foot drop before the rope takes hold and you swing 30m, narrowly avoiding branches and trees. If this wasn't bad enough, one poor girl (of slightly larger proportions) was so scared to go alone that she asked if one of the guides would hook on and swing with her, as they regularly do on the zip lines. However, on this occasion, the guide readily said yes, simulated locking his harness behind her, before pushing the great hippo off the platform alone. It seemed hilarious to all of us below, but we did feel a litlte guilty when we saw her in tears as she swung by.

Joined-up zip lining!

The highlight of the whole thing was definitely the last zip line. In this one everyone wears a double harness attaching them to the cable at the waist and chest, leaving them suspended like superman over the jungle below. It's the largest and highest line on the tour, though for most of the way people are too terrified to open their eyes and appreciate the amazing views. The really scary part is the end of the line, when you quickly realise you're travelling far too fast without any means to break. The sheer terror doesn't end until the last few seconds, when the automatic brake kicks in, as SuperBabs can ably demonstrate:

The remainder of our time in Santa Elena was spent a little more sedately. A couple of days relaxing and enjoying the cooler mountain climate were more than welcome. We also visited another of the nearby parks, where there is a series of walkways constructed over the top of the cloud forest. While we didn't see a lot of wildlife, the area is really beautiful and gives a completely different perspective on the rainforest and appreciation for its massive size.

Above the cloud forest

After so long away from the beach, we decided it was time to make a return to the Pacific coast. A couple of bus trips later and we had crossed the country and arrived in Cahuita, a chilled out town near several beaches and a national park. It's an area that is particularly famous for the numbers of sloths, and we didn't have to wait long to see one. While having dinner at a bar that evening, we noticed a furry shape shimmying along the overhead telephone cable. Sure enough, our friendly neighbourhood sloth was venturing out for a late-night stroll, much to the amusement of passers by. Deciding that we wanted a better view, we set out for a walk through the national park the following day. The range of creatures on show was fantastic, but even more impressive was how close we could come without disturbing them. We seen several species of monkeys, chased a few agoutis and spotted a heron wading in the sea. The best of the lot was another sloth, which hung lazily from a branch just a few feet above the main park walkway. He didn't seem to mind our presence at all and only moved on after he'd cleared the branch of all its leaves.

Sloth

We had been warned off Costa Rica as a very expensive place, full of American tourists on organised tours and with little excitement. While it undoubtedly has a far greater number of visitors than elsewhere, it's still a fantastic country. It has some of the best scenery we have seen, exhilirating tours and magnificent wildlife, not to mention the higher standards of living. The slightly higher prices are well worth paying for all that. But best of all was the variety of what's on offer: it had stunning mountain ranges, pristine beaches and some of the most accessible wildlife we've found so far. We're so glad to have come here, not least because we now have the opportunity to make the short trip south to Panama, the last country on our trip.

Nicaragua

From Los Naranjos in Honduras to León in Nicaragua is around 450km. For us, this would be a mammoth day-long trek, beginning at 6am and taking in 5 buses, 2 taxis and a border crossing, before finally arriving at 7.30PM exhausted and hungry. After a good night's sleep, we set about exploring León. It's an interesting city and the guidebook description of 'faded grandeur' probably sums it up best. There are churches aplenty, many of them colourful and bright, but all of the buildings are in the early stages of decay, with crumbling plaster and flaking paintwork. After spending a morning wandering the streets, we are left with the sense that this was once a really beautiful city, but it's definitely in dire need of some work today.

Faded León

By far the best thing we did in Nicaragua was volcano boarding. It's a simple idea: take a wooden sledge, carry it up a volcano and slide it back down. What they don't tell you during the sales pitch is the searing heat during the 2-hour climb, the fact that the slope runs at a 41° angle and includes a vertical drop, or that it's made up of tiny volcanic rocks, which are liable to hurt you when you career off your sledge at high speed. Nevertheless, it was fantastic fun. Ali, despite a wipeout halfway down, clocked a respectable 35mph during his descent, while Babs quite possible broke the record for the slowest finish, though she blames that on a faulty board. Women drivers, eh? And to make the whole experience that little bit more exciting, there are drinking games throughout. In fact, one of Nicaragua's enduring lessons will be how to win a game of 'tip cup'.

Speed demon!

After a fairly action-packed day and night, we were in need of a little relaxation, so the following morning we hopped on a bus to Las Peñitas, a sleepy fishing village about an hour from León on the Pacific coast. It's a lovely little place with a small collection of bars and restaurants along the beachfront. We spent the day here sunbathing, relaxing in hammocks and collecting some of the shells scattered down the beach. After watching a stunning sunset from one of the bars, we caught the last bus back to León and went for one last meal before leaving the next day. We felt like treating ourselves a little, so went to a highly-recommended italian, which was absolutely amazing. Even Ali, who is as fussy as they come about italian food, was impressed. It was a great way to end our stay in León.

