Day 139 - Had breakfast and then caught a collectivo taxi which is a minibus for about 12 people but very cheap. We went about an hour from Merida to a place called Cuzama. We then went to a place where we hired transportation for a tour. The transport was a horse drawing a little carriage along metal think train tracks. The tour took us to three different cenotes, which are caves that have beautiful clear water in them for swimming. There are rays of sunlight coming through the caves onto the water which shows how clear and turqoise they are. We went to three on our little horse drawn buggy and swam in them. Very nice way to spend an afternoon. Then back to Merida and had fried fish and chips, not like the English fish and chips but still very good.

Day 140 - Booked onto a tour to see the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, which was a very important military settlement around 900-1200 AD. There is still a great deal to see there and we had a guide show us round so we knew what we were looking at. he took us to the older part first where the main thing to see was an astronomy observatory as the Mayans were big on astronomy and how it linked to crops, fertility and Gods etc. Then we saw the main plaza, which had a huge Egyptian style pyrmaid at its centre and the place where the markets were at the other end. There is also an old Mayan stadium where they played their games, which looked fairly bloodthristy from the carvings on the walls of the stadium. We then had an hour to look round on our own. After that we went for a buffet lunch which ws included in the price of the tour. Then headed back to Merida where we got back about 6pm. Freshened up and out for dinner. It is very cheap here. I had two Coronas and a pasta dish for dinner and that cost about four pounds…cant complain for that price!

Day 141 - Got up and had breakfast, nice pancakes with maple syrup. Then headed to the bus station where we took the five hour bus journey over to the Caribbean coast of Mexico to Tulum. We arrived into Tulum around 3pm and headed straight to Lobo Inn where we had a reservation. But they had messed it up and given our room to someone else to she gave a free night in the dormitory before moving to our room tomorrow. We then walked down to the beach where the ruis of Tulum are. Tulum ruins are situated right next to the beach on the cliffs. It was an important trading port for the Mayans around 1200AD. We walked round the ruins backed by the turquoise sea of the Caribbean. We ended by getting down to the beach from the ruins and having a nice swim in the sea. The out into the town which was a taxi ride away from out hotel, for dinner! Had a great pizza.

Day 142 - Got ourselves down to the beach after a very early lunch in town and it rained a little in the morning. Then set up for an afternoon at the beach. tulum beach is amazing, about 40m wide and it stretches for about 6kmn continuously of white soft sand. Spent the afternoon there and then had dinner in one of the beach side restaurants before heading back to the hotel.

Day 143 - Got checked out of the hotel and got to the bus station for about 11am. Paid barely anything for a one hour bus onto Playa Del Carmen, our next port of call. Arrived into Playa Del Carmen and annoyingly the hotel we wanted to stay at was fully booked today so had to make do with another similarly priced one nearby…at least it has air-con, because it is insanely hot right now!! Had a nice lunch and then spent the afternoon at the beach. The beach runs parallel to the main street called 5th Avenue, which is where all the shops, bars and hotels are. So we only have to walk about 30m to the beach. the beach is nice although it is quite built up as it is a major package holiday destination for Brits, Americans and rich Mexicans. There are some massive all inclusive resorts just outside the town. After nice day at the beach we went out for dinner and a wander round the shops

Day 144 - In the morning we moved to the nice hotel, which is called Lab Nah and has a pool and iseven nearer the beach. we then went out for a proper Mexican lunch and had Chicken tacos (like burritos) with rice and beans, very tasty. Then spent the afternoon on the beach and had a little excitement just before we were about to head back to the hotel. Storm clouds were brewing on the horizon and Catherine said, “Adam, is that a tornado forming out there?” I replied assertively, “no, of course it isn’t, you only get those in North American in the states.” We kept watching and before long Catherine said, “no, I am sure I can see a tornado reaching down and touching the sea surface.” And……she was spot on, a tornado had formed out at sea and by this point you could see the bottom of the twister spraying up loads of water on the surface. the whole beach was looking out and taking photos. Then the rain clouds closed in around it and it disappeared! The back to the hotel and out for a nice dinner and a walk about!

Day 145 - Spent the morning by the pool and had a good swim and read our books. Then out for lunch and had nice cheap tacos again. Then when the sun had gone from the pool in the afternoon, we headed down to the beach for the afternoon. In the evening we treated ourselves to a bit of a nicer meal and went out for a steak each and had a few drinks! Then after dinner we went down to the beach and had a drink at a nice bar then headed onto a place where we knew there was a big fire show. the crowds were huge, partly because of the show and partly because ladies drinks were free that night. The fire show was amazing, four people swinging round fire sticks and wheels. Very crazy but very entertaining!

Day 146 - Last full day in Playa Del Carmen. had some breakfast then down to the pool for the morning. Had a subway for lunch and then set off on a big walk down the beach to explore a bit. The first beach is in the town then the next beach has a few big all inclusive hotels on it. Then you come to a third beach after quite a walk. this is an amazing quiet stretch of white sand beach and clear water backed by greenery, rather than hotels, which is nice. Spent the afternoon there and then walked back. In the evening out for dinner and then off to bed!

Day 131 - Arrived in San Cristobal De La Cases early in the morning. It is at 2100m in the mountains and is widely regarded as the finest example of a Spanish colonial town in Mexico if not all of Latin America. We found a hostel and had breakfast and then set off walking around. We wandered round the main square and saw the cathedral and visited the very colourful markets. Catherine has dragged me into practically every jewellery shop on offer. San Cristobal is one of the few places in the world where amber is mined and jade and turqoise are also in abundance making jewellery relatively cheap and she is looking for a pendant. Had lunch and continued to wander around most of the day and then out for dinner in the evening!

