Claire Leach 02/10/2017 Claire Leach 02/10/2017

Delhi, India

Sticky humidity, car horns, people barefoot, tuk tuks jostling for position, animals in the street, dust, piles of litter. A sensory overload. Welcome to India.

We landed in Delhi. Having travelled from New York with a brief stop in London our clocks were all over the place and the tiredness was overwhelming. Our e-visa's were processed at immigration and we were stamped in; 60 days to get a taste of India, it's landscape, its people, its food. Our driver met us and took us to Hotel Su Shree, a welcoming place down an alleyway strewn with litter. We'd pre-booked our first hotel to help with the culture shock that everybody who'd visited India had warned us of. The hotel was no five star resort but it was nice enough and better than what we were accustomed to. We settled into the brightly coloured room and ordered some room service, the food was delicious and despite being delivered to the comfort of our bed cost merely a few pounds.

Boats Just Outside India Gate in Delhi, India

The next day was spent indoors, I was suffering with a splitting headache presumably from all the travel and the idea of going outside felt too daunting. The aloo gobhi, butter naan and hot chocolate certainly helped to lift my spirits, if the food continued to be up to this standard then I'd be one happy backpacker.

With a rest day in the bag we decided the following morning to hire a driver arranged by the hotel and see some of the city sights without the hassle. Dressed modestly in long trousers and a shawl I couldn't wait to get to a market and buy some loose light clothing, it was intensely hot. Our driver took us on a whistle stop tour of Delhi, we visited; Birla Temple, Indira Ghandi Museum, India Gate, Parliament and President House, Qutub Minar, The Lotus Temple, Raj Ghat, Red Fort, Jama Masjid and a local bazaar with lunch at a nice restaurant thrown in too. The day was jam packed and hectic. The heat was as I imagined it to be, sweltering and too much to handle. I felt myself going faint at India Gate and couldn't consume water quick enough. Knowing that there was a car waiting with a friendly local guide and air conditioning meant that we could muddle through but we knew instantly that we'd have to go at a much slower pace in India than what we're used to.

Highlights of our day were the Indira Ghandi Museum documenting the life and work of Indira Ghandi, India's first and so far only female prime minister. I had no prior knowledge of Indira Ghandi and assumed wrongly that she was of some relation to Mahatma Ghandi. The museum taught me so much about her political beliefs and sadly how she was assassinated in the grounds of her home and now museum, the spot marked for visitors to reflect on.

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. - Indira Ghandi

The Lotus Temple was another favourite due not only to it's modern architectural beauty but also because inside it is so peaceful, guards hush any person who makes a sound, birds chirrup and a cool breeze whips through the doors making this one of the quietest and most calming spots in all of Delhi.

Queueing For The Lotus Temple in Delhi, India

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Qutub Complex was a memorable stop, the complex is famous for Qutub Minar, a 72 metre marble and red sandstone tower. Building of the tower began in 1192 AD, it is known as a Victory Tower and remains to this day an important monument in Islam. As we walked a guard approached us and offered to take our photo, after a straight forward one inside a beautiful intricately carved archway he encouraged us to stand in a position to capture a cheesy 'pinching the top of the tower' shot. Luckily there weren't too many people around to watch, it was pretty embarrassing.

After an exhausting but interesting day we decided to be brave the next day and go out exploring on our own. After a breakfast of paratha's, a filled flat bread we took a tuk tuk to Humayan's Tomb. It is said that the tomb provided inspiration for the Taj Mahal and so we were very excited to see it. Upon walking into the site we got chatting to another tourist who took our photograph. It had felt like a long while since we had another backpacker to chat with. The tomb was beautiful, a red sandstone wonder surrounded by beautiful lush gardens. It was far quieter than I thought it would be and being stood in the grounds surrounded by exotic plants and intricately carved monuments felt very much like how I imagined historical India to be. We met Jo, her husband and friends at the main tomb and had a lovely chat about our travels and our plans for India. Jo and her husband were visiting from the U.S.A, the friends they were with Jo had met many years ago when she was working in an orphanage in India.