Las Peñitas

The following day we caught the 2-hour bus journey to Granada, another old city located further inland on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. Granada is a lot like León in terms of architecture and atmosphere, but here a lot of effort has been invested to restore a lot of the old buildings. The result is a much more impressive city, where lots of cafes, bars and restaurants are housed in grand colonial buildings. The best example we found is the aptly-named Garden Cafe. It's a great little place with a back courtyard of little tables and hammocks arranged around a lush garden. The sandwiches here were amazing too and, with a little library in another room, it's easy to see why we kept going back! Our hostel in Granada was a somewhat odd place. It had lots of good points, like a large kitchen, free PCs with internet and even a small pool to cool off in. But it also attracted more than a few weirdos, including one vet who claimed to have contracted almost every known disease and a young American with a fear of everything foreign (which begs the question, why come to Nicaragua?!).

Tip Cup carnage

After a few days of sightseeing and avoiding the weirdos, we decided to catch the weekly boat across Lake Nicaragua. The fact that this boat takes 14 hours to cross the lake should give you some sense of its size. It was a reasonably comfortable journey, punctuated by 2 unexpected events: first, the screening of a horror film about killer farmyard animals - it was a serious gore-fest, like The Evil Dead meets Emmerdale - and a little strange for an overnight ferry; second, the theft of our ipod cable after loaning it to another passenger to let him charge his ipod - it would mean $10 for a replacement but, more than that, left a poor impression of Nicaraguan honesty.

Granada

The ferry took us to San Carlos on the opposite side of the lake, but we waited only a couple of hours before catching another boat to our final destination, El Castillo, a tiny village 2 hours down the Rio San Juan from San Carlos. It's a tiny little place made up of one main street and an old Spanish fort on the hill overlooking the village. We only stayed one night here, mostly because we could see all the place had to offer within a few hours. We also had one of our 'lost in translation' moments when ordering a meal, which left us with a $17 bill for a whole chicken. The young girl serving clearly thought we were millionaires by ordering such an extravagant dish, though perhaps the presence of the family 'vampire-cat' during our meal was intended to make sure we didn't do a runner. We did have a lovely room overlooking the river though, where we spent the remainder of the evening on the balcony with a few beers, digesting the meat and the bill.

Vampire cat

The next morning we set off on the return journey up the Rio San Juan to San Carlos. We left in darkness and, as the light dawned, we were enveloped in a deep mist. It was errie to see trees, huts and small wooden jettys drift into focus and back out again as we motored by. Three hundred years before us, Horatio Nelson made a similar journey up the river to conquer the fort at El Castillo. Like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, it's easy to imagine his ship quietly sailing towards the unsuspecting village, shrouded in mist, before launching a surprise attack. Thankfully, our particular voyage was free from pirates and we reached safe harbour back in San Carlos. A quick and pleasant breakfast followed before we moved on to the dock, where we wait looking forward to the river crossing to Costa Rica.

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Bocas is a collection off islands off the north coast of Panama, jam-packed with pristine beaches and laid-back bars, and where the main mode of transport is by cheap water-taxis between the islands. We decided to stay on the biggest island, where we had the best choice of accommodation and food, and make day trips to the surrounding area. It was a great choice, as we realised later that we could reach any of the other islands by paying only a few dollars to a local fisherman.

Crossing the final frontier

One of the beaches we visited was on the other side of Bocas Island, only a short (and bumpy) bus ride away. We crammed in along with an amusing mix of locals, their shopping, schoolkids and a couple of fellow travellers, and arrived at the other side of the island around 40 minutes later. Starfish beach itself was another 30 minute walk away, along the mangrove coast where we later saw a stingray and lots of crabs running around our feet. When we arrived at the beach we realised why it was so popular: just a few feet from the shoreline there are loads of massive starfish clearly visible from the surface. So we stuck on our snorkel gear and lay on the water watching them slowly move across the seabed. The savvy locals have also set up a few food and drink stalls, which happily sell you ice cold beers. We’re confident there’s little better than laying in a warm sea under the sun with a nice cold beer (or two) in hand.

Squawk!

