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.

Day 100 - Just when we thought that the weather was never going to change after three days of constant rain….it changed….the rain got even heavier and the winds picked up. As we ate breakfast we watched CNN weather on TV to see that they actually mentioned Costa Rica on the Americas section as being gripped by a tropical storm!! Not great. Gave it until midday then set off back up North up the coast. End of beaches for a few days. brought our plans a day forward and drove to Rincon De La Vieja National Park in North West Costa Rica. Got there by late afternoon and still raining. Checked into a very nice jungle lodge and had dinner and a shower. The shower was cold as the heating was solar powered and the sun had vanished for three days.

Day 101 - Got up at 7am and had a very good breakfast of rice, beans, scrambled egg and fruit and cereal. Meanwhile the storm continued. We were doing another canopy tour in the morning and got waterproofed up to the max and then into the jungle. It was an amazing canopy tour down a canyon in between a river with steep cliffs. The lines went over gorges and down the line of the river. Had to do some rock climbing as well and an abseil down into the canyon at one point to climb up a wall on the other side. All good fun. Back to base at 10am and could not do river tubing as too dangerous from too much rain. Then went horse riding to two different waterfalls and Catherine got to have a canter which she enjoyed. I was bouncing all over the place and looked very unprofessional!! Then back to the lodge for a good lunch. Then more activities in the afternoon. They took us up to a place where we had a mud bath and painted each other with volcanic mud after going in a sauna to open up the pores of the skin. Then tried to dry the mus but not in the sun, just by sheltering from the rain, it was a bit chilly. The finished off by going in some hot springs to wash the mud off!! Then that was the end of a packed day. Back to the lodge and had a shower and a lie down and we both fell asleep by 8pm and slept through!! The whole day of activities cost us thirty five pounds each which is pretty good we thought!!

Day 102 - Up for breakfast which we almost missed after sleeping in despite the extremely early night! Had breakfast then packed our stuff up and the rain began to stop a bit, which was good. We checked out and drove back out to the coast which took about an hour and a half to a place called Playas Del Coco. The rain eventually relented!! Found a little room a guy was renting in his house and then drove 3km down the coast to a beach called Ocotal which was meant to be nicer than Coco…it was not that much better. Too much volcanic activity meant the beach was black! Anyway, we tried out luck and strolled into the five start resort off the beach with a luxury pool and asked if we bought a drink could we stay and use the pool. No probs they said so we spent a very nice afternoon in the sun at a nice resort. Then went back out onto the beach and watched an incredible sunset with orangey red colours as the sun went down. had almost forgotten what the sun looked like. Then back to Coco an had a good dinner of chicken, black beans, rice, salad and plantane (cooked banana) then watched a dvd back at out room.

Day 103 - Up at 7am and packed our stuff up and then set off in our jeep towards the border with nicaragua which was about a 2 hour drive. Got to the border town and dropped the jeep off and had some breakfast. Then the guy who worked for Alamo the car rental company was nice enough to drive us with our bags to immigration checkpoint. The queues were enormous and would take about 3 hours to get through just to the other side of the border before queueing up again. You need an exit stamp from one country and an entry stamp into the next one. The guy said if we pay a small bribe of ten dollars each he can go in with our passports ad get us the stamps straight away as he knows the guys. We were a little dubious but thought we would get into the swing of Latin American corruption and bribery. So he tucked a twenty dollar bill into the page they needed to see on my passport and off he went. And he returned five minutes later with exit stamps all done for us and then he dropped us at the border crossing where we walked five minutes through no mans land to the Nicaraguan side. we got our passports entry stamped their and then got on a bus to Granada. The bus took two hours and then arrived into Granada, a pretty sixteenth century colonial town on the edge of a huge lake with volcanoes on it. Granada has nice chruches and plazas and plenty of good cheap restaurants. Found a hostel and the out for a good lunch and a walk found the town. Then cat had a sleep in the afternoon as she was a little tired then out for dinner…its a hard life!

Day 104 - Got up and went out for a little walk and then found a nice little cafe for lunch where we had paninis and shared some hummus and nice fresh orange juice. All the buildings are very nice because they are designed with a big open courtyard in the middle after going in through the front room! Then we walked down to the lake front and got a boat to take us on a little tour around the lake. We saw a few little islands, mainly private with massive homes on owned by the rich and famous of Nicaragua or foreigners. Also saw a little island which had nothing but trees and monkeys on! Then back to the hostel and relaxed in the hammocks for a while before going out for an early dinner. had a great Spag Bol and then we went to the cinema and saw a fairly terrible film. However, it was in English and that was the main criteria for choosing one to watch!

Day 105 Got up and got packed up and checked out of the room. Then went out for an early lunch before getting on a minibus heading to the capital, Managua. We changed buses there and got on one to Leon, which is the cultural and educational capital of Leon. We passed through some atrocious weather on the way and it got me wondering about the old hurricane season, which officially begins June 1st. At the hostel when we arrived in Leon, I had a search on the internet. The first thing i found out is that the tropical storm we experienced was due to a system off the coast of Costa Rica. It later strengthened in the pacific and when it hit land on the Nicaraguan coast, it became and hurricane. Last week, it ripped through Leon, the town we are in now. I spoke to the English guy who runs the hostel and he said there are currently no more warnings so that is good but it makes you think a bit. Catherine asked him what do you do if there is a hurricane and he said not make apart from stay inside and make sure you do not get hit by a flying tile and to tie everything down!! So hopefully we will not encounter any more such weather. Luckily it was not a hurricane in Costa Rica. Anyway, it is the first time I have been in a storm with a name. Reuters website has informed me it was named Tropical Storm Alma! Anyway it was beautiful sunshine when we arrived and we have a very nice pool in the hostel. We went out for dinner and then to see the long awaited Indiana Jones…which was terrible!!!