Greatemala…..

We leave early Friday morning & get the boat back to Belize City, then wait around for the bus to Flores

On the boat I felt really sorry for this dude who had severe run's & whose new mates decided to shout it out to everyone on the boat as he had to go. Bear in mind this is a really small speed boat & we are 5mins from docking anyway, the poor lad literally sprinted off as soon as he could reach his leg onto dry land! It was slightly amusing though….

The bus journey was a mixture of sleeping & the mayhem of crossing the border. We'd been warned before that Guatemala were now charging an entrance fee, which they shouldn't, so we were thinking about putting up a fight to see what happens, or just giving them some loose change in the hope they'd let us through. It turns out we had to pay to leave (37.50 Belize Dollars) & then pay 20Q's to enter Guatemala (we were told 10), funnily we paid to enter but they didn't even check so we could have just winged it anyway!

It's a long journey but fine & I have to say so far I really like Guatemala. We arrive in Flores & check into Los Amigo Hostel which is amazing. It's beautiful with candles, hammocks & friendly people all chilling out before their early rises to get to Tikal. We book Tikal for 6am start, rather than the 4.30am that everyone else seems to do & then head to a restaurant called Villa De Chef on the lake. The food is spectacular here, probably my best meal of the trip so far, the views don't go amiss either! I'm actually sad to be leaving Flores after just one day but go to bed happy & satisfied.

The next morning my phone dies, meaning no alarm, but luckily I wake at 4.30am to others getting ready to leave, so rather than risk going back to sleep I get a shower & get ready for the long walk around Tikal. Tikal is definitely worth a visit, the walking through jungle with monkeys is cool & climbing up the buildings even more fun, highlight of Tikal has to be going to Temple IV, the highest, & climbing to the top to the most spectacular views I've ever seen. It was like there was no civilization, just lush green jungle as far as the eye can see!

They expect you to spend 7 hours here but TBH you only need about 4 hours (a lot of walking), so we were done pretty soon & the boys decided to challenge some older Guatemala men to a football match haha, class! Really nice sitting watching them all play in ridiculous heat & the Irish were dark horses & were actually really good!

Once back, myself & Rich decide to grab a Tuk Tuk to Santa Elana nearby for a Farmacia to get some Malaria tablets etc. I get on & say Farmacia - Blank look - Farmacia? Yes Farmacia - Blank look. I look at Rich concerned as ALL the Pharmacies here have Farmacia ABOVE the doors, it's the name of the shops! Tuk tuk man takes us to a Travel Agent where they talk English….'Farmacia?' I say….-Blank look- I can't do anything but laugh…eventually she gets what I mean & explains it to our tuk tuk friend. He takes us there & they speak NO English whatsoever, this is when I really wish I had learnt some basic Spanish…We leave with 2 throat lozengers for Rich & some steroid cream for my alien knee bite thing (now you shouldn't put steroid cream on open wounds but hey I had to leave with something after all this effort). 20 Q's wasted & we head back to the Hostel for our night bus to Antigua.

The night bus was 9 hours of pure hell. We're on a Luxury bus for the price of a 2nd class, so we're thinking this is going to be proper bosh. The seats are cool & reclining but they shafted us out of a lunch, which they promised, so we kicked up a bit of a fuss & the Guatemalans next to us most have got fed up as they gave us their kids sandwiches instead…I kid, I kid…they gave us their sandwiches as they apparently weren't hungry (which I then didn't eat & left on the bus anyway). The bus ride in itself was mental, the driver was driving like he was p*ssed off he didn't make it into the A Team or something. The top deck was swaying side to side & every 20mins I was waking up because I was sliding off the seat from going round corners so fast.

We finally arrive in Guatemala City to swap to a shuttle for Antigua, it's about 5am & I've just been woken by a Guatemala family (my head back, mouth wide open) & we're shoved out into the freezing cold to wait for our shuttle, ok ok it isn't as cold as England, I know, I know, but still it WAS cold for me :)

The shuttle isn't much more comfortable but a short time later we arrive in Antigua at Jungle Party Hostel. This place is nice! it's got poofs (the beanbags), a rustic feel & huge beds for £7.50 a night. This also includes a HUGE breakfast the next morning worth £3.80, bargain!

Antigua is lovely. It's mainly cobbled stones and old buildings painted colourful. They have things like Burger king here & Subway but it's all very discreet & the stores are inside old colonial style buildings, making the whole town very classy & unique. Things are more expensive here & in other areas of Guatemala you can get a room for as little as £2 a night, here it averages about £6…the food is more expensive & dinner ranges from £4 - £15. I really liked Antigua but I was happy with the full day there plus till 12.30 today (Monday). We got to go out last night & ended u p in an Irish Bar, had a few giggles & an early night (with a weird obsession for chocolate bears going around the Dorm room later on!).

Today I booked to come to San Pedro La Laguna, which is on Lake Atitian. I said a sad farewell to the Irish & English lads who were heading onto El Salvador & I got on the shuttle for a 5 hour ride of also scary proportions. I swear they all drive like nutters out here, the roads are not great either so you're permanently going over speed bumps at 2MPH, then braking at significant speed to get over said speed bumps. Then there are holes in the road so the driver is literally swaying all over the road while going up and down these huge hills with 100's of feet fall. The drive was beautiful though, volcanoes poking out in the distance, hills of lush greenery, getting into the lake side town of kooky little alleys, roads, tuk tuk's & locals.

