Belize came and went, I actually only spent 2 nights there on a small island called Caye Caulker just off the north east coast in the Caribbean. I managed to time my Belize trip to coincide with some pretty stormy weather and there really wasn't much to do other than dive & snorkel. However due to the bad weather they weren't taking boats out so I didn't hang around.

I then headed east into northern Guatemala to a town called Flores. It's situated on an island in a smallish lake and the major attraction there is Tikal, a former Mayan city deep in the rainforest. We got up at 4am to get to the ruins for sunrise, which was pointless as a) they don't open until 6am, a little after sunrise and b) it was cloudy so the sunrise wasn't visible anyway! The ruins were impressive although I fear I've become a little weary of seeing amazing pyramids and temples that were built thousands of years ago. I preferred the walk through the rainforest and the wildlife, plants and trees that we saw. That afternoon we cooled off by swimming in the lake back at Flores and did at least get to see the sunset.

Next stop was a village called Lanquin, 11km down a track, and to a great hostel perched on top of a hill looking down the valley. The outer wall to the shower was only waist high so you could enjoy the spectacular views even whist getting clean. Here we went tubing - sitting in a large inflatable tube & floating down the river and also went to the highlight of my trip so far, Semuc Champey. We arrived after half an hour standing up on the back of a pick up, and started the day here by diving off a rope swing into the river. We were then given candles by our adrenalin junkie guide who then took us on our caving trip. We walked, waded & swam (one armed!) through the caves until we reached an underground waterfall, up which we climbed whilst trying to keep hold of the lit candle. Not for the faint hearted, but brilliant never the less, and somehow we all made it out without serious injury - no helmets/buoyancy aids/disclaimers in sight here! We then walked up to a mirador to look down on the natural beauty spot that is Semuc Champey. The gushing river flows underground for a couple of hundred meters, and above it sits a limestone bridge which holds pools of mountain water. We jumped and dived from pool to pool, and in fact off almost every ledge, rock or tree that overhung deep water.

Time to move on again, and there were 9 of us who got the shuttle bus, originally intending on getting out at Antigua, but en route, decided that we should carry on for another couple of hours to Lake Atitlan. After 12 hours of travelling we arrived to a very damp San Pedro, one of the towns dotted around the lake and found a hostel that had room for all 9 of us. We found out to our digust when we climbed into bed that we seemed to have checked into San Pedro's party hostel. We should have realised this earlier when we were greeted by a fellow guest at the hostel who was a drunk British guy wearing a skirt that this was going to be far from the idyllic hostel in the mountains we'd just left. When the bars shut at 11, it seemed like the party carried on at our place, not really what any of us wanted after getting up at 5.30am and travelling all day. We tried to make the most of San Pedro, but it rained, often torrentially, for most of our stay there, which meant that the 2 volcanoes next to the lake were barely visible. We did get chance to take kayaks out on the lake in between cloud bursts which was great and spent our second night in a different hostel where, guess what, there was another party going on! So after having such high expectations for Lake Atitlan, I felt quite deflated about it and was excited to leave to go back to Antigua. Well I was until we realised that they'd overbooked the bus and there was 1 person too many, the poor lads on the back seat had to squeeze an extra person on for the first hour of the journey until we dropped someone off.

Having escaped San Pedro, Antigua is like a breath of fresh air. The guy at the hostel immediately brought us fresh towels, there was an abundance of hot water and with reasonable pressure, shower gel dispenser in the shower AND there was nobody partying outside our dorm until the early hours. We had a salsa class here in Antigua which confirmed beyond doubt that I was not blessed with any kind of latin rhythm, but was good fun anyway. Most of the people who'd gone to the free class were out in the same bar that evening, and even fuelled by a few Cuba Libres, it was the blind leading the blind as we tried to put our steps into practice.

To give a liitle context to the trip so far, I should point out that whilst I am having so many great experiences and seeing some amazing places, travelling also has it's downsides. You have the same conversation over and over again when you meet new people, where you're from, how long you've been travelling, where you've been, where you're going, what you do back home etc etc. Whilst my friends at home often talk of their children's nappies and potty training progress, there's lots of toilet talk here, solid poos are something to be celebrated! I know that I will remain friends with some of the people I come across here long after we've parted, but most people are transient acquaintances and won't be part of my life for very long which makes me miss my friends and family at home all the more. You get dressed/undressed in front of whoever else is in the dorm, where's Grandma Bert's changing tent when you need it?! But that's all part of it, and it certainly makes me appreciate the home comforts that I will have on my return.

Four weeks in and about to move onto Honduras my third country, it's flying by already, I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in, but I'll do my very best!