Day 132 - Spent another day walking round San Cristobal and stopping off in cafes, chilling out, reading etc. Very hard day! also visited the mayan medicine centre which explains how they use the jungle to cure every day ailments etc. Also went to see a hacienda which was where two Dutch anthropologists lived as they studied the Mayan culture in the state of Chiapas where we are. They went into the rainforest and lived with the Lancandonian Mayans and learnt their ways of living and amassed a photography collection of over 50,000 photos…some, not all of which, are on display! They were honoured for their environmental work by the UN in 1991. Then in the evening out for a pasta dinner and then watched a DVD.

Day 133 - Up early as off on a tour today. We set off at 9am to the Sumidero Canyon about an hour from San Cristobal. We went on a two hour boat ride down the river which runs through the canyon. The canyon is huge and very impressive with 100oft walls of sheer cliffs on each side. At its highest point, the canyon is 1000m or 3000ft high! As we went along the boat, we saw alot of wildlife including pelicans, monkeys in the trees and crocodiles, which was good for photos. On the way back, nearer the midday sun, the crocodiles came out to bask in the sun on the banks of the river and we could get quite close up in the boat before they slunk back into the water! They grow up to 6-7m long in that area! Then had lunch at a small town on the way back and arrived back mid afternoon. And did not do a great deal for the rest of the day!

Day 134 - Last day in San Cristobal and had a lie in as we were rather tired, despite having not done a great deal. So we had, perhaps, the most laid back day ever! We basically walked from cafe to cafe and I finished the book I have been reading and sat in the squares as it was very hot! Very stressful day, but also managed to get our travel plans sorted for the following day to Palenque and then an overnight bus to Merida. In the evening we went out for a good dinner, I had all you can eat meat and salad buffet and had steak and chicken, so stuffed myself. Then we went to the cinema after dinner!

Day 135 - Up at 5.45am, which is an obscenely unearthly hour of the day for both of us! Got packed up and then picked up by a minibus and we set off towards Palenque and we both went to sleep. Had two stops along the way, firstly, a beautiful cascading waterfall called Agua Azul, meaning water blue. It was 500m and came down in many layers and you could walk all the way up the side and see it. Then a bit further on the journey we stopped at Misol Ha, a Mayan named waterfall which was about 150m and just dropped down straight into a massive circular pool and that was really nice too. Had lunch their and then onwards to Palenque. Palenque sits high in the jungle and is one of the mosty significant archaelogical finds in Mexico. So far, 26 temples have been excavated but from surverys done from the sky with high tech equipment they have established there is a total of over 1,500 temples in the city of Palenque. They remain unexcavated in the jungle! We hired a tour guide who took us round the main temples, some of which have sarcophogi hidden deep in the middle of the temples, found by walking through passage ways! The most interesting thing we picked up from the tour is how Palenque is a mix of civilisations, with influences from Eqypt, Grece, China, Thailand etc. There is a carving of Tuthenkhamun and many carvings of Egyptian dress and a Chinese dragon. The theory behind this is that they went out into the world and wer linked with som of those civilisations through trade! At the end of the tour we were dropped off at the bus station and had six hours to kill before our overnight bus, which we had booked, to take us to Merida in the state of Yucutan! So we went to a Best Western hotel and sat and had a drink and then a long dinner to try and buy time! Then off on the overnight bus to Merida at midnight.

Day 136 - Arrived in Merida at 9am, but unfortunately Catherine had succumbed to food poisoning on the bus during the night so had a rather unpleasant journey! Went to a hotel and checked in and Cat slept most of the day and did not eat so i just read my book and had a look round the town and had a subway for dinner!!

Day 137 - Catherine still felt rather porrly but managed to have a bit of a walk round. Then I went off and tried to find a better deal on hotels as the one we are in is rather poor and overpriced. Had a swim in the pool in the afternoon and then out for something to eat and then watched a dvd with Catherine in the evening!! Not a massive amount to report really! Merida is a really nice town and is in Spansh colonial style around the centre. The main square is now a continental style plaza with cafes around the egde. The Spanish conquistadores dismantle the Mayan teemples that were there and used the same stone to build a huge cathedral and a stone plaza!

Day 138 - Moved to a much nicer hotel I found in the morning and Catherine managed to stomach some breakfast and is feeling a bit better! We even managed to have a look round the town today and went to some markets and cultural site the city has to offer. In the evening there was traditional salsa dancing going on in the streets in front of the restaurants where they had bands playing and the roads were blocked off to traffic. So after dinner we went and watched this which was quite interesting.

Day 122 - Up early on Ambergris Caye and then caught a water taxi over to the nerarby island of Caye Caulker where our sailing trip departed from. Arrived there and got a samll motorized dinghy out to the sail boat which was anchored at sea. Mum found it a little dodgy but it was fine! Then off we went on our Caribbean sailing trip. The sea was amazing, really clam and clear blue and turqoise colours. We stopped next to the reef just before lunch for an hours snorkelling which was great then back onto the boat for a hearty lunch of chicken rice and beans!! The sailed all afternoon and eventually reached our overnight detsination of Rendezvous Caye. It was a 100m tiny uninhabited island in the caribbean. I attempted to ask where the toilet was to be designatedf and the captain replied, “wherever you want to go!”. I was more concerned for Mum than myslef however everyone managed fine. Then we set up our tents on the beach while the crew prepared dinner! Despite a few dodgy pieces of tent apparatus we all got sorted in the end and then everyone saytt round the fire and tucked into some lethal rum punch while waiting for dinner. Dinner then arrived off the boat which was fresh barracuda caught that day from the boat, with rice, which was good. Everyone then drank and drinking games before bed. The night was cut short by rain as everyone had to run to put the waterproof layer on their tents!