I also met a guy called Jason at the Jungle Hostel so he gave me advice on where to stay & as I saw him jogging in the morning & he said he was also coming to San Pedro with his mates, we then agreed to have a jog tomorrow morning too (not sure it's a wise idea with all these hills mind). Getting in the shuttle Jason & his mates were randomly also in the same one, along with a Canadian guy I met in there called Simon, we ended up all going to the same Hotel, up this MASSIVE cobbled hill!! Now I've got a frigging bag with wheel, this is NOT, I repeat NOT, a good combination!! I finally make it to the top, wheels only just surviving & the Hotel is full hahaha. Luckily some place next door has rooms & I manage to bag my own room & double bed for £2.50!

It isn't the Ritz. It is literally a bed, a crappy cover, a shelf & bin. The shower is cold water with some sort of electric wire & switch hanging off the head of it…..it does not look safe….it does not look inviting. Had a good crack tonight with the group though, we headed to Buddah Bar where we watched Conviction (a true story donchaknow) & ate Thai food (not real Thai food but they tried their best), & had a few drinks. Me, Jason & Simon then headed to the roof of our Hotel & had a smoke & giggled about random things, my lack of hearing meaning me hearing things that were not said & smoking through a straw ( a new invention!).

Tomorrow I think I'm going to move to a Hostel closer to the centre but still only £6 for my own room, but this one has ensuite YAY. The town is so kooky I'm slightly in love with it. It sits on the lake, everything seems to be made out of rustic wood & there are actually more locals about then tourists. There are alleyways to unknown places, the opportunity to have a much needed sauna & massage plus food galore all for a reasonable price. I think I'll stay here one more night, two max & then head to Lanquin.

I've heard a lot about Lanquin but sadly not until I had gone right on past it on the way to Antigua. It looks absolutely amazing with underwater cave systems, waterfalls & being surrounded completely by nature.Jason & his mates had just come from there & even swum through the caves with candles, how cool! The pictures look brilliant & breathtaking, just hope I have enough time to fit it all in!

On another note lots of funny moments have happened & I have actually talked to & met more people but because I've been slack updating this & not even taking notes, it means I've had to leave a lot out or else this blog post will turn into a novel, which it almost already is. Adios Amigos :)x

Tuesday 11th January

What a fantastic morning! We wake up & have a huge breakfast with drink for just £1.50, what better way to start the day?

As we mosey about looking for things to do & trying to decide between a motorbike, bicycle or horse to have a mooch about on I have this random, yet totally brilliant idea to try & hire a whole Tuk tuk for us to drive about in :D Bearing in mind, when you hire a tuk tuk you literally get in the back & he drives you everywhere, I'm not even sure I've ever heard of tuk tuk's being rented out or anyone wanting to. Still, we ask about & as Guatemalans are some of the most helpful & friendly people (nothing to do with money AT ALL ;) a guy managed to find us a run down one which we hired for 200Q (about £18 between 3) forhour. Would we be stupid enough to pay that much for 1 hour??! HELL YES!!!

Ride of my life! Simon starts as he's the most experienced with motorbikes (this isn't a motorbike as such but similar) & he gets off to a good start until he has to reverse. The owner of the tuk tuk is so worried about his little baby that he actually follows us in another tuk tuk (we realise later he followed us for the full hour haha) & comes to the rescue when we're stuck in half a 3 point turn. We carry on over rocks,holes, speed bumps & up & down off road hills & make it to the view point. It's a couple of minutes walk & you can see a brilliant view of the Lake (see photos), after doing this Jason decides it's his turn to take the wheel (handles). Jason is a maniac!! He drives like a demon & I smash my head on the side of the tuk tuk when we hit a hole, the poor owner of the vehicles must have been having palpitations when he saw him flooring it up & over hills at 20mph…which is fast for a tuk tuk!

We get to a smooth part & I take over…I impress myself with how I do & at one point I take it REALLY slow because of the speed bumps & the owner drives past & tells me to slow down hahahah. Seriously if I had gone any slower at that point I would have stopped, still was ridiculously funny seeing all the locals staring at us open mouthed, wondering if we had stolen the tuk tuk & had the owner dead, stashed in the back seat. Their little faces literally dropped when they saw us bombing it down the roads & can you imagine their horror when they saw a FEMALE foreigner driving LOL, brilliant :)

After so much fun we get me checked into a new place, this Hostel/Hotel is lovely & I have my own double room with Wifi, ensuite & ridiculous views of the Lake (see pics) & all for just £6.50 :)

Onto a Falafel place by the lake for lunch, this is run by an Israeli & the food is amazing! I had falafel, hummus & pita & we all shared a massive bottle of beer while sat in the blaring sun listening to 2pac on Jason's little ipod speakers, bliss.

Not much has happened since then, just trying to sort my blog out. My eyes are also bad again so I'm having a much needed night in to chill out as it's been very nonstop for a while. I got my laundry done earlier, only the second wash in a month, MINGING! & the lady put my whites in with my NAVY wool cardigan, you have to laugh…my white t-shirts have come out covered in blue fluff & my cardigan has millions of little balls of fluff on it. I've just spend 20mins de-fluffing the blinking thing!

Right enough, enough, this is way too long & I've got some more food to consume.

Miss you all loads, mwah x