Guatemala

The minibus arrived to pick us up from Copán Ruinas in Honduras and take us all the way to Antigua in Guatemala, thankfully the journey wasn't as long or complicated as the one we had been on to get to Honduras in the first place. We arrived in Antigua, an historic city in the south of Guatemala in the evening and were dropped off in the main square which was bustling with people and lit up with fairy lights and flood lit Spanish colonial buildings. We walked down a street to our hostel, inside the hostel was an open air square where a fire pit was burning and swings were suspended from the ceiling. The atmosphere was lively and I remember thinking, 'I hope it quietens down when I want to go to bed!' I'm not the young backpacker I once was. After dropping our bags we left the hostel to stretch our legs after the long journey and walked back to the square to get some fresh carnival style popcorn to munch on.

My Favourite Shade of Yellow With Plants For A Roof, Antigua in Guatemala 

My Favourite Shade of Blue in Antigua, Guatemala

Craig had found a nice sounding café called The Rainbow Café online so we headed straight there the next morning for breakfast. The streets were calm and quiet, we wandered along the old cobblestones admiring the colourful buildings and bright flowers until we found the café which was inside a quirky little bookstore. We each ordered the 'earlybird special' which consisted of rice and refried beans with eggs and grilled tomatoes served on a leaf, it was delicious and was topped off with a cup of English Breakfast tea, how I have missed thee!

My Favourite Shade of Pink in Antigua, Guatemala

Beautiful Pink Roses in Antigua, Guatemala  

As we explored the city the streets became busier and busier, we had known that it would be Semana Santa while we were in Guatemala and that was why the place was even more bustling than usual. Semana Santa is a week long celebration for Easter where men dress in purple robes and march through the streets with floats and statues of Jesus, locals also create beautifully patterned 'carpets' of coloured sawdust and flowers in the streets. The crowds were overwhelming in some parts of the city but many of the extensive network of cobblestone streets were quiet enough to enjoy, the slightly dilapidated buildings and pastel colours were an Instagrammers dream. 

Colourful Carpets in Honour of Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala  

In the afternoon after a morning of sightseeing we drove to Pacaya volcano with a small group and with a guide set about walking to the top, or as close to the top as we were allowed to go. As soon as we left the minibus we were hounded by children leading horses around for tourists to hire. They were extremely persistent. A family in our group decided to hire two horses as they had two young children but we resisted, a ride to the top did sound very tempting but the horses didn't look in good shape and I didn't like the idea of condoning the situation of children being sent to do this job rather than be in school.

The Start of Our Walk to Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala  

A Horse at Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala  

We began to walk steeply uphill, the sandy and dusty terrain made for difficult conditions and it was a hot day, I was sweating and as I was slightly behind everyone else I was being constantly harassed by the kids too. Eventually we got to a point where the horses that had been hired couldn't go any further and the green and sandy landscape changed to a misty, rocky and black landscape. We waked along a steep slope and through a lava field which looked very alien, we continued on to a spot where the heat from the lava beneath the rock is powerful enough to toast marshmallows. After stopping to listen to the hissing sounds of the volcano we walked back down which was a much easier task and we jumped back on the minibus for the hours journey back to Antigua.

Perfecting 'No Gracias' at Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala 

We stopped for taco's before heading back feeling a little grubby from the dusty and sweaty walk. While Craig stopped at reception to speak to the -useless- manager about booking onward travel I walked into our dorm room to see a random bloke climbing into Craig's bed. I asked if he'd been assigned the bed to which he said yes, I explained that it had already been taken and he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. I went to reception and the managers response was 'oh, tell him to move'. Annoyed we tried to explain that he should be the one to ask him to move as there had obviously been a mistake somewhere and plus, if we did tell him to move we didn't know where he could go and would Craig really want to sleep in that bed now that some random backpacker had been in the covers?! It turned out that some drunk bloke had passed out in his bed and so he just chose another one even though it was taken so Craig and I slept in my bottom bunk. In these moments I wish that more backpackers were considerate as so many seem to travel just to have an excuse to get drunk, you can do that in a bar at home you know! 

