We arrived in Antigua at the shuttle company's office about 12.30pm.  We'd dropped Vikki & Fernando off before we arrived, then Fernando met me there shortly after to say she was fine.  

We confirmed my shuttle would be leaving in half an hour so didnt have time to go see Vikki - the good news though was her ticket could be changed to the following day.

I farewelled Fernando then rushed about to find the main square, cashed up & got myself s delicious soy chai and some other snacks.  They had wifi so emailed Vikki to say hope she felt better, stay in touch and it was great she could get the shuttle the next day.

I rushed back to the shop only to wait another half hour for the shuttle.

When it arrived it was full of kiwis & English girls who had all met the previous night at their hostel & decided to keep moving on together - 4 Uk gals & 5 NZ guys & 1 gal.

Riding up front was a lady from Sydney who was also sick, and tour guide Carlos.

The journey was long & uncomfortable, broken up by the chatter of the group. 

Carlos hopped into the back and I had a  few long convos with him. He was a bright friendly 25 year old fella but had lost his mum to cancer only 4 days before.  He'd been living in Belgium having won a scholarship to study language there & he hoped to get a job in the embassy once he finishes.

His free time in Belgium was spent teaching Spanish and he'd send the money home to his family in Coban.

He had lots of brothers & sisters who were mostly policemen, a couple of house builders and 1 lawyer - the sisters didnt work but had married and had families.

The 2 youngest boys were still at highschool age and would be cared for by his older brothers.

He told me how he had his first job at 8, working on the buses. He didn't get his first shoes til he was11!

Before Belgium he'd never been further then Mexico, and had only travelled there because he was working with (who we caught the shuttle with), had sent him all over Guatemala & up to Palenqueue with work.

Meanwhile I'd just previously been whinging to him saying I'm tired of travelling & hanging to reach the carribean to relax! What a spoilt b****!

He also had a sad lost love tale where he broke up with the girl he was seeing before he went to Belgium. Within 2 months of him leaving she was married - 2 years on she is separated with 2 kids & wants him back - of course now he doesnt want her!

 I'm not sure why all the men are telling me their lost love stories today?!

He also brings up the end of the Mayan Calender and asks me what I think will happen?

I tell him about the book I read recently that says we'll develop greater consciousness.  He agrees with this and not that the world will end. He tells me of all the things that will be happening in Guatemala next year as the Mayan community prepares for December 21, 2012!

So at 10.30pm at night, more than 14.5 hours after leaving the Bungalow at San Marcos, I finally arrived at Zapote Hostel.

The English & Kiwis were also staying there and as there was not enough rooms, we ended up with the area above the bar that was fully open with a couple of rustic wooden panels and mattresses on the floor! 

You do get what you pay for and this was free - thrown for an exta $10 Quetzals - just over a $1! 

They brought an extra mattress up for me as there was one short and squeezed me in next to the English girls.

I was tired cranky, PMS and very close to a diva moment but as there were no drinks left and I was in the middle of nowhere - I decided to have a drink instead!!!

We were all up early the next morning as it was so noisy and if someone stood on a plank that went under my bed, I'd feel it leverage up under my thin mattress and wake me!

We had brekky and time to relax before hopping into the shuttle and heading out to the beautiful green limestone pools of Semuc Champay.

We hiked up to a view point of the pools, then down again for a swim.

Led by the guides we would jump from one pool into the next.  They also pointed out caves you could swim under the water and get to ... That fun was short lived though when a girl in our group cut her forhead whilst trying this and started to bleed profusely!

I did my best to help which involved me having a wonder woman moment, ripping (ok just pulling) off my shorts exposing my Brazillian bikini bottoms, but giving her something to hold to her head & stop the bleeding ... The things we do!

After waiting a bit for the bleeding ti settle (as usual there were no first aid kits on hamd!) we continued on a bit more cautiously!

After exploring all the pools, we had lunch, swam a bit more, then headed for the caves.

I loved these and felt like I was in the