In The Grounds of Humayan's Tomb in Delhi, India

We left the tomb and took a tuk tuk to Lodhi Gardens which were lovely and free to enter. We spent a lot of time in the gardens sat on a bench under the shade of a tree, after a while two boys came up to us. We were a little wary at first, we have become cynical due to the amount of scams and cons that backpackers can be subject to but in this case all they wanted was a simple chat and to have their photograph taken with Craig. They asked the usual questions that we seemed to be asked whenever we came into contact with a local, where were we from and were we married? We grabbed a cold drink which in the heat quickly turned warm and had a walk around the monuments in the park.

After leaving the park we made our way to Ghandi Smriti where Mahatma Ghandi spent his last days and where he was killed. It was fascinating reading the signs about his life, I read every word. Footprints have been cast, leaving a trail from where Ghandi spent his final days to where he fell after being shot, a poignant and very moving sight. After Ghandi Smriti we visited Connaught Place which was a strange mish mash of designer shops, fast food restaurants and bazaars. We had lunch at Wengers Deli a popular sandwich and cake shop before looking round the bustling bazaars. I finally caught sight of some bright elephant print trousers and after Craig indulged in a short haggle battle they were mine. We returned to the area surrounding our hotel and were lost in a maze of alleys lined with shops, rickshaws and tuk tuks blocked our path while dogs run amuck. The smells were so putrid I needed to mask my nose, women in beautiful silk saris sashayed past, children in tow. Our introduction to India was over and Delhi had turned out to be far less daunting than we were led to believe, the heat was something else but as it turned out it was nothing compared to what was to come.

A Photograph By A Stranger At Humayan's Tomb in India

Next: Catching our first train to Agra and The Taj Mahal.

🎥 India video:

Have you been to Delhi? If so, what did you think? Maybe you're planning a trip? I've got tonnes of advice and tips I can share. Let me know in the comments below.

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Claire Leach 26/09/2017 Claire Leach 26/09/2017

New York, U.S.A.

Family Portrait at The Empire State Building Observation Deck in New York

New York, my favourite city on Earth and a place so special to me for so many reasons. When I worked out that we could fly to New York to spend a week before flying on to India I was ecstatic. Not only because I could finally show Craig my favourite city but also because my mum and little brother Matthew were flying over for the week to see us too. When we went on our first backpacking adventure, my mum flew over to Australia for three weeks with a friend to spend some time with us after 5 months apart and it was wonderful and so needed as I missed her so much. This time I'd gone 8 months without seeing her and so the anticipation of a week together was so exciting.

Withering Tulips in The Brooklyn Botanical Garden in New York

Craig and I flew in from Cancún and landed in the afternoon, it took an hour and a half to get through immigration at JFK, the longest I've ever spent in a queue and on my own too as Craig and I had to go through separate lines. We caught the Airtrain and subway to our new home for the week in Brooklyn's beautiful Park Slope neighbourhood where we had booked an Airbnb apartment. The area was so quiet; independent grocery stores and coffee shops lined the street and a blossom tree was in full bloom right outside the local church we walked past. We immediately clocked a pizza joint called 'Joe's' on the corner and made a mental note to visit ASAP. The apartment was just two blocks from the subway station which was perfect, we got the keys out of the lockbox which reminded me of a Japanese puzzle box and let ourselves in. The apartment was bright and airy, with white walls, polished wooden floors, shelves full of plants and pretty ceramics. It was bigger than I was expecting but still a cute cosy space which would be just about right for the four of us. I felt relieved, finding a place to stay for 4 adults on a budget in an expensive city was challenging and caused a big headache when it was arranged. We left our bags in the pastel blue bedroom and nipped out to run some errands, we were in a hurry as it wouldn't be long before mum and Matthew would be getting in from their long flight from London and I'd promised we'd meet them at the airport. We grabbed some groceries from a local deli and dropped off our laundry as we weren't able to get it done in Cuba or on our last day in Mexico. Of course we stopped at Joe's for the much anticipated first slice of New York pizza and it didn't disappoint, a mammoth slice of tomatoey, cheesy goodness. We left to collect mum and Matthew from JFK and only waited a few minutes before they walked through the arrivals gate, mum did a little squeal of excitement as she does and I cried, we had a big hug and I immediately started winding up my little bro, I had 8 months of being the annoying big sister to catch up on after all! We headed back to the apartment and went to bed, we'd all had a long travel day.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden Lake, New York