Day 123 - Up at 6.30am with the sun beaming down on the tents! Into the sea for wash and then onto the boat for breakfast of scrambled eggs and fruit. Some were feeling a little worse for wear from the rum punch the night before!! Set sail and off we went and again stopped off for snorkelling along the reef then lunch of sandwiches. Arrived to our second nights islkand stop of Tobacco Caye mid afternnon which is an inhabited island but still very small. Mum and Dad felt like a little luxury and got a sea front little cabana with a balcony over the water and Catherine and I bagfged a place on the floor. We all had a swim round the island and saw huge sting rays munching on lobster carcasses!! Then a few beers in the bar before dinner. Dinner was shrimp, rice and barracuda and was awesome.

Day 124 - Final day of the sailing trip and a delayed deaparture. The captain and the crew were proper sailors and used the sails nearly all the time. However, there was a tropical storm closing in today and they wanted to make sure they had the motor as backup….they did not!! It was in tru Belizean style, broken. They had a to wait for a part to come from another island but nothing worked and we set off just with sails! Progress was slow as the wind was not helping us that much! Eventually Dice had to get behind the boat and push it along with the motorized dinghy to speed us up. We got to Placenica t 5pm just as a hug rainsotrm closed in however, it took a while to clsoe in on the pier without a motor and we had to be toed in with a rope by a speedbpat in the end! The trip was a once in lifetime thing though and we had great fun! Went straight for some food as we were all pretty hungry and had a good shrimp dinner and then onto ou hotel called Laru beya which was ten minutes outside the town. We had an awesome two bedroom apartment with a kitchen and stitting room, and a blacony next to the pool.

Day 125 - Catherine and I got up early to go into town to get some shopping for lunch and breakfast and got back and them woke Mum and Dad up! Spent the morning by the pool then lunch in the aprtment then a relaxed afternoon by the pool swimming and reading! In the evening we headed into town a little early and Mum and Catherine went round some shops while Jase and I had a few beers. Then we all met up and went for dinner at a beachside place called Da Thatch! Then back to the hotel for the evening.

Day 126 - Last full day in Placencia and had breakfast and then bit of time by the pool although the weather dropped off a bit today. Mum and Dad spent the afternoon in Placencia shopping and freqeunting a few watering holes!! Then in the eveing we went to a very nice hotel called Turtle Inn. The place is owned by francis Ford Coppola of Godfather directing fame and he has a family home there at the hotel which costs a mere $2000US per night! We chose to only go for dinner. The food was very very good and then back to the hotel and played cards

Day 127 - Got packed up in the morning and then got a minibus transfer over to Mayflower National Park, which was about an hour away. It is the place where we did our Trekforce conservation all that time ago!! We were booked to stay at a nice jungle eco lodge in the park called Mama Noots. We checked in and were the only guests in the whole place and had a nice lunch straight away. Then got walking gear on and set off up to Bocawina Falls where we did some work with Trekforce. Unfortunately most of it had been washed away by severe weather in the time between our visits! Had a nice swim in the waterfall and then walked back to the lodge for late afternoon. Got showered and then had dinner and then there is not a great deal else to do in the evening in the jungle so we played cards!

Day 128 - Got up and had a chilled morning, had breakfast then had a little read then an early lunch. Got ready for walking again and this time went to the other side of the park to Antelope Falls which is a very high waterfall with great views from the bottom upwards. The waterfall was in full flow because there had been alot of rain in the park recently. Then back to the lodge for shower and dinner.

Day 129 - This is where the fun began…………..up at 6.30am to have breakfast and then get our transfer out to the local aiport to fly back to Belize City for Mum and Dad´s flight home. However, the road out of the jungle to the highway which is five miles long was completely flooded by 3 feet of water near the highway. The rest of the road was clear but the last half a kilometer or so was impassable even by a high clearance jeep! Oh dear….Mum and Dad realised we were stuck and the rain carried on, it really rained hard in the night. They managed to get the owner of the lodge to ring a contact at the Belize toruism board and get them to rearrange their flight for no extra charge, so it was put forward a day. But there was no saying we were going to get out for that anyway. eventually, after lunch, we set off in the jeep with all of us, the owner, her daughter and boyfriend and another friend. Everyone came in case we needed to push. First 4 miles were fine, bit of water but not much, then we came to the flood where the river is supposed to cross under the road. It crossed, very much, over the road. We checked out it and walked into it and it had dropped to knee height which was ok for walking through. Wer all got loaded up with bags and off we went wading through the floods! All got safely across, bit of a slog because it was tiring on the legs especially carrying big bags. Had a taxi waiting for us but then there were more floods on the highway and we began to see the extent of the damage with houses flooded and cars submerged and water flowing across the highway. Luckily the driver got us through and we got to the airport there minutes after our flight was meant to take off but still managed to just get on it! It was an eight seater plane and Jase went in the co-pilots seat it was that small. Flew to Flew to Belize City, still soaking wet from the floods, then went straight to a bed and breakfast and got showere. Out for the last supper with Mum and Dad in the evening and had a nice Indian meal then off to bed!