A Portrait of Craig in a Lava Field in Guatemala 

An Atmospheric Landscape on Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala  

We woke up and returned to The Rainbow Café for breakfast as it was so delicious the day before. Thankfully we would be leaving the crappy hostel today as our transport to Lake Atitlán was booked to leave in the afternoon. We had a relaxed day wandering and eating and then boarded the extremely full minibus to the lake. We arrived at a lake side town and were ushered into an already paid for tuk tuk which whizzed us up the road to the town we were staying in, San Marcos La Laguna. The place we had booked was the only thing we could really afford, it turned out to be quite lovely. We had a little basic room on its own in the garden with a view to the beautiful lake, down some steps was a shared kitchen and bathroom and it was run by a very friendly local family and a lovely dog bounding around the premises. We got a bite to eat at a restaurant opposite that served mainly vegetarian fare and it was delicious. 

Our Breakfast View on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala  

Calming Blue and Green at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala  

The next morning we walked down towards the lake to find a place for breakfast. There seemed to be a lot of cute looking cafés and restaurants dotted along the narrow pathway leading to the waters edge, as well as jewellery sellers and tourists in rainbow coloured attire. We decided to have breakfast at the café of a hotel which had a decked terrace with the most incredible view of the lake and volcano. Eating our traditional Central American breakfast of eggs, refried beans and plantain with tea with such an exceptional view was wonderful and so calming. We watched speedboats whizz by and tourists jump on and off the little 'ferry' boats all under a beautiful blue sky. After spending a couple of hours soaking it all in at the lake we returned to our room for a relaxed afternoon and then had a delicious curry at a nearby restaurant. We wandered to the lake again in the evening to see the moon rise above the water. 

Street Art in San Marcos La Laguna in Guatemala  

Street Art in San Marcos La Laguna in Guatemala   

We managed to book transport to take us from the lake all the way up to the north of the country near the border with Belize. Before crossing we'd be visiting Flores a town on a lake close to the amazing Mayan site of Tikal, a wonder that I'd been really looking forward to seeing. I was a little worried about how we were going to get there, it seemed so far away but the man in the tour office booked the whole journey for us with no problems and we were set to go later in the afternoon. We had breakfast and took a little walk around the lakeshore walking to a small beach to take photographs. A woman was giving a man a haircut right on the sand and Craig was tempted to ask if she could sort out his mop of hair too! The little paths trailed all around, to lovely gardens and different hotels. Many places offered yoga classes and meditation sessions, the whole town had a distinctly spiritual feel to it. I was drawn to San Marcos originally because it sounded from the guidebook like a quieter and cosier town, a little more off the beaten track than other towns on the lake. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed; our short stay was extremely peaceful and full of relaxed wandering and lovely food. I only wish that we had a little more time to explore the lake further. 

Onwards; all the way up to Flores to explore the mighty Mayan ruin of Tikal. 

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Nicaragua

So, to pick up where we left off. We boarded a bus in Monteverde headed for San José early in the morning and jumped off at a petrol station. The next bus we needed was sat on the roadside so we grabbed our backpacks and hauled them along the dusty road, throwing them into the luggage storage. We made our way to the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border and chaos ensued. The border crossing was a mess of vehicles waiting, touts and offices here there and everywhere. We had found a few other travellers to walk with including a Frenchman named Marin to help with the crossing which made life a little easier. After walking to the immigration office we were pointed back the way we came with no explanation, a lady casually milling around advised that we needed to pay a fee. We weren't sure if this was a swizz or not as I had read some interesting tales on blogs and Lonely Planet about Central American border scams. We were led to an office which didn't exactly look official but found that yes we did indeed have to pay a Costa Rica exit fee of $8 which was an extra dollar as we hadn't organised it in advance. We got stamped out of Costa Rica and after a sweaty walk of about 1km we officially arrived in Nicaragua where we were ordered to pay $10 for a tourist card plus $2 processing fee and a municipal fee of $1, how I miss the easy and free border crossings in South America! 

