Short hop up into the mountains to the stunning Lake Atitlan formed in the crater of a collapsed volcano.....all looming peaks, misty waters and tiny indiginous villages dotted around the edge. We took a water taxi across the well-known hippie village of San Pedro, where, after bumping into Ian and Sue again (!), we settled into our cute hotel overlooking the lake. Couple of days of chilling followed, watched a movie in the pub, ate tasty organic brownies, upda...

Another beautiful colonial town, this time surrounded by active volcanoes on two sides! Lots of exploring, lots of poking around markets and obviously lots of shopping to be had. Had a bit of a mare trying to find accomodation because it was the weekend, but finally after a good few hours of 'exploration' we stumbled across a lovely little courtyard hostel through the back of a doughnut shop. Perfect. Met up with our new friends Ian and Sue for a classic curr...

Arrived at the little mountain village of Lanquin famous for its caves and the Semuc Champey limestone pools with plans to stay at a well-known travellers haven but there was no room at the inn, so, along with a bunch of Dutch and a cool retired couple from St Albans, we all piled into a van and bumped our way 40 minutes to a new hostel literally right next door to Semuc Champey - which is apparently the most beautiful spot in Guat! So alls well that ends well...

Long, long day of travelling. One water taxi, two old US school buses, one shuttle bus, one border crossing and a brief bus crash. Finally reached Flores, a little island in the middle of a lake, in the north of Guatamala. Had our tea at a local taco stall....well good....tortillas with all manner of goodness in them. In the morning, we headed for the ancient delights of Tikal which was built by the Mayans around 700 BC and boasts some pretty cool pyramids an...