After a day of starfish gazing and beer drinking, we made the short trip back along the coast and hopped on the last bus back to town. We had already experienced a mediocre meal in the town so we were starting to wonder if Panamanian food wasn’t so great. In order to make a more informed choice tonight, we consulted TripAdvisor and found that there were a few very highly rated places. We chose one at the other side of town, and were not disappointed! Our food here was stunning. Ali’s Mahi Mahi fillet in a passion fruit sauce was to die for, but SuperBabs hit the jackpot with her Grouper fillet in a soy and ginger marinade and coconut rice. It may have been at this point that we fell in love with Panama! Most of our days here were spent laying on the beaches, swimming in the warm, calm sea, with the occasional cocktail to cool down.The highlight of the bars was a little place called Bocas Book Store, which is run by a crazy American and has one of the best set ups we've seen: a book shop in a bar with a ping pong table in the middle. With that mix of activties and plenty of local regulars, it was a great place to relax.

Our very own desert island

We had heard that the best beach was at a placed called ‘Red Frog’, named after the bright amphibian who makes the place his home. We jumped aboard a water taxi and made the 20min boat trip across to the other island. When we arrived at the dock, we noticed lots of soldiers with guns surrounding one of the boats. While talking to one of the Captains at the bar later, we heard that they had discovered cocaine on board and had it all stacked up on a crate on the dock earlier in the day. The beach itself was great and the bar had an all-day happy hour and a great band playing calypso and caribbean rythms. After indulging in some of the potent rum punch, we got the shoulder shaking on the go and tried to join the locals in their grooving. I'm pretty sure there were a few raised eyebrows at the sight of casper having an epileptic fit.

After returning to our own island, we felt like keeping the party going, so we decided to check out Ladies Night at Aqua Lounge. It's a great bar set over the water, full of swings and pools to dive into, as well as free drinks for all the ladies. We took special advantage of it as SuperBabs spent the evening ordering the drinks, which got stronger and stronger as the night went on (ending up with 3/4 rum to 1/4 juice). The result was carnage. To the extent that we believed Gangnam style had come to Panama, and riding imaginary horses was acceptable behaviour.
 

Water Taxi

After a fairly delicate next morning, we had just one thing left to plan: a snorkelling trip to [name of twin islands?], which are a stunningly picturesque pair of uninhabited islands at the outskirts of the Bocas archipelago. It took us around an hour to get there (and some good haggling) with one of the water taxi companies, who left us to explore for as long as we wished. We had brought some lunch, so we really felt like we had our very own desert island for a day. After our return, we had one final meal in Panama at a place we’d heard a lot about during our time here. ‘Bibi’s on the Beach’ pretty much does what it says: it’s a lovely little restaurant set over the beach and affords the best view of the sunset from anywhere in the Bocas. We arrived early to help the place get rid of their cocktails and stayed on for dinner. More great seafood followed, but the best was probably the ceviche with pineapple and passion fruit served with banana chips. Yum!

Bocas Islands perfection

We loved Panama. It was the ideal country to finish our travelling in, with the perfect mix of beach life, great food and nightlife. Ali even managed to get his ‘genuine Panama hat’ that he had been insisting on for weeks. While we only saw a small corner of the country, we are hooked and will definitely be back here to see more – maybe we’ll even start here on our next trip!

Utila & Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

"Keep out or you will be shot". While Hondurans are certainly welcoming people, there is an echo of truth in this ominous warning. From the delights of El Salvador we are heading north for Honduras. Our next destination are the Bay Islands, located off the north coast, but getting here means a 2-day journey with a stopover in Santa Rosa de Copan.

Welcome to Honduras

Santa Rosa may well be a nice little town. Unfortunately, our short stay here was overshadowed by some truly horrific accommodation. An infestation of giant cockroaches, bedsheets that were last washed in the 1970's and rats scratching at the room door during the night weren't even the worst of it. That honour was reserved for the bathroom. Truly reminiscent from common depictions of South American prisons, this was fascinating in its awfulness. What may well have been intended as a shower was instead a pipe sticking out of the wall, and the toilets bore a troubling similarity to the infamous scene from Trainspotting. If only we had had the release of heroin we might have actually slept during the night. Or at least blacked out enough to forget this nightmare. Instead, the light remained on and our eyes alert to fend off the onslaught of insects and rodents. We've never been so happy to have a 6am departure just to get out of this hellhole.

Pier at the bottom of our garden

Thankful for the 6 hour bus journey, we finally took the chance to get some sleep as we headed north to the coast. After a somewhat choppy ferry ride, we made it to Utila, one of the Bay Islands set in the Caribbean sea. Utila is famous as a dive spot and there are plenty of tours and guides offering guaranteed swimming with whale sharks . Unfortunately, there's little else to do on Utila outside of diving. We made several failed attempts to visit one of the small uninhabited islands off-shore, but we couldn't overcome the typical Central American mentality of, "the Captain might show up with his boat. Or he might not". We also made the trek across Utila to visit what was billed as the best beach, but, typically, it was locked. At this stage, we were beginning to suspect that Honduras had it in for us. In the end, most of our time here was spent snorkelling and swimming of the pier just a few yards from our room. We also enjoyed some great seafood, including barracuda steak and fresh grilled snapper.