Craig, Marin and I left the immigration office and were swarmed by touts and taxi drivers all hoping to get us in their cab for an inflated price, we had heard that there was a bus going to Rivas for the equivalent of less than a dollar but each tout in turn told us 'no bus today' or 'bus is too expensive, taxi better value'. Agitated and with a face like thunder I started to ignore all the touts and insisted that we walk on to see if there was a bus around, low and behold a bus was just leaving and although it was heaving we were practically pushed on and charged $3 each which I learned was still more than locals had been charged but by this point I was just happy that it was a relatively nominal fee. After arriving at Rivas we quickly jumped in a taxi with Marin and were driven to the huge Lake Nicaragua where our end destination awaited, Isle de Ometepe. Famous for its huge twin volcanoes the island attracted me due to its place in the Lonely Planet's 'top places to see in Central America'. We sat on the top deck of the ferry under a bright blue sky watching as the imposing volcanic island got closer and closer. Once we reached the island we set about finding a place to stay, the port town of Moyogalpa was small but its streets lined with a variety of cafes, restaurants and hostels. We found a colourful shabby chic (minus the chic) hostel and had a look around, the dorm room was separated from the main area of the hostel by a bamboo screen and the bunk beds were tiny rickety wooden things that looked like something I could have made in woodwork class. A lacklustre little fan blew a bit of air around and I was too tired to go elsewhere so with a bit of a grumpy tone I said it was fine for a couple of nights. Feeling tired and hungry the three of us went out for some food, we found a cute and friendly place serving fajitas and tucked in to a huge portion each.

Volcano Concepción on Isle de Ometepe in Nicaragua

Thank goodness for earplugs. I learned that a holy bamboo screen does nothing to stop the racket of noisy drunk backpackers and one small desk fan in a dorm room does little to keep the heat at bay too. Craig and I visited a small empty cafe on a corner and sat at a table by the window. I ordered a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast which consisted of rice and black beans, fried egg, plantain and cheese. It was delicious and such a huge portion that I couldn't finish it all. We met with Marin and the three of us decided to hire bikes and cycle to Reserva Charco Verde which was a few kilometres along the road. The road was long but thankfully flat and as the hours passed the temperature rose making peddling a struggle. We reached the reserve and paid a small entry fee. Just inside was a lovely butterfly enclosure with more butterflies in one place than I'd ever seen before, as well as tropical plants and nectar rich flowers. Classical music played quietly in the background and as we were the only visitors it felt like a peaceful and magical place. 

The Butterfly Garden in Reserva Charco Verde, Nicaragua  

Nature's Bench Overlooking a Volcano in Nicaragua

We left the butterflies behind and followed a trail where we saw some pretty little birds flutter by and heard what sounded like an alpha monkey asserting his dominance, the screech would have been deafening had it been closer. Inside the reserve was a shimmering lake and as we were already on an island in a huge lake, it was technically a lake within a lake. We stopped to sit on a bench surrounded by trees with a view to the smaller lake and the huge lake beyond, breeze gently whipped at our faces which was welcome relief as the temperature was becoming unbearable. We continued our walk and found the large lake's shore which did resemble a beach and I found a huge twisted tree branch which made a perfect natural bench to sit on and admire the volcano in the distance. As we took the trail back to the entrance we spotted families of black monkeys high in the trees snoozing. 

We returned to our bikes and cycled back the way we came turning left to detour to a lakeside viewpoint to watch the sunset. Just after we turned the corner two girls on one moped did the same and miscalculating the sharp corner and gritted road skidded to a crashing halt. One girl was particularly bloody after scraping her foot across the road. Craig and Marin quickly rushed to help as did other passers by and after a few minutes they were back on the moped and on their way to a local hospital to be patched up. We jumped back on our bikes and cycled down the sandy track to the lake where a couple of informal bars were set up inside wooden shacks. We bought ourselves some drinks and sat and watched as the sun dipped lower and lower creating an intensely orange glow across the landscape until it was gone. With night falling and knowing full well that our bikes didn't possess lights we quickly got on our way. It was dark after a few minutes of cycling and I wasn't feeling safe. We still had quite a way to go to get back and although the road wasn't particularly busy cars with blindingly bright headlights still flew past. Thankfully we made it back in one piece and Craig and I went out for well deserved pizza while Coldplay songs played in the background.