Day 130 - Mum and Dad went off to the airport in the morning for their flight and we went in the taxi with them and said goodbye. Then, luckily the day before we had arranged with the taxi driver that we would come to the Mexican border with him where he goes to buy cheaper fule, and we would give him some fuel money. So he drove to the Mexican border and we got a lift and he then dropped us off in Chetumal, the first town across the border from Belize. It was a good way to do it rather than a hot bus, which would have taken alot longer. Went to the bus terminal and found out we needed an overnight bus to San Cristobal De La Cases at 9pm. Had lunch and then went to a shopping mall and watched a flim at the cinema to pass the time. Then got out overnight bus in the evening!

Day 99 - Today after a brief stroll about town in the morning I went back to my room, still feeling a little ropey, and found that my flip flops were missing. Stink. Therefore I needed to go buy some newbies. There was also a new guy in my room called Jude, great name. He was from down south but had gone to uni in sheffield. He was a good lad and came about town with me. Turns out we like a lot of the same things, bonus.

That evening Jude was going to go meet some girls that he’d gone to spanish school with and I was going to go but was still feeling very delicate. Instead we decided to go see the new Indiana Jones. Saturday night at the cinema, calm down, stop it. What a hardcore night. When you first get a glimpse of the man himself all the locals started clapping and cheering. I still don’t get the clapping in a cinema, even at the end of the film. Raro. The best bit was seeing the Iguazu falls… Who has been there?
Day 100 - Sunday = massive sleep to get over the illness. And then went for lunch/dinner with Jude. We then went around to the girl’s flat. They are two american girls called Eve and Steph. We just sat around chatting and having a couple of drinks. Then a couple of good films came on so we watched them. I was pretty glad to be honest because I didn’t fancy going out so soon after being ill. Somehow it still ended up being a late one.

Day 101 - Lunes (part of our joint learning). Basically today was a day dedicated to the español. I had my lessons in the afternoon and then when I was back atthe hostel I had a little nap to prepare myself for the super heroes themed party that evening. However it turns out I was tireder than I thought and I slept until 1.30am. I went down to the party then but didn’t last long as I was a little behind everyone else…

Day 102 - Martes. Today I met Marion, a friend of Jude’s who he’d met whilst volunteering in the favelas of Rio. Again the day was dedicated to aprendiendo español. However in the evening I finally manage to pull myslef together.

Jude and I plus the 3 girls went to a milonga, which is an old school tango hall. They have tango lessons in the early evenings plus show type things later. The place was pretty cool,. It was an old hall that looked like it was falling a part with furniture that looked like it had been cobbled together from a antique junk shop. The walls were covered in tango related pictures and other cool arty things. Hanging from the roof was a huge sculpted heart was was a little weird but cool all the same. I think it was suppose to represent the fact that tango is in the hearts of the people acá.

After the milonga we went to an Irish bar for a couple of drinks.

Day 103 - Today was a very important day in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors had reached the semi finals of the champions league equivalent and everyone was preparing for the big game. We managed to get tickets ourselves which was good. Unfortunately there were playing in Racing’s ground due to their continuing punishment for bad fan behaviour. It took over 2 hours to make a ten minute journey before the game, ridiculous and not particularly fun when you have crammed 5 into a 4 man taxi…

The game itself was amazing and we were down in the terraces with the diehard fans. It was class. And if it wasn’t for a clanger from the keeper Boca would have beaten Fluminiese 2-1. 2 away goals was far more than they deserved. Boca could have won 4-1 if their finishing had been better…

After the game we had to wait in the bitter cold for over an hour until we could find a libre taxi. Thankfully once found we were back in the warmth of the hostel in less than 10 mins.

Day 104 - Jueves. We have started flying through the tenses in the spanish classes which is good because I will have all the theory when I go home so that I can continue it. Pretty hard though. There are more tenses in spanish than english…

That evening we went to a really cool bar called Le Bar. In this place the seats are sunk into the floor and generally it is a really cool arty place. We really did like this bar. It also served amazing cocktails (tragos). My tipple of choice was a kiwi, ice, ginger and vodka all whizzed up. Brilliant. Not only was it a nice drink it also helped with my 5 a day. One whole kiwi per drink…

We were also joined in the bar by Marion’s room mates, all of whom were Brazilian.

Day 105 - Viernes. Today we carried on apace with the learning. I do often get tired towards the end of lessons because it has been a long time since I had to engage my brain constantly for this extended period of time.

In the evening the american girls came around to the hostel where we drank before going to Sunset. Sunset is one of the biggest clubs in Buenos Aires and is where Maradona regularly goes. I don’t know why! I did have a good night but not because the place was good. Firstly it is mile away and takes a long time to get there. It is huge and must be hard to get it packed out, and finally the music wasn’t great… Still didn’t get back until 7am, but did find a new late night food place, selling empanadas and milanesas. Perfect and much better than the dodgy burger joint…

Day 106 - A slow start to the day was had. I think we surfaced around 1pm, which isn’t too bad considering the hour at which we returned. Feeling hungry but ropey we thought it would be good to go get some healthy food. Jude knew about this very nice all you can eat vegetarian restaurant. Just what the doctor ordered. We then went to she how the american girls were doing. I was suppose to go pick a few things up from the shops but instead I opted to nap on the girl’s sofas for a while. The vegetable intake shocked my body so I needed to rest…

That evening was a repeat of the night before with drinking at the hostel and then out to a club. This time the club in question was Pacha and it was amazing. Huge, packed and good music. Jude and I may have thrown some shapes on the dancing podiums…

Day 107 - Domingo. What a sad day today was. Jude left us to head up to Lima. We all wer devastated. We did cheer ourselves up by going to the San Telmo market and having a nice lunch. We then popped along to La Bombonera and got tickets for 24 pesos or 4 GBPs to Boca Vs Arsenal that evening. It was a great game with Boca winning 3-1 with a team mainly consisting of reserve players. Great watch.

