[JODIE] Hi everyone!

After lots of organising and talk of travelling, we are finally here. It was all a bit of a whirlwind before we left and even now it feels to me like we're just on a holiday, it hasn't sunk on that we are doing this for 5 months! So far I've found it surprisingly easy to settle into. Even living out of a bag is ok...for the moment.

We're in Granada in Nicaragua at the moment - arrived yesterday after a massive 2 days of travelling with 1 boat, 4 buses, 1 microbus and about 8 taxis, plus a nights stay in the capital which was very dodgy. So we're planning on staying in Granada for a few days. It is lovely here, beautiful painted buildings, bustling market, chilled out main square, great for people watching. Very hot, which is nice but also exhasting to walk around in.

We started our trip in Antigua in Guatemala - a lovely, if a little touristy town, with different coloured buildings, cobbled streets and women wearing beautiful fabcis. Then headed across to Copan to see some Mayan ruins and did a trip with some horseriding and visited a coffee plantation. Then on to Roatan - a beautiful tropical island with powdery white beaches and clear blue seas...of course we didn't see any of that coz it rained, but did manage to do some diving and hired kayaks when the weather cleared up which was brilliant fun. Then to here.

Central America itself is much as I remember it, although a bit more developed. The one main difference from home is that there are men with guns...everywhere. They are by the bank, the bus station, the DIY shop, even the corner shop, it is almost comical as most I'm sure are just for show and don't look like they've fired one in there life. Pretty quickly you get surprisingly used to it, but underlying is the realisation that they must have guns for a reason. When you start to read about the history of some of these countries and the amount of times the government has been overthrown, it is not surprising really. Saying that, we've felt really safe here and haven't heard of any trouble with anyone we've met.

In terms of transport, we've found it easy to find out what we have to do, it just isn't that easy when you come to do it! Nothing is direct and getting around is a slow business, but it is great to see the countryside and overall the travelling part has been quite enjoyable. Food is pretty easy - of course there are lots of burritos etc. but there is also lots of chicken, steak, pizza etc. It isn't like in Indonesia where all you can eat is rice!

So that's all for the moment. We're hoping to upload some pictures soon (local technology permitting). Would you great to hear what you've been up to.

Jodie x