Sunset on Isle de Ometepe in Nicaragua

The next day we left the island for Granada. We took the ferry back across the vast lake and tried to get a taxi to take us to Rivas the nearest transport hub. Every time we asked to go to Rivas we were met with; 'no, I can take you directly to Granada'. 'No' we tried to explain, being taken that far would be too expensive for us and we knew of a bus leaving Rivas for Granada. 'No bus going to Granada today, taxi only'. *insert exasperated emoji* Each driver in turn said the same or the driver would simply drive off! Eventually we found a taxi that would take us to Rivas, on leaving the car a couple of backpacking girls asked if we'd like to share a minibus taxi with them to split the cost as they were going to Granada and had been told there were no buses. I explained that we were looking to take a bus and I'd heard of this 'no bus' talk as a common scam so before committing to a driver we should take a look. Again, low and behold a bus heading to Granada sat waiting to depart. Feeling smug that I'd saved us all an expensive taxi fare we were on our way. On arrival in Granada we walked and found a lovely hostel with huge clean metal bunk beds and lots of ceiling fans, hooray! We took ourselves out for lunch and climbed the bell tower to see views of the characterful and historic old city from up high. We then walked to the lake front which was pretty but deserted so we walked back via the city square which was playing host to some musicians and dancers. 

From The Bell Tower in Historic Granada, Nicaragua 

Beautiful Buildings of Granada in Nicaragua  

The next day we took a hostel organised shuttle to Reserva Natural Laguna Apoyo where we sat in a sun lounger on the lake shore and whiled away the hours as if it were a beach day. The crater lake was surrounded by trees of all sorts and the water busy with kayakers and swimmers. 

We left Granada after our customary two nights and made our way to León by shuttle bus which stopped briefly in Managua. León seemed a lot poorer than the parts of the country that we had already seen, it had a distinctly Asian feel about it with litter piled up and bustling overflowing markets. We walked to a hostel that we had pre-booked and as we walked closer to the centre the streets began to feel cleaner and the surroundings safer. We dropped off our bags and went out for lunch and a wander, we found a lovely local art gallery which was well worth the cheap entry price. In the evening we made our own dinner in the shared kitchen and researched our next move. The next country to pass through was Honduras, former murder capital of the world. I was keen to visit as the Lonely Planet guidebook recommended a few places that sounded really interesting and I particularly wanted to visit the Mayan ruins of Copán. Craig was not so sure. After much reading we couldn't find a safe route to take us all the way through the capital of Tegucigalpa to Gracias so we had to begrudgingly book a shuttle that would take us straight to Copán on the far west side of the country, skipping several sights I was keen to see. Due to the roads and Central American geography our journey would take us on a crazy route; from Nicaragua into Honduras, then a crossing into El Salvador where we would drive through the whole country before entering Guatemala to then re-enter Honduras and finally arrive at our destination of Copán. Easy. Oh, and our shuttle would be picking us up at 2am. With that journey to look forward to we got as early a night as we could. knowing that what awaited was hours and hours in a minibus and the most complex route we'd ever encountered. 

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Costa Rica

The Setting Sun and Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

I'm beginning to wonder whether every time we have a great day a bad day will follow. It seems to be an unfortunate pattern that we're in. After a splendid time at the beach on Bocas del Toro we were due to leave Panama the next day, with limited time we couldn't afford to hang around anywhere longer than absolutely necessary. Unsure of the border crossing we agreed to pay $30 each to transfer from Bocas del Toro to San José in Costa Rica with an end goal of reaching La Fortuna. Annoyingly the journey was fairly straightforward and meant that we could easily have saved our money and done the trip ourselves. We were dropped in a dodgy part of San José and told that no buses would be running to La Fortuna from that station. After a brief conversation with a grumpy woman behind a counter we were pointed to another bus station up the road. Taxi drivers tried their best to take us miles to another bus station at a price but we stuck to our guns and hoped we could make it to our destination in one day. We found the bus station walking through a slightly intimidating area and found a bus taking us closer to La Fortuna but our money was running low and we couldn't find a cash point. Arriving at dark we still couldn't get any cash and when we asked a bus driver if he was going to La Fortuna he completely ignored us. We didn't even get any kind of acknowledgement that he'd heard us so Craig asked again, louder and more exasperated. After a wait we boarded the bus and were actually a few pennies short but were allowed on anyway. Eventually we made it to La Fortuna in the late evening after an arduous days travelling and walked to a hostel where luckily there was space despite our turning up unannounced. Never have we dealt with such unfriendly people on our travels, as polite travellers we were gobsmacked by the level of rudeness we encountered in our first few hours in Costa Rica alone and were happy to fall into our dorm beds for a sleep. 