A Mininature Wisteria at The Brooklyn Botanical Garden, New York

The next morning was a beautiful bright and sunny day, Craig made American-style pancakes with syrup for himself and Matthew while mum and I had cereal, good cereal had been a luxury for me on our travels so I relished the opportunity to have it. I didn't want to plan too much as I wasn't sure how tired everyone would be so we took it easy and went for a stroll down the road to nearby Prospect Park. The stroller moms and dog walkers were out in force and you wouldn't even know you were in the city, it was so peaceful. We walked through to the other side of the park, saw the impressive Brooklyn Library and Grand Army Plaza and went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Amazingly enough the gardens were free as it was Tuesday and so we saved ourselves $15 each. It had been part of my plan to do as much as possible 'on the cheap' as I knew we'd all appreciate saving some money so to start the trip with a free activity was a bonus. We wandered in and of course it was quite busy as it was a free entry day, the people didn't get in the way of the beautiful blooms however which were stunning. There was a myriad of colourful flowers and the spring tulips, wisteria and blossom were still holding tight. The Japanese garden was lovely and the glass houses were full of tropical plants, bonsai trees and orchids. My favourite part was the Shakespeare garden full of English flowers and little signs with Shakespearean verse on them, maybe it was the little reminder of home that I liked best. We had lunch on the patio before moving on to the subway station to head for the Brooklyn Bridge Park and to glimpse the Manhattan skyline. It was only a few stops away, we left the station and walked past iconic brownstone houses, wondering how many millions it must cost to buy one. The park became visible and then so did downtown Manhattan across the East River. To The left was the Statue of Liberty and to the right was Brooklyn Bridge. One World Trade Centre was a beacon in the middle of the skyscrapers, shining brightly and imposingly. When I had last visited the city in 2010 the tower had yet to be built. We wandered slowly along the promenade, stopping to photograph the sights and to sit on benches and take it all in. Craig was as giddy as he had been when we first saw the amazing skyline in Hong Kong, he could barely tear his eyes away from the jungle of skyscrapers.

We ventured down a walkway to get closer to the waterfront and found an ice cream store, the line was out the door and as the sun was still shining we decided to treat ourselves. Once we tasted our cones we could understand why there was a big queue, the ice cream was delicious. We sat with a view of Brooklyn Bridge, trying to avoid the wind while we ate our treats and then went and had a look at an Anish Kapoor art installation in a green space, it was a whirling pool of water which was thunderous enough to attract a crowd. We walked inland and found some steps leading up to the iconic neo-gothic Brooklyn Bridge so that we could walk across to Manhattan. The wind had really picked up and nearly blew us off our feet, it wasn't the relaxing walk that I had in mind, the wind whipped my hair onto my face and cyclists whizzed past so fast I thought I might collide with one. It was a little stressful but made for an exciting crossing. We made it to the other side and took a walk through downtown Manhattan via the Stock Exchange and City Hall to Battery Park which seemed much bigger than when mum and I visited 7 years ago. As we sat on a bench looking out at the Staten Island Ferry making it's crossing we started to feel a little chilly and so walked to the nearby subway station to catch a ride home. Once in Brooklyn we had pizza for dinner at Joe's, purely because I wanted mum and Matthew to have a taste, obviously.

A Bicycle in Manhattan's East Village, New York

While in New York Craig and I wanted to arrange our visa for India by going to the Indian Embassy, our first task of the day was to get there and hand in the paperwork that we'd spent ages putting together. We got all the way to the Embassy to be told that the visa service had recently changed and been outsourced to a company in a different building. We got back on the subway to where we had been told to go and waited for an hour to hand in our paperwork. The very unobliging lady behind the counter sneered at our documents, she told us that we needed a signed letter from the person who had rented their apartment to us for the week as well as other bits of documentation. She also said that if we did get all this extra information then it would still take 10 days for the visa to be granted or rejected. Cue two very annoyed and unhappy backpackers! We felt foolish, despite doing a lot of research and spending time and money printing forms we still hadn't got it right. We blamed the lack of new information online due to the service being changed very recently and felt that there was no need for her rude manner. Feeling disheartened we left and agreed to enjoy the rest of the day and look into getting a visa online later.