Then Marion, Phillp and I returned to the hostel and watch a couple of films until the early hours. During this time I had to fend off the temptation to go out with this american guy Ryan trying to persuade me… I managed to stay at the hostel.

Day 114 - Final day in Roatan and the weather was great so thought would make the most of it and we got a water taxi down to West Bay. Had a nice snorkel around which is like swimming pool with fish in it is so clear. Then we went for a great lunch at a nearby hote. They had half price Italian dishes so we indulged!! Then back onto the beach for the afternoon and swimming and reading. In the evening we got packed up and then had pancakes for dinner to use our food we had left over!! Then an early night as up early tomorrow!

Day 115 - Up very early…4.30am….ridiculous hour of the day!! Got a taxi to the airport and then had a mssiv delay of three hours waiting for our little plane to take us to Belize. Our plane did not show up so we had to get on another airlines plane to get to San Pedro Sula dnt ehn just got shown to a departure gate and told nothiong more. Eventually someone came and said there was a plane for Belize City. And of we went and arrived into good old Belize around lunchtime and ate in the airport. Then strolled across the road and hired ourselves a jeep for a few days and set off to the South of Belize to Punta Gorda which took about five hours because the roads are so bad!! Then checked into a little hotel we knew that we used to stay in when we were down there with Trekforce and had a nice shrimp dinner.

Day 116 - Got up and had some traditional Belizean fare for breakfast! Then went on the internet and then off to the shops to buy a few presents for the family we were about to go and visit. We were going into the Mayan village of Conejo Creek where we did our two months primary school teaching with Trekforce four years. We got them some pressies and off we went. When we arrived there was no one at the house as they were all washing in the creek! And someone from next doors “hut” went to get them for us. They were very pleased to see us…and had two new arrivals…two new boys…which now meant a total of seven kids!! We gave them their pressies and they were all very pleased and the boys loved their new football and the grils all wanted to show us their skills with a skipping rope and the dad wanted to show us his new cows and his new house which they were building in the field behind.  It was nice seeing them all again. We had some tirtillas and beans with them and Catherine helped make them! Then the yound boy of 14 Evaldo explaiend to us that he had got into high school which he was very proud of but his family could not afford to pay for him to go. Catherine and I offered to pay for it which was only about 75 pounds all together and they were overwhelmed! Then we set off back to Punta Gorda dn had dinner and off to bed.

Day 117 - Next on the visiting list was to go and see the teachers we worked with at the school and they were a couple called Carlos and Zeta. They could not place us at first when we turned up on their doorstep and then were in shock when they realised it was us from four years ago. We caught up with them and they took us out for lunch in town. Then after lunch we set off on the jeep again drove up the coast to Placencia which took about 2 hours. Checked into a hotel with air con for a bit of a treat as it was so hot and had a good meal!

Day 118 - Had a very chilled day, had a lie in and thn I went to a bar to watch the football and Catherine went to the beach and then came to meet me for luch. Then in the afternoon Catherine had a beuaty session at the salon and I got to watch more football which suited me!! Then we went to the beach and chilled at a nice bar onthe beach until the sun went down. Back to the hotel and had dinner at our hotel restaurant and I had the strangest Chicken Cordon Bleu of my life…perhaps should not have chose it in Belize!!!

Day 119 - Got up at 6am and checked out and set off driving up the highway to meet Mum and Dad in Belize City. Got to the aiport and dropped the jeep off and then went into the arrivals lounge to wait for them and there they were after 4 months of not seeing them. We got straight onto a 12 seater small plane and flew out on the fifteen minute flight to Ambergris Caye off Belize in the Caribbean Sea. We went to ou hotel called Banana Beach and got two very nice rooms with balconies overlooking the sea with fantastic views! Then went out for a bit of lunch and spent the afternoon by the pool relaxing. Then out for a very nice dinner at a beach side restaurant called Blue Water Grill and then Mum and Dad were feeling pretty shattered by then so got an earl night.

Day 120 - Up for breakfast at 7.30am as had to be ready to go on our first day tour. We had booked oursleves onto a catamaran tour. It was a really nice big boat with room for everyone to lie out sunbathing on deck. Our first port o call was the barrier reef about a kilometer of shore. There is a marine reserve called Hol Chan and that is where we snorkelled in the morning. Th marine life was incredible. We saw goliath goupers, tarpons, massive barracudas, schools o cloured fish, angelfish. And……the first thing Mum saw when she got out of the boatw as a shark……haha……only a nurse shark but still scared the life out o her. Then we moved onto Shark and Ray alley which is a part of the reed inhabitied by sharks and rays…would you believe that from the name of the place?! Mum stayed on the boat this time but we snorkelld with massive stingrays and eadle rays and nurse sharks which was fun. Then the catamaran headed onto Caye Caulker for our lunch stop where we all some great fresh seafood! Then a lesiurely cruise back all afternoon. All got showered and then out for dinner in the evening and a few drinks and then played cards back at the hotel!