Looking for sharks

A few days on Utila was enough for us to experience all it has to offer outside of diving, so we made our way back south to a lake about 3 hours from the capital. Lago de Yojoa is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by mist-wreathed hills and quaint villages. Our accommodation, D&D Brewery, was located on the outskirts of Los Naranjos and, as the name suggests, it specialises in brewing its own beer. It's a lovely little place with great food, very welcoming staff and hammocks arranged around a fire-pit for the cooler evenings. More than one evening was spent chilling out and sampling their amber ale and porter.

Watching the sunrise while waiting for the Captain

From Los Naranjos, we made the short journey to Pulhapanzak Falls, a series of waterfalls culminating in a 42m drop. While on our visit, we hired a local guide to show us a path leading behind the waterfall. However, we didn't fully realise what this would entail: jumping into the cascading pools and fighting against the tide to reach the other side, and lurching blind through the ferocious curtain of water falling from above. At more than one point we doubted whether we'd make it back alive, but the final view of the sunlit trees from behind the waterfall made it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, this particular time of our trip was one of 'lost and found'. While Babs left her hat on a bus and we miraculously boarded precisely the same bus 2 days later and found the hat on the same parcel shelf, our small camera didn't fare so well. It was last seen heading for the Honduran capital, but is now likely in the hands of some dirty thieving gypsy. It did leave a slightly sour taste in the mouth after enduring so much in the waterfall trek and having no pictures to show for it. So here´s one from Google for you:

We went behind it.

Overall, Honduras was an interesting place. We met some really friendly people and stayed in probably the best and worst accommodation so far. There were plenty of sights and some great food. But it just didn't have the same feel as El Salvador. Perhaps it's down to the larger number of tourists that Honduras receives each year, but it just didn't have the same vibrancy to make us want to stay longer. We're looking forward to Nicaragua next to see if it can claim the title of 'best country'.

El Tunco & Juayua, El Salvador

Our journey to El Salvador was one of the most straightforward of all our border crossings. The only drama occurred when one of our two fellow passengers, a Chinese girl named Liu, was denied entry at the immigration desk. After having proven herself useful with recommendations for accommodation at our destination, we felt a little guilty ditching her in no man's land between Guatemala and El Salvador. But the guilt quickly receded as we looked forward to arriving at Playa El Tunco, a sleepy surfing village on the Pacific coast.

El Tunco's surf

Our room in El Tunco was one of six in a lovely, local-run place complete with balcony, swimming pool and plenty of hammocks to relax on. Jose, the owner, is a surfing fanatic who lives in one of the 6 rooms and offers surfing lessons, which is the main pastime here. When we head down to the beach, it's easy to see why: the waves here are massive and, while the black-sand beach itself isn't the best, it's a great place to sit in one of the bars and watch the visitors and locals ride the waves.

Jose's place

There are several beaches along the Pacific coast of El Salvador, so we decide to visit one of the neighbouring villages and see if the beach is any better. Unfortunately, we wouldn't quite make it to the next village. Our walk along the beach was cut short thanks to the high tide and large waves crashing into the beach-head wall. Diverted up 10 flights of stairs to the road, we continue on only to be confronted by a rampaging cow down a lane. After a narrow escape, we find ourselves back on the beach, but we knew it wouldn't last. We soon come across a river leading out to sea that blocks our path. Defeated, and fearing any further plagues of locusts or frogs, we decide to make the trek back to El Tunco along the road.
 

Confronting the raging bull

The only other event of note during our time here is finding ourselves receiving a masterclass in brewing from a Californian who has opened what might be the smallest craft brewery in the world. This even extended to tasting the different types of barley used to create the different flavours of beer. Naturally, we also had to sample the corresponding beer, including one brewed entirely using wild yeast. The result of this experiment is a 'beer' of about 40% that tastes more like vinegar than ale. At least that's how we remember it... 

Learning how to make home brew

After a few relaxing days by the coast, we decide to make our way in-land to the town of Juayua. Our journey here is quiet and painless, in large part thanks to the generous offer of a ride from the beach to the capital with our host, Jose. Juayua is a small town set in the highlands of El Salvador. At an altitude of around 1,000m, it's a lot cooler here than on the coast.

