Flores is a beautiful little town on an island in Lago de Peten Itza. You have to cross over a 50m causeway from the mainland to get there. Our hostel was facing the lake and had great views especially of the amazing sunset. We were able to swim in the lake. It was so refreshing. Access was from a pier and it was amazing to see the local kids ding somersaults and back flips into the water. I was a real wuss and it took me a couple of days building up the nerve to actually jump from the pier with a lot of encouragement from Alana. She really should be a life coach. So yes I did it. I jumped off a pier, 3m down into the water and it was great. I did it again and again and again. There was no stopping me once I had overcome the fear.

Our first night there we had tea in a restaurant overlooking the lake. We sat there eating pasta and supping cocktails. It was bliss. Then finished the night with a close game of '500'. I did really well - won 2 games of 10 tricks and even managed a 'mesier'!!!! If you know 500, you will know this is pretty impressive. This game is addictive. Played till past midnight despite a 4am start in the morning. Definitely burning both end of the candle on this tour but more importantly having the time of my life.

Why the early start? Tikal ruins. This had been a large Mayan city and now ruins are scattered deep in the jungle. It is surrounded by wildlife - Howler monkeys, Spider monkeys, Toucans, Parrots, and many others. The temples are huge and you can climb up them and look across the top of the jungle to see all the other temples poking through the canopy and the birds flying high above. One of the temples had a real steep climb. It was really great - just a shame that everyone seemed to go really slowly. You can only overtake so many times! At the top, I sat on the edge with my legs dangling looking at the steep drop. I felt a rush of adrenaline. Amazing. We wandered deeper into the jungle and turned the corner into a massive square of ruins. It was jaw dropping. We were able to wander aimlessly around these ruins. On the way back everyone fell asleep apart from me and the driver (well |I think he was it sometimes hard to tell with the way they drive)!. I had a great time, window down, head and arm out and ipod shuffle on. Doesn't get better than this.