Day 121 - Nice chilled day today with a bit of a lie in as everyone was quite tired. Then chilled by the pool for most of the day. However, late afternoon we went for a little walk to a lake on the island where there are wild salt water crocodiles. We arrived and there was no fence or official viewing point. There were a few Belizean guys putting on a very unofficial tour with whole chickens as bate! Anyway, we hung around and managed to see quite a few big crocs. One crazy American guy even sat on one of the crocs backs! Idiot! He didn´t get eaten though….unfortunately! Then in the evening we went back to Blue Water Grill again for dinner where the food is fantastic.

Day 96 - Finally back in Buenos Aires after a very good bus journey on the cama bus. Not much was achieved today but I did get back into the swing of things and sorted out the regular spanish classes with Carlos.

That evening I watched the champions league final in the hostel bar where I ran into the two brummie guys I had met the week before. After the game we went to the Des Nivels Parrilla restaurant in San Telmo. After finishing our huge steaks the waiter just walked by and dumped an extra, huge steak on one of our plates. Two of the guys were too full to have more so me and Adam tucked into it. Mighty fine.

We then went back to the hostel, had a couple of drinks and played the quiz. We joined a team of american guys that need some help. Name the two countries that have the most stars on their flags? We then decided to head out to Rumi, which is supposedly one of the biggest clubbing nights in Buenos Aires. The music is pretty hardcore trance music but a good night was on the cards.

On our return we accidently found a hamburger place still open at 6am. Bonus.

Day 97 - Turns out that that burger place wasn’t a good thing to find. Apart from going to a lesson, I was in bed all day apart from regular visits to the bathroom. The hot flushes weren’t fun either…

Day 98 - Still really ill today, one sip of water = trip to the bathroom. Fun fun fun. I manage to make it to my lesson though. Thats dedication. Not sure how often I have felt worse that this. For that reason all fun things that follow are going to be put in a different post. They shouldn’t be tainted!

Day 92 - Arrived in Cordoba and managed to bag a triple room for no more than the price of a dorm which is always a nice bonus. It also had cable, however the picture was a verde (green), meaning the only things that were watchable were sports like the football and tennis.

After a nice meal in the local square we napped to pepare ourselves for the evening. Tom and I then made use of the hostels kitchen and rustled up a feast. Of which Claire ate none because she was feeling a little ill. She missed a treat.

We then went out to experience the city, “that comes to life at night.” Firstly we went to a couple of Tragos bars and then a couple of bars. All of which had out door areas because of the sweltering heat. It was nice to be back in a place that was boiling. It was also odd because we hadn´t come that far north. It was welcomed all the same.

We then went to a club that didn´t have any music on, weird. Also ment that dance and hence staying awake wasn´t an option…

Day 93 - Claire was a little ill today so we had a rather large sleep. We were conserving energy for because that evening we were going to the biggest all you can eat restaurant in Argentina…

Later in the day with Claire still in bed ill, Tom and I went to the nearby square and had a couple of drinks, watched the Boca Juniors´game and caught up properly. During the game Boca fielded a reserves team because of their participation in the Copa Libertadores. One guy caught the eye and could well be seen in Europe in a few years. Look out for Ricardo Noir… Bit of a show pony but good all the same.

We then headed out to the restaurant and were the first in at 8pm. Supposedly we eat mas temprano for the Argentinians. The restaurant was great, it had an indoor water feature and mini river running through the middle of it. It then had a ridiculous amount of choice for food. It had different counters - as large as the whole counter in most all you can eat restaurants - one for each type of food. A salad section, fish, meat, pasta, starters, chinese, fried food and desserts. All this also cost us 24 pesos a head or 4 GBPs, bargin. Needless to say we left there a few hours later a few pounds heavier…

Day 94 - Probably won’t need to eat today after last night. I still can’t get over how good it was and how much we managed to stomach. Being a lovely hot day we decided to head to the canal and then to the park.

Firstly the canal was dried up do not much to see there, it wasn’t even a particularly nice area of the town, which we had been led to believe. Anyway it just meant that we headed to the park earlier. Whilst walking through the huge park we stumbled across a Zoo and thouhgt we’d have a gander. It actually turned out to be fun, however there were a few animals that were alone which was a shame. The elephant looked very bored…

After the tiring walk around the zoo we went and bought super panchos and sat in the park for the rest of the afternoon.

That evening we had corn on the cob, fantastic! And then went out for a few drinks. For a student city it certainly get quiet during the week. Most of the bars were quiet and only one of the clubs was open, and a tiny one at that. However the barman did look like jabba the hut…

Day 95 - A very relaxed day sorting out bus tickets and hostels. We then went for a nice lunch and then to the cinema to kill some time before our respective overnight bus journeys. This time I decided to upgrade myself to fully cama and it was well worth it. Bigger seats and no one next to you. Better food and better drinks and generally better services. Although it was weird bidding farewell to Tom and Claire knowing I was going to be completely alone from now until I return home in many a week… Oh well we will see how that turns out. Excited but a bit cautious is how I’d describe my feeling ahora.

Day 106 - Got up and had a quick breakfast before going off on a very exciting tour….we got a pick up to a volcanoe called Cerro Negro on a our…Central America’s youngest volcanoe at 150 years young! We walked up for and had a look round the crater and saw all the old lava from eruptions. It takes a 4.5 richter scale earthquake or above to erupt it and it erupts every 7 years or so! Then when we got to the top…..we boarded down it….this may sound silly!! They have fashioned snowbaord sledge type things to sit down and glide down over the scree and rock all the way from top to bottom of a 700m volcanoe. Cat was first up and held the breaks on…had her feet planted firmly downt he whole way, and did not enjoy herself but was fine. Another guy bombed it all the way down and had a huge wipeout at the bottom and had a few bloody scrapes. I went down somewhere in between at a repsectable speed. I was too tall for it though!! Great fun…I thought! Then back to Leon and caught a bus to Managua where we checked into a hotel and got our bus tickets for the trip the next day. Not the nicest area we have stayed in and there was a massive storm which scared the life out of us…thought we were going to get fried by lightning!!