From The Empire State Building Looking Downtown, New York

Empire State Building Observation Deck Binoculars, New York

We were in mid town right by the Empire State Building so after a quick stop for hot drinks at a cute café we decided to go to the top. As mum and I say, you can't come to New York and not go up the Empire State Building! That may be because mum and I are fans of the movies An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle though. Amazingly there was no queue so we got our tickets straight away and whizzed in the lift to the Observation Deck on the 86th floor. Despite being my third time seeing the views from the observation deck I was still in awe, each time offers something different and the feeling of being so high and looking out over the city is fantastic. The building itself is a wonder with its perfect art deco design. We walked around the deck so many times I lost count and as usual Craig had a ball taking photographs from every position imaginable. The clouds were starting to gather and the wind picked up which made walking around in a dress a little tricky, we ducked inside every now and again to warm up before braving the chill again until finally we felt we had seen enough. We got back to ground level and after lunch where we ordered way too much food we walked to Grand Central Terminal to see the famous turquoise and gold ceiling before walking up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park, stopping at mums favourite store to visit; Tiffany's. We admired all the jewellery that we couldn't afford and chatted to a lovely lady about the huge yellow diamond that they keep on display, the last person to wear the diamond was Audrey Hepburn for a photoshoot. We walked across the street to the Plaza Hotel and then went into the lower end of Central Park for a slow wander, the sun had decided to come out again and lit up the tree tops and buildings beyond. Once back at the apartment Craig and I completed our online Indian visa application. We hadn't done so before because the online visa only allowed for a 30 day stay but it appeared that just a couple of weeks ago that changed to 60 days which would be plenty of time so we were very relieved. All we had to do was take passport style photos of ourselves in the morning to upload and we should find out if we had been granted a visa in a couple of days.

We woke up and after a lovely breakfast in the apartment, made our way back to Manhattan for a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; my favourite museum. After a quick coffee stop we went in and paid our 'donation'. I had only realised through research that the $25 entrance fee is actually voluntary, you can give what you like. In order to help with our limited funds we donated $15 each which we thought was fair. The museum is a maze of exhibits covering everything throughout history that you could possibly think of. From Greek and Roman statues, Egyptian sarcophagi and Incan artefacts to modern abstract expressionist painting, Islamic art, Persian rugs and even a Japanese courtyard garden. With lots of energy we started in the Roman section, a highlight was seeing the artefacts from Central America as we had travelled through so much of the area on our trip. I walked around the Impressionist painting galleries several times, even walking all the way from the other end of the museum for one last look before we left. The Cy Twombly painting in the abstract expressionist gallery was another highlight and one that prompted a me to have a little reverse self portrait with it. Despite having visited the museum three times I still haven't seen it all but at least got round to seeing a little more than I have before, eventually I'll see everything.

Sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Mosiac Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

We left and walked to the park as the museum sits just beside it, we found the Alice in Wonderland statue next to the toy boating lake and then walked south towards Times Square. It was nearly dark out, we had a hot chocolate at a café next to the LOVE sculpture and then found the bright lights of Times Square, a sensory overload with bright neon and digital bill boards all flashing at you while people dressed in costumes take selfies with tourists. Not us though, we took in the lights and then headed back to our peaceful Park Slope neighbourhood, a stark contrast to bustling mid town Manhattan.

The Alice in Wonderland Statuein Central Park, New York

The LOVE Sculpture by Robert Indiana in New York

Matthew said that he wouldn't mind going to the Natural History Museum, I think most probably due to its appearance in the Night At The Museum films. It was a dreary wet day so another museum day sounded good. We got there by subway as usual and queued in the rain to get in, luckily we didn't have to wait long. The museum was again big, but not quite as polished as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We walked through the exhibition halls looking at the dioramas of people of different cultures, animals and landscapes. There was even a New Forest scene which is a national park just a short drive from our home in the U.K. It's amazing how quickly time goes when you're wandering around a museum, before we knew it we were edging closer to closing time and we hadn't even seen the main draw, the dinosaur exhibit. While Craig wandered on, mum, Matthew and I stopped to take a proper look around the crystal and meteorite hall before heading upstairs to see the dinosaur replicas, one of which was brand new and the biggest I've ever seen. Whilst in the museum Craig and I got an email confirming our Indian visas which was a huge relief.