Juayua central park

 Without a firm schedule when travelling, it's easy to find a place you like and stay a lot longer than you originally intended. Listening to stories from fellow travellers, this can extend to months or even years. Juayua is just such a place for us. While we only stayed a week here, it could easily have been a lot longer. Our accommodation was in the process of being sold by the current French-Austrian owners to the new English-Salvadorean owners, and while you might think this could impact on the quality of the place, the opposite was true. Everyone went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable and give us recommendations on the best places to visit.

Our accommodation in Juayua

The highlight in the town was definitely the food (as per!). We discovered a fabulous pupuseria where we spent a wholly unacceptable amount of time. They come with all sorts of fillings, but our favourite was definitely the local specialty of spinach, cheese and spices. This place was so good and at about 20p per pupusa we just kept coming back. Juayua is also famous for its food festival held every weekend. Dutifully, we made our visit and enjoyed great steak, giant prawns and chocolate-covered strawberries, all for less than a tenner. After a day of food tasting, we were sure we had earned a night out so made our way to the Cadejo Cafe, the heartbeat of Juayua's nightlife, where we spent the evening enjoying the local rum in the beautiful indoor-garden.

Inside the Cadejo Cafe

In an effort to burn off some of the calories, we decided to book up a local guide to take us on a tour of the surrounding countryside. This area is famous for its coffee plantations, which means lots of hills and even more waterfalls. Our guide clearly thought we wanted to visit all of them as he led us for 4 hours up and down hills and across streams. The best part was probably abseiling down the middle of one waterfall, which must have been at least 20m high. Tiring stuff, but no fear, we recovered with another visit to the pupuseria and another evening of fine food.

Abseiling down the waterfall

During our week here, we also spent a day visiting one of the neighbouring villages, Ataco, which is famous for its murals painted on most of the walls of the town. It's a fantastically bright and colourful place and we even chanced upon one of the local artists creating a new mural as we watched.

I hope he paints eyes on those kids...

We loved El Salvador. Everything about it was how we imagined Central America to be: a land of volcanoes and waterfalls framed by the ocean, with hugely friendly and welcoming people, delicious and interesting food and a place we could really experience something a little different.

Lago de Atitlán & Antigua, Guatemala

The next stop on our trip is Lago de Atitlán, a beautiful lake surrounded on all sides by 3 volcanoes and steep-sided cliffs. To get here, we have a long shuttle bus journey to the nearest city, Antigua, followed by our first shot on the infamous local ´chicken buses´. These legendary buses are already familiar from their former life as U.S. school buses. Here they have made some subtle changes, including painting them various psychadelic colours and adorning the windscreen with assorted rosary beads, religious medals and "Jesus loves you" stickers. The real shock comes when you board the bus and find it crammed to bursting. Picture a Tokyo subway train, with all manner of luggage, livestock and sweet-vendors thrown in. They are dirty, smelly, massively-polluting machines that run without schedules, stopping wherever someone sticks out a hand or shouts loud enough to be heard. They are also a fantastic experience, offering a glimpse of real Guatemalan life away from the tourist shuttle buses, and there is always at least one local keen to engage you in conversation on each journey.

Our luggage is on the roof. Seriously.

After 4 changes and plenty of bargaining over bus fares, we finally reach Panajachel, one of the many villages dotted around the shores of Lago de Atitlán. The village is a bit of a transport hub for the area but has great views across the lake and we find a nice room in a place run by the Guatemalan Mr Miyagi. Each village has its own individual character so we take the opportunity to make the short boat trip to San Pedro, another village across the lake. Unfortunately, like so often in Guatemala, it is again necessary to bargain over prices to minimise the amount of ´Gringo tax´ added to the ordinary fare. Negotiations completed, we set off and are soon exploring the quiet streets and markets. San Pedro has a far more mellowed atmosphere than Panajachel and it's easy to see why a lot of visitors head directly here. There are numerous cafes and restaurants to laze away an afternoon; instead we opt for the local market where we find ourselves among hordes of old local women pointing at pots of stews and sauces. Completely unaware of what we're doing, we mumble some pigeon-Spanish and gesticulate sufficiently to walk away with two plates of what may well be chicken. Or pork. Or vegetables. Regardless, for 40p each it tasted great!

The brown stuff is beans. We think.

After taking our fill, we make our way back to the pier for the return boat trip, lucky enough to catch a boat just about to depart. This being a Guatemalan mode of transport, things were never going to go smoothly. Unfortunately, our particular boat would not make it across: almost perfectly in the middle of the lake, the engine spluttered and died, leaving us drifting at the mercy of the waves. While initially unconcerned, our fears increased when the locals started grabbing life jackets and we quickly realised it would be one between two (if we were lucky). Thankfully, there would be no need to get wet, as another boat soon rescued us all and we continued on our way back.