We awoke in the huge characterless dormitory and set about our days activity. I had chosen La Fortuna to stay in as close by I'd read there is a national park with a trail that follows a solidified lava flow. When we went to enquire we learned that to get to the national park you either needed to take a local bus which went once a day there and once a day back at very odd times or an organised tour which was $50 each. $50 was already well over our daily budget and that didn't include the dorm bed and meals. We decided to save our money and instead enjoy a quiet day in La Fortuna. Arenal Volcano sits watching over the quaint town, imposingly large and one of the worlds most active. We strolled into town photographing the volcano from the wide streets and bought groceries from the local shop. An afternoon was whiled away blissfully on the pretty and plant filled hostel terrace with a delicious lunch. I found time to write in my journal and after weeks of discussion we had both made a decision regarding our Central American itinerary. We had heard wonderful things about Cuba and also about how quickly it is changing. We had been umming and ahhing for a long time about whether to squeeze in a trip to Havana and finally decided to go for it. We booked return flights from Cancún to Havana for a five night stay to experience a taste of Cuban culture. The only thing was that now we had even less time to get to Cancún, as if the time we'd given ourselves originally wasn't already stretched! 

Volcano Arenal From the Boat, Costa Rica

The Church of La Fortuna, Costa Rica  

The next day we decided to move on to Monteverde. As we'd saved a fair chunk of money in La Fortuna we took the 'jeep-boat-jeep' option of getting there to save the huge and uncomfortable journey all through the Costa Rican mountains. We boarded a minibus from our hostel and drove to Arenal Lake where the volcano looked particularly impressive. Backpacks in tow we stepped onto the boat and enjoyed a lovely 30 minute crossing across the water stopping to photograph the volcano and birds. Once docked we climbed up a steep bank which with huge backpacks and daypacks wasn't easy and boarded another minibus to drive along dusty tracks to Monteverde and our hostel. Our hostel was advertised as being a 5 minute walk from town but seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Our room was a little dingy but at least it was private and we asked about booking a second night so that we could have a full day in the cloud forest. The owner gave the price for a second night which was hugely inflated, evidentially we'd got a good deal when we booked online. Despite there being only about 2 other guests at the hostel he wouldn't budge on the price and so we decided to rush off to the cloud forest and leave the next day. Online the hostel said it offered a 'shuttle service' into town but there had been no mention of that and we were really pushed for time. The road was unsealed, dusty and not flat. I was dripping with sweat and red in the face from being so out of breath. After our mad dash we made it to the bus stop and boarded a local bus to the forest.

The Red Suspension Bridge in Monteverde's Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

The Waterfall in Monteverde's Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

We walked along the peaceful trail and as it was a sunny and bright day the sun dappled light through the trees, this did mean that there was no cloud in the cloud forest which put paid to my atmospheric misty photographs that I was planning to take. We only had around two hours to explore so we made the most of our time and followed a set route to a red suspension bridge and then on to a waterfall. The path twisted up and around trees and was laid with concrete slabs to keep the mud at bay. Vines dangled down and roots had burst through the earth creating a tangled web of branches and leaves. The red suspension bridge shook as we crossed but was deserted and allowed us time to peacefully look out over the canopy and the forest floor below. We doubled back and found the path again to the waterfall which made an ideal spot for a picnic. Luckily two hours had been ample time to explore and we wandered back to the entrance office and read information plaques about the local wildlife until the last bus of the day arrived to take us and many staff members back to town.

A Tangled Mess of Flora at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Annoyingly the only way to move on to Nicaragua from Monteverde was to take an early bus towards San José, jump off at a petrol station and board a different bus north to the border. We woke before 6am to catch a taxi to the bus station to begin our journey. I don't think we've ever experienced this kind of inconvenience while travelling anywhere. Usually there's always an option geared towards backpackers but Costa Rica seems to be the exception, judging by the amount of American holiday makers we've seen (and heard) I think the country is more of a rich tourist destination aimed towards those with bigger budgets and a willingness to part with money easily. 

With just a few nights spent in Costa Rica we didn't experience all that the country had to offer but were happy to at least have a taste of the volcanic landscape and rich biodiversity. 

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