It didn't take long for things to start getting interesting after leaving Antigua. I'd only been on the chicken bus for 40 minutes before realising I'd left my passport under my mattress in Antigua (ironically enough to keep it safe.) Things started looking up however when I reached Panajachel, one of the many villages surrounding lake Atitlan, which has been described as the most beautiful lakes in the world. In my limited experience I'd have to agree, though ...

Antigua is utterly out of place in Guatemala. The city looks like a pretty European town that has Bern picked up and airlifted to Central America. The dirty, cracked streets I'd grown accustomed to were replaced with cobblestones and the dodgy fly-infested cafes were replaced with swanky bagel joints. The best thing about Antigua though was the fact that it was surrounded by 3 very impressive volcanoes which were visible from anywhere in the city. After the n...

The journey from Flores to Semuc Champey looks pretty straight forward on a map but 4 chicken buses, 1 boat and a trip on the back of a pickup truck later we realized that wasn't the case. Chicken buses are American school buses, given to Guatemala as aid, each one painted and decorated with unique motifs involving mermaids, skulls, spears and anything else the driver considers fit and appropriate for public transport.  It is hard to explain just how exhausting...

The border crossing into Guatemala was painless, something that certainly cannot be said about the Guatemalan buses which threw you up in the air every 100 yards or so. It wasn't too long at least before we pitched up in Flores, though it took a good few hours to get full feeling back in my ass. We found a decent looking hotel looking over the lake so wandered in only to find Blake and Wei-Lein from Playa and Caye Caulker making their dinner. By this time I'm ...