After a 17 hour shuttle across Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala we safely arrived in Antigua; another colonial Latin American city very similar to Cusco among others. Similar to a lot of the cities we have visited there wasn't much to do although it is a well known destination to learn Spanish. We stayed in Antigua for 3 days, most of which was spent experiencing the nightlife before we headed off to San Pedro on Lake Atitlan.
Unfortunately for Doug, this travel day was spent with another hangover which resulted in him feeling rather queasy on the bus and subsequently reliving the Caesar salad he ate just before departure. Lake Atitlan is well known for its natural beauty and we arrived with the hope of Paragliding over it (one of Lonely Planet's Central American highlights); however for the three days we were there the wind was too strong so we had to settle for a day of kayaking on the lake.
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| Stylish Hat I Know |
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| Not Bad |
After Lake Atitlan we headed up to Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin for Australia Day and hopefully to tube down a river and partake in some caving. We arrived there late on Friday, which due to the time difference was just before the Hottest 100 was due to start. The large contingent of Aussies meant that the hostel had agreed to live stream the countdown which was a huge relief for everyone. The remote location meant that the stream somewhat went in and out however at song 76 the manager decided that he didn't like the music and instead put on a Festive 50...not a good idea with a group of drunk Aussies. A few people left the hostel there and then whilst many others let their feelings be known thus upholding the Australian stereotype on our national day!
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| The View From Zephyr |
The following day was spent lounging around in spectacular scenery and generally taking it easy in preparation for the Semuc Champey tour the following day. The tour itself consisted of 90 minutes caving by candlelight followed by a visit to numerous pools with various jumps and slides. It was an amazing day and a must-do for anyone who visits Guatemala.
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| Caving By Candlelight |
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| Semuc Champey Lookout |
After our enjoyable three days in Lanquin we headed up to Flores with the main purpose to visit the Tikal Ruins. It is a major Mayan site and thousands of people gathered there in December to witness "The End of the World". Unfortunately even though we managed to wake up at 2:30 so that we could see the sunrise, the weather didn't keep its part of the bargain so similar to Machu Picchu we were left with a beautiful view of the morning clouds.
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| Mayan Dancing Platform |
We spent the majority of the rest of our time in Flores relaxing at the hostel however we also managed to visit a zoo which had numerous water slides and then later that day a rope swing from where we could get a good view of the sunset.
Flores was our final stop in Guatemala which was definitely one of my favourite countries in Central America. After Flores we headed up to Caye Caulker in Belize due to numerous good reviews from fellow travellers and a desire to explore some of its world famous marine life.
I went to Belize with the intention of diving the Blue Hole, however the high cost and my lack of Scuba experience meant that in the end I decided not to go on the dive however we did go on a snorkeling tour which enabled us to swim with Sting Rays and Reef Sharks.
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| Scary Stuff |
Apart from the day tour the poor weather rather limited our options for activities on Caye Caulker and meant that we left there a few days earlier than we had planned. On a positive note we did manage to have a lobster and crab claw dinner for $6 and to see one Belizean Sunset.
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| My First Lobster |
We are now in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and have just under a week before we head to Miami to meet up with Harry and Will. My next update will come from somewhere in the US outlining all of the havoc we have caused so far in Mexico and hopefully a few final highlights from Latin America.