We left the museum at closing time and made our way to the MoMA for the free Friday night event that they run each week. In an effort to save the cents we had decided to squeeze in a trip to see the artwork while it was free although the crowds made it near impossible to enjoy the paintings on display. Luckily mum and I have already seen the work inside the MoMA so I wasn't too annoyed and enjoyed getting to spend a few minutes with my favourite painting, Monet's water lily triptych. The hoards of people surrounding the Van Gogh painting were a sight to see, I love Van Gogh as much as the next person but I'll never understand how his work causes such a scrum. It's ridiculous.

Admiring My Favourite Artwork, Monet's Water Lily Triptych in the MoMA

Hoards Gather To Glimpse Van Gogh's Starry Night in the MoMA

The next day, with slightly brighter weather we went back to downtown Manhattan, this time to see the 9/11 memorial. When I first visited New York on a college trip in 2005 the events of 9/11 were still very fresh in everyones mind, still raw. Ground Zero was a mess and the catastrophic effects of the collapsing towers had left scars. In 2010 when I visited with my mum, the area had began to recover and now, seven years after that I could see a transformation. One World Trade Center was finished and the footprints of the original World Trade Center towers had been memorialised with two huge sunken pools, inscribed with all those who had lost their lives in the terror attack. What broke my heart most was seeing the names of a few of the women with 'and her unborn child' written by it. There were a few white roses dotted around, we learned that the staff put a rose out on the victims birthday.

Looking Up One World Trade Center in New York

After paying our respects at the memorial, watching the water cascade into the pools and reflecting on the site mum, Craig and I took a trip to the One World Trade Center observation deck while Matthew stayed behind. The $37 entrance fee was steep but we were interested to see the views from the top. The panoramic views over Manhattan, New Jersey, Brooklyn and beyond were impressive though not quite as charming as viewing from the Empire State Building, possibly because we were behind glass. I loved hearing facts about the building and the Twin Towers, like how when the towers were standing some workers on high floors would feel motion sick in windy weather as the towers would sway. We met Matthew back on ground level and walked to a nearby shopping mall that he had found to grab a bite to eat in the food court; there were no McDonalds or KFC's around though thank goodness. Instead there were a dozen boutique eateries and food stands to choose from, all as tempting as the last. From New York bagels to gourmet burgers, bulging burritos as well as Japanese cuisine and BBQ. We were spoilt for choice and all ended up choosing something different. With bellies full we left the mall and walked to the waters edge on the west side of Manhattan, we kept walking, admiring the Hudson River and the cluster of buildings on the other side. On and on we went until we reached The High Line, an elevated promenade which stretches from the Meatpacking District to Chelsea, the repurposed railway line has been made into a communal space full of benches, plants and artworks. We walked the entire length of the park and could see the West Side from a new perspective, apartment blocks adorned with anti-Trump street art, the Hudson and little local shops and business premises.

The View Over The East River and To Brooklyn From One World Trade Center in New York

The View Over The Hudson River From One World Trade Center in New York

We left The High Line and walked around Chelsea looking for a café, eventually we stumbled upon a pâtisserie where we stopped for hot chocolates and a delicious fresh cream pastry. We wandered on and found Chelsea Market, a characterful indoor marketplace with exposed brick, twinkling fairy lights and a homely yet industrial feel. The market was full of shops of all kinds, a bookstore, a clothing shop in flea market style, a cookery shop and a whole host of eateries. I was tempted by several beautiful books and art prints in one store but was sensible and walked away, next time I'll return to the city with a big suitcase when I can fill my boots with all the lovely things. As the sun was setting we walked back to the Hudson River where Craig managed to capture some dramatic shots of the incredibly moody sky and sun rays peeping through. A little wander through the pretty brownstone neighbourhood of the West Village was our last activity of the day, we stopped by a convenience store to grab some Twizzlers an American sweet confection; I also picked up a slice of takeaway New York baked cheesecake to eat while I walked, yes a mere couple of hours after our pâtisserie stop and I'm not even ashamed. The area was becoming more lively as it was a Saturday night, if only we had a table reservation and empty bellies, it looked like a great place to get dinner.