Sunset over the lake

The following day we set off for one of the biggest markets in Guatemala, held twice a week in the nearby town of Chichicastenango. A riot of colour and noise, it´s famous for both its size and the variety of original Mayan crafts and outfits on offer. This is not only a tourist destination but also a living market for many local people, full of stalls selling all sorts of products, from fruit and veg to light bulb fittings. Picture a bigger and brighter ´barras in the sunshine and you´re halfway there. With a bit of inventive bargaining, we walk away with a pretty scary Mayan mask for just a few quid. After a day of bargaining, we return to Panajachel tired and hungry, so decide to visit our favourite food place, which sells only pupusas (small pancake-like packets of dough with a mix of cheese, beans and other fillings, originally from El Salvador). This place is great because the pupusas are hand-made, the owner always has the football on tv and the beer comes in litre bottles. What more can we ask for?

The food market at Chichi

After a few days relaxing by the lake, we move back to Antigua to spend the weekend. There's a lot going on just now because independence day is celebrated in a lot of the countries across Central America. In all the villages and towns we have visited, there have been parades, parties and celebrations, all leading up to this weekend. There is a party atmosphere as soon as we arrive in Antigua - marching bands make their way through the streets and groups of young people race around bearing flaming torches and singing. While we´re not completely certain of the significance (or safety) of running with flaming torches, they seem to be having fun and it all adds to the party atmosphere.

Don't run with scissors. Or flaming torches.

The highlight are the processions and parades on Saturday, when the streets are lined throughout the day and culminate in a street party in the evening. Not to be excluded, we happily join in, picking up a bottle of rum and some coke to get us in the spirit. Using traditional Polish measures, we set off plastic bottle in hand to join in the party and dance along to the bands. Inevitably, we find ourselves ending the evening on a park bench, surrounded by drunks and late-night revelers. That´s us: bringing the class of Glasgow to the streets of Guatemala.

Street party for independence day

The following morning, our hangovers receding (despite a 40 minute homily in Spanish), we see the city has been transformed and where there were masses of people the streets are now empty. Even without the crowds, Antigua is a fascinating place and we are happy exploring the cobbled streets, people-watching by the fountain in the main square and visiting a few of the churches and ruins dotted across the city. We also go on a trip to hike one of the volcanoes surrounding the city. Despite an eruption at a neighbouring volcano the day before, we're assured it's completely safe. After a fairly easy climb, we can see the crater at the top and spend half an hour roasting marshmallows over the steam vents. The ideal way to relax and unwind after the festivities, and to end our time in Guatemala.

Roasting marshmallows in a volcano

All together, Guatemala has been a place of contradictions. Stunning landscape, colourful fiestas and an interesting indigenous culture were tempered by mediocre food and a widespread desire to extract as many Quetzales (the Guatemalan currency) from tourists as possible. Despite this, we're really glad we came here. Tomorrow we move on to El Salvador and look forward to our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean...

Flores & Lanquin, Guatemala

"Very good price, Señor!". With these familiar words, we are greeted at the bus station in Belize city; our destination is the Guatemalan border and we have not even stepped out of the taxi. It is a sad fact that travelling breeds cynicism. Often it is warranted, as you will soon read. In this case, however, we have struck gold. Here we find ourselves being offered a taxi direct to the border for the same price as we would otherwise have paid for a long, hot, sweaty bus journey. Quickly accepting the offer, we are whisked to the border in comfort and much quicker than expected. A simple border crossing leads to a minivan waiting to take us to Flores, a picturesque town located on a small hill in the middle of a lake.

Mayan ruins at Tikal

Flores is one of the main towns in this part of Guatemala and a major tourist destination, thanks in part to its proximity to the Mayan ruins at nearby Tikal. It is on arrival in Flores that we first experience the infamous ´coyote´, a seemingly friendly English-speaking local who makes great offers of tours and onward travel with promises of discount rates. Needless to say, these offers are massively inflated prices and attempt to take advantage of newcomers´ lack of knowledge. Thankfully, we have received advance warning of these ´coyotes´, which we are convinced translates into Scots as ´bastards´, and kindly decline his generous offers.

Sitting atop the highest temple

Disaster averted, we set about making our acquaintance with Flores, exploring its cobblestone streets and visiting its lakeside cafes. We also arrange our tour of the Mayan ruins at Tikal, which, despite a 4am departure, proves to be a great trip. We saw tarantulas, monkeys, toucans and parrots, as well as the magnificent Mayan ruins buried deep within the rainforest. We are able to climb to the top of the highest temple in the complex and see the entire maze of ruins laid out before us, with the tops of the highest temples peeking out above the top of the trees. A particular highlight of the tour was witnessing several spider monkeys leaping between the trees above us.