Day 107 - Up in literally the middle of the night…got up at 3.30am!! Had to be at the station for 4am. Anyway, bus set off at 5am and we slept until the Honduran border which was reached around 10am. After passport procedures we continuned onto the capital Tegucigalpa where we had a short lucnh break. Thenanother 4 hours onto San Pedro Sula for an overnight stop. Found a good cheap hotel after getting in around 6pm. Had some dinner and got an early night as it had been a very long day!

Day 108 - Got up and left the hotel after a nice breakfast. We then had a very nice bus to La Ceiba which is a port on the Northern Coast of Honduras. Bus took three hours then we went to Pizza Hut for lunch…a rare western novelty!! Then got a taxi to the port to get our tickets for the ferry out to the island of Roatan in the Caribbean Sea!! I am not the least bit fond of rough seas…I get very anxious and irrationally nervous!! The seas were incredibly rough, swell up around the windows and the ferry felf like it was about to take off on the cusp of each wave it smashed over. This combined with numerous people hurling the guts up with sea sickness made it a less than pleasurable journey!! Anyway, I made it! Then got taxi to West End, the laid back village with a nice beach where Cat and I had two weeks after finishing with Trekforce two years ago! We even went back to the same place we stayed at, however, times have changed and it was not there in the same form. We found the same owner however, he has knocked them down and built eight very nice American condos and gone up market now charging $110 a night!! Bit out of our price range. But we still found a very nice apartment at a place called Mariposa Lodge where it has a balcony with hammocks and a very good kitchen!! We got settled in and then went for a walk round and as it was our first night, treated ourselves to a very nice meal at the Argentinian grill, where we both had great steaks! Then went to a bar with a live band playing and had a few drinks!

Day 109 - Got ourselves down to West Bay, which is a 2km white sand beach, with crystal clear blue water lapping against the shore. The reef is only about 200m off the shore which breaks the power of the waves meaning the water is always clam to swim in there. We spent the afternoon there and then took a water taxi after walking there initially which took a good hour and we got very hot doing so! Did some shopping and then back to the apartment. We bought fresh shrimp which we cooked in a garlic and tomatoe sauce with onion and green peppers with pasta. It cost about three pounds in total and was awesome! Then watched some TV and had a few drinks before going out again to the live band place. They were really good, had a few drinks there and then home!

Day 110 - Did not do a great deal today, perhaps suffering a little from the evening before. Went tothe pier and had a swim and a read in the afternoon. Had a nice dinner againand watched a film in the evening as the room has TV and Dvd player,which is pretty good!

Day 111 - Did even less today…I was rather ill…a gastro virtus leaving me with a very upset tummy! Also had aches, pains, headache and other lovely things! Watched alot of TV as barely moved from the bed….or the toilet all day! Not much fun for Catherine!

Day 112 - Felt a little better today…tummy still bad but other ailments improved! We took a minibus up to the aiport to book out plane tickets tofly to Belize City…on Friday 13th June…hope it’s not bad luck! Then went into Coxen Hole, a small town and had a look round the shops! Then back to West End and went out for lunch by the beach! Then in the afternoon we took a water taxi to West Bay beach and spent some chill time there! Had soem yummy home made or Catherine made burritos in the evening. Bug did not affect my appetite. Also watched Lord of the Rings after dinner!

Day 113 - Still struggling with my movements…well actually quite the opposite from struggling!! So we decided to go the doctors clinic. She was very nice and told me I have a gastro bug virus which goes round at this time of year! She gave me antibiotics and more rehydration solutions. And told me it will last 5-7 days so half way through!!! In the afternoon, we went to the pier and had a swim and read for a while and then back to the apartment for dinner!

Day 85 - We arrived far too early in the morning, around 7am. And just for good measure the hostess on the bus woke us up half an hour before arrival just to give us a morning biscuit. Cheers. Bright lights and a biscuit is much better than 30 mins sleep…

We had a little nap once checked into the Millhouse, again. Then we went about town and got some grub. Tom was still feeling a little ill so we didn´t do much. Mid afternoon whilst we were watching TV James and Alice returned to BA too and found us in the hostel.

We then went for a very nice steak for Tom and Claire´s last meal in BA. After a wee game of cards Tom and Claire went to bed because they had to catch a plane to Patagonia the following day. The other three of us decided to have a couple of drinks and head out to Pachá. This is supposedly one of the biggest clubs in the world and is a relative of the famed Pashas in Ibiza, London and somewhere else. It was a pretty impressive club and well worth it. A great night was had.

Day 86 - Today we paid for the good night we´d had the night before. Although once we did finally surface we headed out to the market in San Telmo. I had been before but this time we went to the antiques area in Plaza Dorrengo(I´ll check the spelling) and watch some street tango and a street band. Both of which were very good.

That evening still rather tired from anoche (last night) we went to the Cinema, for a double bill. Thats how exciting we are…

Day 87 - Today we explored a bit of the city and I sorted out more spanish lessons. I found a tutor called Carlos, that could offer me one-to-one classes for a very reasonable price. I´d definitely concentrate more on my own, no need to play the class fool…

That evening the Hostel threw a party and that night I really did find my dancing shoes. Shapes aplenty were thrown!!!!