City Views from The High Line in New York

We started the day with a walk around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis reservoir in Central Park, a little further up the park than we had explored so far. As it was Sunday morning the joggers were out doing their circuit and friends had gathered for a relaxed stroll. We walked from the south side of the water all the way round to the north west side where we stopped at a greasy spoon style café on the Upper West Side for a no fuss hot chocolate to warm ourselves up. As the week went on the weather seemed to get chillier and more overcast, that first day in the hot sun in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden seemed like a distant memory! We caught the subway to Chinatown, the district is in complete contrast to the parts of the city that we had been to so far; suddenly Craig and I felt some familiarity as we walked past hawkers, it really is like being in an Asian city. As we wandered by the shops selling trinkets and the dim sum restaurants with steamed up windows the rain started to fall. We ducked for cover then pulled on our rain macs to brave the weather. We walked on leaving Chinatown behind to the East Village to find Crif Dogs, a hot dog place that I'd researched earlier as they offer vegetarian dogs. We gorged on hot dogs with avocado and all the condiments with a side of potato tots and I was not disappointed. I'd always wanted to try a New York hot dog like the kind you see on a street stand but my first visit to the city in 2005 was six weeks after I became vegetarian so I never got the opportunity before.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, New York

We caught the train north and visited Bloomingdales department store before taking a last walk around the lower end of Central Park, unfortunately it rained again so we sought shelter under a bridge and got chatting to an interesting businessman. He gave us some tips on where to go in the park but it was just too wet and was our last full day so I was a little disappointed not to get to the places he suggested.

We woke up on our last morning together, I was feeling really sad. The week had been so fun and jam packed that I didn't want it to end, we'd seen so many sights and walked miles, eaten lovely food and enjoyed lots of art too. It had been my favourite kind of week and now it was at an end. Luckily mum and Matthews flight wasn't until the evening and Craig and mines was very early the next day so we had a few more hours to go yet. We took ourselves out for breakfast for the first time; I had delicious egg, cheese and avocado on sourdough. Craig went to get a haircut as the last time he had it done was in Bolivia where his hair wasn't really cut so much as hacked at while the rest of us went for a walk around Prospect Park. The sun was out which was joyous so we did a loop before meeting Craig and taking an easy stroll around Park Slope and South Slope. Our last dinner was at Joe's pizzeria, our go-to place for the week due to it's amazing quality and cheap prices. We chilled out in our lovely apartment until we had to take mum and Matthew to JFK, we tried packing their bags with a few things to take home for us but their 10kg each weight limit didn't allow for too much. The farewell was sad and to tell the truth I could easily have got on the plane back home with them. We rushed back to the apartment to pack up and tidy up as it was already gone 11pm, in just a few short hours we'd be back at JFK for our flight to Delhi.

New York video:

Have you been to New York? If so, are you as in love with the place as I am? Maybe you're planning a trip, I've got tonnes of advice and tips I can share. Let me know in the comments below.

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them.

Claire Leach 18/09/2017 Claire Leach 18/09/2017

Central America

March 22nd 2017 - May 1st 2017

When we first planned to go backpacking we didn't set out to visit Central America. In fact, the only thing that we did plan in advance was our initial flight from London to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. We thought we might spend a year exploring the South American continent, hoping to touch upon most of the countires in that time. Whilst we happily travelled from place to place, crossing borders and ticking off amazing wonders at our own pace we realised that we were getting through the continent much faster than anticipated. We weren't rushing in the slightest, in fact we felt as though we were dawdling a bit too long in some places.

By the time we got to Bolivia around Christmas time (nearly four months in to the trip) to spend a few weeks in the beautiful white city of Sucre to take Spanish lessons we began to think bigger than South America. We'd always wanted to visit India as we didnt make it to the vast country on our last big trip where we took in many countries in Asia. We started looking into flights to grasp an idea of how much it would cost to get there and therefore how feasible it would be to go. With Colombia in mind as our last destination in South America (as Venezuela is too dangerous currently for tourism) we researched flights and were blown away by how expensive they were and how long winded; several stops, multiple hours. Undeterred we looked at other routes, what if we flew somewhere else first so that our flight to India was cheaper? With this in mind I opened up Skyscanner and after much research I found that we could fly to India via New York very cheaply. Colombia direct to New York however was expensive so I looked up flights to New York flying from Mexico which was a good bet. With our new plan in our minds we booked both tickets. We were in Bolivia with one way tickets from Cancun in Mexico to New York booked and New York to Delhi booked. Now there was just the small matter of working out how we would get to Mexico.