Diving spider monkey

After the early morning rise and the long tour in the humid rainforest, we both feel like a little comfort food, so decide to try a local pizzeria. The aptly-named Pizza Vesuvius could only lead to one end, as we later compete for shots on the throne. Thankfully the eruptions have abated by the time we board our shuttle bus the next morning, which see us head south to the small village of Lanquin, perched high in the Guatemalan highlands. Despite a couple of hiccups (including the entire bus being emptied to allow the driver to wash his bus at a petrol station, and two passengers being asked to sit on what were effectively deckchairs in the aisle of the bus for the entire 9-hour journey), we finally arrive at our destination.

Zephyr Lodge

Lanquin is a shit hole, let´s not pretend. It has nothing to offer visitors (unless you like being ripped off and choking on diesel fumes) except a very short journey to Semuc Champey. Here, however, you will find some of the most dramatic scenery in the country, where natural limestone pools cascade gently above a violent underground river. It´s a stunning location that can only be reached by truck or similar 4x4-equipped vehicle. Predictably, the insane Guatemalan transport situation continues, as we all stand upright hanging on to the back of a pickup truck for the next 45 minutes. After a bumpy ride, we are greeted by awesome views and spend a day exploring the area, climbing the surrounding cliffs and swimming in the cool, clear pools.

The pools of Semuc Champey

Our accommodation in the outskirts of Lanquin, the Zephyr Lodge, was also excellent - great food, great people and great views across the surrounding valleys. The staff at Zephyr can arrange tours and travel around this part of Guatemala, so we choose to spend an afternoon on a tubing trip. This is a simple concept, where you take the inner tube from a tractor tyre, sit in it and allow the current to guide you down the river. Simple, no doubt, yet made a little more interesting by overhanging branches, river rapids and razor-sharp rocks. And of course, the obligatory beer drinking throughout. All capped off by jumping into the river from a tree 10m above. Aptly summed up by Babs as "crazy shit". Great fun mind.

Guatemalan breakfast

We could easily have spent a lot longer in this part of the country, exploring further and relaxing in the comfort of the Zephyr Lodge. But we have more places to visit and will soon be heading south to see more of Guatemala...

Caye Caulker, Belize

When we last left you, dear readers, we were waiting at the port for our trip to Belize. We soon boarded our vessel and crossed the border by speedboat, ably ushered by Belize's answer to Graham Norton. Though he took on a slightly creepier persona when he began offering us his homemade cookies... Our destination was Caye Caulker, one in a long chain of islands that stretch the length of the Belizean coastline.

Beautiful Belize

The sights, sounds and smells of Caye Caulker are dramatically different from Tulum and Mexico. Gone were the paved roads, traffic and Spanish; instead replaced by sandy lanes, golf buggies and barefoot rastas speaking a mix of English and Creole (which sounds mostly like Pirate). At one point Babs was even convinced she saw Jack Sparrow. The pace here is seriously slow, with reports of locals actually telling new arrivals, "slow down - you're walking too fast".



Local bar for local people

After finding a room and freshening up, we set off for our first Belizean culinary experience - and we would not be disappointed. The food in Caye Caulker is truly exceptional, with most restaurants offering fresh lobster for as little as six or seven pounds, as well as lots of other tasty seafood. The highlight was definitely a coconut lobster curry from 'The Budget Man', a street-vendor originally from New York who has retained his Bronx accent and seems to know everyone on the Island thanks to his cries of, "the Budget Man is here!".

Delicious barbequed lobster

Unfortunately we would soon discover that we were not alone in our room, and Ali's bravery would once again be put to the test. This time his opponent was a cockroach so big it really should have been paying for its own room. This would be a test of nerves and of the sturdiness of the sole of Babs' Toms. But there would be only one victor, and the bath would bear the scars of the assault. Despite a hiccup where the 8-legged beast played dead for a few minutes, the job was finished off in style with a full-force wallop that left no doubt over the monster's death. Satisfied with his efforts, Ali quickly appointed Babs undertaker and retreated to the safety of the bedroom while she disposed of the body.

Celebrating the victory!

The following day saw one of the highlights of our trip so far: a sunset and stargazing cruise, with unlimited rum punch and some delicious nachos with a spicy pico de gallo. The sunset from the sailboat was impressive, but the stars were unbelievable. We could see all the constellations and the milky way galazy cutting across the entire sky. As we lay back on the deck of the boat in the balmy evening air, the only sound was the lapping of the water against the sides of the boat and the only sight the millions of stars above. Pure bliss.