Day 88 - With lessons during the day the number of activities I could take part in were less. Today I returned after the lesson to find James and Alice suffering from the night before and from getting up early to go on the walking tour to Recoleta Cemetry. Therefore we went for a nice dinner and then went to play Bingo. It was pretty fun trying to pay in spanish but it was doable. Needless to say, none of us won a single game. Although a woman on our table did win 500GBP… Not at all jealous.

Day 89 - Again nothing but lessons during the day. However a great night was had. Straight from the lesson I went to watch Boca Juniors play in the Copa Libertadores quarter final. Instead of being at their home ground, La Bombonera there were playing at an alternative ground due to the poor behaviour of their fans in the previous game. There were playing at Velez Starfields ground which is on the other side of town so took along time to get there which wasn´t fun. The game itself was awesome. It ended up finishing 2-2 with Atlas (the opposition from Mexico) equalising in the last minute after Boca had dominanted and missed chance after chance. They should have had the tie wrapped up after this first leg.

Once back from the football we entered a quiz in the Hostel and did pretty poorly. They were stupid questions!!!! Don´t blame the questions…

After have a few drinks before, during and after the quiz we decided to head out. At least that was the plan until James decided that he was too tired on his last night in BA… I ended up going to Rumi with a couple of Brummy guys called George and Ben.

Day 90 - Today was James and Alices last day in BA so they had alot to sort out so we didn´t do much. Once they had finished sorting everything out and had a last steak they still had a couple of hours to kill before their bus to Mendoza. Therefore we just went to the cinema, once again. It was late afternoon so any last sightseeing or similar was out of the question really.

They then left and I was on my tod for the first time. Should be interesting. Luckily I went straight back to the hostel and meet 2 very nice English girls just starting their gap year. So that was a bonus.

Day 91 - My first day alone was action packed to the max. Firstly I had to check out before going on the hunt for a suitable Español a Ingles dictionario. I needed an extensive one but one that had grammatical explanations in English. Then I headed off to my lesson. See absolutely none stop…

After my lesson I arrived back at hostel to find Tom and Claire there. I was suppose to meet them on the bus later on but their plane from Patagonia was early. Hence a less boring afternoon waiting for the bus was had. That evening we caught the bus to Cordoba, which is Argentina´s University city - it has 7 of them.

Day 81 (Cont) - We arrived pretty early in the morning and went straight to our hostel called Wincas. It was a very nice hostel, a little smaller than most and quite quiet, which was nice after the bustle of Buenos Aires. Luckily we also were allowed straight into the dorm (which we then had to ourselves), so were able to listen to Spanish by Michel Thomas and have a little nap.

Once we finally got up we had a chat to the tour operator and sorted out our plans for the days we had there. First things first, we arrived a winery and tasting tour for the following day.

We then explored the town and sat in the main square in the swelting sun. We then went and tried a Mendoza delicacy. Wine sorbet. It tasted exactly like red wine (obviously) but was surprisingly pleasant and refreshing. I would probably sum it up as interesting. Claire seemed to enjoy it…

That evening with Tom feeling a tad ill we just went to the cinema.

Day 82 - We had a bit of an early start today when we got picked up for our winery tour. We visited 2 different wineries in the Maipu area of Mendoza. We visit a industrial sized one and a family run one to notice the difference between the two types. At each place we were able to taste numerous wines produce at the respective winery. We were also shown how to taste the wine and what to look for.

We then visit a licor making place and saw how these were made, and again were able to try a couple. We tried Grapa and an orange one…

We then went for lunch with the tour and this was incredible. We got there and there was a huge table piled high with all sorts of foods for our starter. There were numerous cheese, salamis, and dips. There was different anti-pastas, etc. There was just loads. Plus it was as much wine as you would like and even if you didn´t want it they would fill your glass up anyway.

Day 83 - Today we had a very nice relaxing day. Mendoza is called the sunny country and so it was proving to be so today. For that reason we headed up to the large park to the north of the city. We had met a girl that had raved about it. To be honest once we were there we were a little disappointed. It was the best kept park and we couldn´t really see why that chica had liked it so much. Never the less we still had a very nice afternoon doing nothing.

That evening we went to a restaurant recommended for it lomitos, otherwise known as steak sandwiches. We were well informed. They were great and cheap. We then went bowling in the most basic bowling alley I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. There were two guys standing down the other end rolling the balls back to us and setting up the pins after each throw. Pretty amusing.

Day 84 - Today we were up early to go Horse riding in the local hills. I was a tad apprehensive as I´m not the biggest fan of sitting on horses but Claire was very excited.

At first we got taken to a proper ranch where we got our horses and set off. Our tour guide was a classic Gaucho in his cowboy boots and hat etc. His horse was an absolute beast, it was huge. Tom´s on the other hand was a little special and looked a little funny. Mine was a beauty, I named him bullseye and we formed a formidable partnership. One that will live with me forever… The trek/ride was amusing too. At times we navigated some dodgy land, including some rather steep declines. Also the weather was cracking so that was a bonus.

Once back at the ranch, a little sorer than before the other Gauchos put on a lovely BBQ with amazing steak and so so much of it. They also had plenty of Malbec on offer.

That evening we caught the night bus back to Buenos Aires and experienced yet another weird thing on the bus. This time there was nothing on for the first two hours, then they put some music on. Five minutes after that they put a film on and left the music on. Weird and very annoying…

Coming soon; Back in Buenos Aires con James and Alice.