Towards the end of our time in South America we booked cheap one way flights from Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast to Panama, the most southerly country on the ithsmus of Central America. It would have been nice to continue to travel overland but the Colombia/Panama border sits in the wild Darien Gap jungle and isn't the safest place to travel through. Once in Panama I picked up a Lonely Planet Central America guidebook from a hostel shelf and used it to plan a rough route to Cancun in Mexico in time for our flight to New York which worked out at 40 days to do the journey. Of course, we didn't want to make things too easy for ourselves so we aimed to touch upon each country in Central America as we went. That meant travelling through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and finally Mexico. While in Costa Rica we decided to also include Cuba in our plans and booked return flights to Havana from Cancun making our journey time even shorter.

There is a lot of talk on the internet about the idea of 'slow travel'. Making the most of your time by not ticking off things to do and rushing around cramming everything in but by wandering at a gentle pace, people watching and embracing the idea of living in a new place for a time. Well, as you can imagine our time in Central America was anything but slow. We mostly spent no longer than two nights anywhere, only staying longer once we had made it to Mexico and knew we wouldn't be in any trouble of missing our flights.

We may have moved fast but our experience was still wonderful, full of the same kind of adventures and emotions as South America had been only our general journey times were shorter. Panama shone through as being our favourite country, we enjoyed staying in Panama City where we could enjoy the novelty of American fast food (avocado topped veggie burgers with fries and all the condiments anyone?) whilst watching basketball on TV, Boquete was a peaceful nature filled destination after seeing the city sights and we fell head over heels for Bocos del Toro and in particular the island paradise of Cayo Zapatilla. There is something about powdery white sand and crystal clear warm ocean that is just irresistible.

Costa Rica unfortunatly fell short of our expectations and we do feel sorry about that as it is a country on many people's wishlist due to its natural beauty and wildlife. As budget conscious backpackers we found the country to be 1. very expensive and 2. totally unsuited to backpacker travel. Getting aound was tricky, all the food and activities were too costly and unfortunately quite a few of the locals were unhelpful.

The many Mayan sites that we visited in Central America were a wonder. From the intricately carved decorative stones in Copán, Honduras to tourist filled Tulum in Mexico to the awesome Tikal in Guatemala. And not forgetting Chichén Itzá in Mexico with its 'wonder of the world' status. Each Mayan site piqued our curiosity and left us feeling like true explorers.

The food in Central America was also a highlight. The staples were rice and beans, refried beans, plantain, avocado, salty cheese and tortilla, need I say more? Baleadas in Honduras were something that we'd never heard of before, let alone tasted. I now make a version of them regularly at home for lunch. I'm no food blogger but they are so easy to make and delicious too so here goes: take a flour or soft corn tortilla wrap, smooth on a layer of refried beans (I use a version with chilli in), grate over cheese and add chunks of fresh avocado. Fold over and squash down slightly, place in a medium-hot dry frying pan for a couple of minutes until contents are warmed through and the the tortilla has crisped up and browned slightly. Sour cream can be added and in Honduras they were made with egg inside too.

When I think back to Central America I think of;

• Riding in chicken buses

• Accidentally joining an Easter parade

• Searching high and low for a working ATM

• Breakfast overlooking beautiful blue Lake Atitlán in Guatemala

• Exploring Mayan ruins

• Swimming in a magical cenote in Mexico

• The machete weilding man

• The most chaotic border crossing

• The perfectly cooked plantain

• Baking hot bike rides in Nicaragua

• Toasting marshmallows over volcanic heat

• Paradise in Panama

• The worlds most delicious gelato.

With our goal of touching upon every country in Central America met plus a quick jolly to Cuba thrown in too we moved on to the next part of our trip, a week in New York with my mum and brother to recover from our fast paced 40 days and then India, perhaps our biggest challenge to come.

Have you been to Central America? If so where did you go and how did you like it? If you're thinking of going and would like any advice or travel tips then please let me know in the comments below.

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A sweet little watercolour inspired by autumn in the forest. 🍂 Available at claireleach.com/shop for £140 plus postage.

An August Afternoon, 15cm x 10.5cm, ink on paper. Available to purchase via my shop; claireleach.com/shop. Full of light and leafy details, inspired by a walk on a summers day @lacocknt in Wiltshire. 🌞