Day 84
Today we crossed the border from Guatemala into Mexico by foot, without the aid of a nice bus company who do the paperwork for you. Its amazing how much more confident we both feel. Trying to embark on such a thing 2 months ago would probably have caused a heart attack!
Staying the night in [...]
Day 83
After leaving Lago de Atitlan we travelled on to Quetzaltenango, or ´Xela´as it is known locally, from where we would make our connection to Mexico. Our most memorable day in this city involved a visit to the local museum. The guidebook had noted that it contained some ´curiosities´and that it was an eclectic mismash [...]
Day 76
As we arrived at Lago de Atitlan we were told again, by about the 8th person, that we really must not miss the cross dressing party at La Iguana Perdida (the Lost Iguana). We had been told they had an entire dressing up room, and given how much we both love fancy dress this [...]
Day 75
Since leaving Tikal we have been traveling though the Guatemalan highlands. The lands are beautiful, full of indigenous life and tradition, and rarely traveled by tourists. Before leaving I hadn’t really thought we were intrepid, but after yesterday when we undertook the most grueling trip so far squeezed in the back of minivans and [...]
Day 69
After leaving Antigua we embarked on a series of long voyages to visit the northern parts of Guatemala, including the Rio Dulce and Tikal, one of the major ancient Mayan cities, set deep in the jungle. Both places were spectacular, Rio Dulce because we rented a beautiful private riverside cabin, for about $12 a [...]
Day 64
Against all odds we managed to find accommodation in Antigua, during Semanta Santa. Antigua is one of the places where Semanta Santa (Easter week) is celebrated most fervently in Central America. There are numerous processions each day, usually involving an huge effigy of Christ and the Virgin Mary paraded through the streets. The effigy [...]
Day 62
Today we climbed an active volcano, and saw lots of lava and exciting stuff. This however was not the most eventful part of the day. On our way home in our tour minibus we were involved in a 7 car pileup. Our driver unfortunately was the cause of the accident and it transpired later [...]
Day 54
After a few days in Granada we decided we would try to make it to Antigua, Guatemala for Semanta Santa. The most straightforward, and reasonably cheap way, was to take a Tica Bus from Granada, all the way to Guatemala City. This took 1 day and a half, including an overnight stop in San [...]
Day 52
We were told several times by the locals, when you go to Ometepe, make sure you take the ferry, as the smaller boats are less safe and the sea is very choppy. Having arrived at the ferry terminal very pleased with ourselves as our improved competence in Spanish meant we travelled with the locals [...]
Day 49
It has just occurred to us that we are almost one third of the way through the trip. This neatly coincides with the conclusion of our week long Spanish course (very arduous, especially when you have got used to not doing very much at all in life!). Jo and I are both now much [...]