Up early for the transfer that was supposed to leave at 7.30 but, as with all early shuttles, instead left closer to 8.00 depriving me of an extra bit of sleep.

The first bus took us to the border where we changed our money again (this time for one with QE2s head on!) and then it was just a short trip to the town of San Ignacio. I was very glad that i was not going all the way to Cancun as the bus was really not that comfy and the promised wifi did not connect.

Checking in to Old House I had a chilled afternoon having a good lunch and buying fresh fruit and veg from the market for my breakfast and dinner. The hostel actually had a kitchen and no bar so we could cook our own food and drink our own beer - a refreshing change after the hostels in Guatemala.

Chatting with one of the girls in the hostel we came up with a plan for the following day - iguanas, ruins and tubing. The next day we strolled up the hill in time for the 9am tour of the iguana sanctuary in the local resort hotel. They look after the iguanas until they reach 5-6 years old and have a better chance of survival. There were a lot of them and we got to feed them leaves and I got to hold two of them - the first one made a runner before we could get any decent photos. The other two on the tour were not so keen on the up close and personal.

After this Diane and I walked up the steep hill to the ruins of Cahel Pech - a Mayan site which was occupied long before and after the likes of Tikal. It was a small site on te hill and lovely and quiet. We were able to wander around and over the ruins and commune with the spirits of the past. There was a team excavating an alley for a month - although they probably wished they were on the neighbouring site of Xuntinich where the largest Mayan tomb in Belize was discovered the same day.

We headed back down hill for lunch before getting out to the hostel in Bullet Tree which rent4ed out inner tubes for a jaunt down the river. They gave us the instructions and we headed off for a very hot and much longer walk than we imagined so we were very glad to get into the water. The ride was very gentle except one patch where there was a tube shoot to avoid some rapids. We were lucky when we got back as the hotel owner was heading back into town so gave us a lift back.

I went with Diane to catch her bus to Belize city so I would know what to expect the next day then strolled around the town again. It had a very different feel to Guatemala only an hour down the road. People seemed happier and the Kriolle vibe was strong - the language there was a strange mix of English, Kriolle and Spanish. All the food shops seemed to be run by Chinese - adding another language into the mix! After this I headed back to the hostel for another home-cooked meal and packed for the trip the next day.