Gorgeous sunset

We had pre-booked a snorkelling trip for the next day so we set off the next morning with 2 others to the coral reef that runs the lenth of the country. This was the best snorkelling either of us has ever done. We saw countless fish, swam with turtles, touched the slimy skin of a stingray and even stroked the side of a nurse shark (which is a lot like sandpaper). The coral itself is magnificent, with all sorts of shapes and colours on display.

Relaxing at the Split

After our return, we made our way to the Split, which is a narrow channel cut midway through the Island by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. Here there is the most popular bar on the Island that fills up with a mix of locals (pirates) and visitors to watch the sunset while sipping on a cold beer. This was the perfect way to end our stay in Caye Caulker and our time in Belize. Tomorrow we will set off for Guatemala and the 3rd country of our trip...

Tulum, Mexico

The prologue to our travels. A holiday before the backpacker economy. And what better place to take that holiday. Tulum is a place of azure sea, white sand fringed with coconut-laden palm trees and a 'vibe' so mellow you could lose months rhythmically drifting away on its beach-front hammocks.

Tulum's perfect beach

Our advance planning included the only accommodation booking of our trip - a four night stay at Ahau Tulum, perfectly situated on the Caribbean coast. Despite its picture-perfect location, development has come slowly to the Tulum coastline, perhaps due to its distance from its more famous neighbour Cancun, or nearby party-town Playa del Carmen. Rather than high-end resorts, hotels here offer individual wooden cabañas, spaciously lined up along the beach, each offering a mix of luxury or more basic rooms. Ahau is no exception, where our Guest House provided the ideal place to unwind, relax and melt into the 'mañana' culture.

Hammock time, pre-crab assault

Our days here would be spent reclining on the beach, cooling off with dips in the sea and enjoying the best Mexico has to offer. And that best was certainly the food - it may have become famous the world over, but it's at its best at home. Highlights included the best (and biggest) plate of nachos either of us has ever tasted, extremely filling and often unusual breakfasts (which at times included mashed potato and spicy carrots) and the classic burritos and fajitas. It's no wonder you will struggle to find a skinny Mexican.

Tastiest nachos ever. Fact.

The most dramatic event of these days would come one evening while sharing a romantic moment in a hammock, gazing at the countless stars above. Whether our heat or scent was the culprit, a local crab decided to investigate our presence and began to meander in our direction. Certain that our crustacean friend would not come more than a few feet from us, we watched his sideways crawl and beady eyes with interest. Fascination was soon replaced by terror, as our friend, increasingly resembling a mythical and deadly scorpion in our imagination, sauntered straight under our hammock and paused, claws raised, beneath us. Ali, a gentleman to the end, kindly offered Babs the door first and convinced her to jump out. Unfortunately, it transpired that this particular crab was not intimidated by Babs' presence and remained poised to strike beneath Ali, unperturbed by his screams of Scottish profanities. Deciding he would go down fighting, Ali closed his eyes, said a prayer and rolled out onto the sand. As may be expected, our friend scuttled off down the beach, taking with him Ali's last shred of pride, and accompanied by Babs' laughs of ridicule.

Despite the evening drama, our time was largely filled with inactivity, leaving Sunday as our day to explore. Renting bikes for the day, we set off in the sweltering heat for Tulum-town, set 8km inland from the coast. Our first stop was the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe for morning mass. A bright and noisy celebration, it was remarkable for both the number of young people and children yet its devotion and reverence. Tulum-town itself has little to offer visitors other than a gateway to the coast and nearby Mayan ruins. However, watersports can be arranged at Mot-Mot Diving, and we can reliably confirm that the Mot-Mot Cafe nextdoor offers delightful muffins. 

For all your diving needs...

Under the early-afternoon sun, the heat was even more intense for our return cycle, not aided by Babs' attempts to break the land speed record. Finally arriving back at Ahau, Ali remarked that he hadn't sweat that much since Mr Noble last gave him a good rodgering with a squash raquet. A cold shower has never been so welcome. The remainder of our day was spent lounging by the sea and preparing for our departure to Belize the following day. However, we still afforded ourselves one last indulgence with a delicious meal at the Mexican Grill, washed down with some Coco-Loco (the ingenious addition of rum and coconut).

2 for 1 Coco-Loco

Writing this while waiting at the port for our boat to Belize, we are serenaded with love ballads from the cafe radio, including classics by George Michael and Sinead O'Connor. I am left wondering if our next destination will grip us in the same way as Mexico? Or if "Nothing Compares 2 U" will be this country's most fitting epitaph.