Antigua and Monterrico

One thing that I've learned from this trip is that you can never have too many volcanoes. We need to get more of them in England.

I've been studying some more Spanish for a week in the Guatemalan town of Antigua. The town is smack bang in the middle of no less than three volcanoes, one of them very active (it showered some tourists with hot rocks a couple of weeks ago). I should be bored of volcanoes by now, but every time I looked at the horizon I was blown away.

The town is a lovely Colonial affair, with cobbled streets and beautiful buildings.

It is also a good place to learn Salsa so we thought we'd go to a free class. There were fewer girls than we'd expected. My salsa skills improved 2%.

My teacher, a fiery old lady called Julia, was quite strict! She also doesn't like anyone outside Guatemala. In fact, she doesn't really like anyone outside Antigua. All foreigners are either thieves, or come to Guatemala to take all the jobs from the local people... Anyway, her methods seem to work -  by the end of the week I've noticed a big improvement. I can actually use the past tense properly now. This is me and Neal playing scrabble in Spanish. Julia absolutely destroyed us.

Next up was the beach, Monterrico to be exact, for some more turtle watching. You can never get enough turtle watching. The journey was ridiculous - chicken buses to Escuintla, Taxisco, Agua Dulce and a boat to Monterico. We arrived just in time to adopt a baby turtle and set it free into the sea!

They all looked slightly evil so I named mine Syrius.

As he flopped his way along the sand towards the beach, I had a tear in my eye. It's hard when the kids grow up and leave home to make their way in the world.

That night we went searching for turtles laying their eggs. We finally found one and watched in amazement as it popped out about 100 eggs in the space of five minutes. After covering up its nest and stamping the sand down, it headed back to sea. Well, it tried to. It actually got confused and had to be picked up and turned around by a volunteer - no small job when the thing weighs about 80kg!

We headed off the next day to Lago Atitlan, where I am writing from now. This required taking buses to Iztapa, San Jose, Escuintla, Patulul, Santiago de Atitlan and a boat to San Pedro de Atitlan! That makes it eight buses and two boats in 48 hours, not a bad effort. The lake is stunning though, and I'm planning to take in more of the scenery from above with a paragliding flight! I'll let you know how it goes...

The large church La Merced in Antigua.

Not really sure what's going on here...

Volcanoes everywhere you look!

Some pimped up chicken buses.

The sun sets as we release baby turtles into the sea - I don't get to do that very often in London.

Me and the boys in turtle releasing mode.

Flapping back after a tiring journey.

I'll leave you with another image of Syrius.

Copán. And angry people with machetes.

Just in case transportation in Central America isn't slow enough for the average person, the locals like to throw in the odd protest blockade every once in a while.

We'd left Utila, got a bus to San Pedro Sula, aiming to get to the town of Copan Ruinas by late afternoon. The first bus company told us that there were no buses today, due to a flood. This didn't sound likely as it was approximately 67°C in the shade and your average Central American bus driver would attempt to drive through a flood anyway.

The next company was running so we headed out. About 15 minutes from our destination, the traffic slowed. Then we stopped. We got off to see the largest tailback imaginable, with truck drivers settling into hammocks under their rigs and enterprising street vendors zipping around selling cashew nuts.

Our driver didn't know what the problem was but he wasn't gonna go any further. Not to be deterred, myself, Zack, Neal and Shane decided to walk to the site of the hold-up and try to get across. As we walked along in the scorching sun, we asked people what the situation was. Stories ranged from a big car crash to a teacher's strike - the continuing theme was that someone had been killed. As we made our way along the line of parked cars, the common story seemed to be that local farmers had blockaded the road and were standing there with machetes stopping anyone trying to get past. We had already walked 4km in the blazing sun so gambled on the fact that they wouldn't be interested in a load of backpackers.

We got to the blockade, which consisted of a load of trucks parked sideways on the road, to find about 50 people wandering around with machetes. However, instead of a hostile atmosphere, it was more like a carnival, with music and beers! No one paid us any attention as we sneaked past, catching a mini bus on the other side. The guy was relieved to have someone to transport and we even got a discount!

The town of Copán Ruinas is situated right next to the famous Mayan kingdom of Copán. The city flourished from 400AD to 800AD and was famous in the Mayan world for its intricate sculptures.

It was also ruled by kings with questionable names. Important rulers included Smoke Shell, 18 Rabbit, Moon Jaguar and my personal favourite, Smoke Monkey. The pic below is an alter with their images carved into the sides.

The ruins are extensive and have been excavated over the last 50 years. When archaeologists arrived, they found huge mounds covered with stones and trees. These turned out to be buildings. After years of painstaking reconstruction, mounds like this...

...could be restored to beautiful monuments like this:

The only non-ideal aspect of the day was that I had been struck down with some kind of killer ear infection from all the diving I'd done during the past week. This resulted in a constant feeling that someone was trying to drill into the side of my skull with a pneumatic drill. I also had to lie on my side for 15 minutes in the middle of the archaeological site to apply some ear drops. This was sightseeing at its finest.

Other highlights included the huge arena for the Mesoamerican ballgame, where players bashed a heavy ball up a steep slope with their knees and elbows, trying to score points by hitting certain objects.

The losing team would usually be sacrificed on the sacrificial stone that allowed their blood to swirl into the ground and please the gods. I think they should implement this system in the English Premier League.

Another was the Hieroglyphic Stairway, 62 steps with large sculptures depicting the kingdom's most important rulers.

The last highlight was a load of macaws. Because they are colourful.

Copán was my last Honduran destination and I've just arrived in Guatemala. I can't leave without giving a shout out to the Baleada, a traditional Honduran meal which I have practically lived on during my time in the country. A Baleada is a wheat flour tortilla, often quite thick, folded in half and filled with re-fried beans, cheese, cream and often scrambled egg. Not only are these babies delicious, they usually cost about 40p. I might quit my job and bring them back to the UK.

So I'm off to the Colonial city of Antigua for some Spanish Lessons. Here are some more Copán snaps.

Ruined palaces fighting against the jungle.

Even though I look happy in this picture, my head feels like it is about to explode.

Another large temple, built for Smoke Jaguar.

After centuries under the forest, some of the trees can't be removed as the buildings will fall down.

Another beautiful statue. This one depicts Smoke Shell.

A classic example of a Mayan archway. Apparently.

A jaguar used to ward off evil spirits.

Luckily, my ball team won and I was not executed. The other backpackers were not so lucky...

Walking through waterfalls

The 127km journey should have been so easy. But after a chicken bus, a tuk tuk, a minibus, another chicken bus and a 1km walk, I was wondering why people came here!

Then I spotted Lake Yojoa, a glistening lake in the middle of Honduras, surrounded by lush forest containing one of the richest concentrations of rare birds in this part of the world. That's saying something for a region where every country has a substantial amount of jungle.

This was another opportunity to spot the elusive Quetzal. I failed again. I don't even like birds that much, but now it's getting personal. I will see a Quetzal at some point on this trip, even if I have to camp out for a week in a hut with a bearded birdwatcher named Malcolm.

Anyway, there were two reasons I'd decided to come to Lake Yojoa, and they weren't the lake or the Quetzal. One was the D&D Brewery, a microbrewery owned by an guy from the US. After eight months of travel I had finally found cold beer on tap. Somehow, I was persuaded to try them all on the first night... I spent the rest of the evening talking to the owner's dog.

The second reason was Pulhapanzak Falls - a 45 meter waterfall with a serious amount of water gushing through it. You can go into some caves behind the falls, so a few of us headed over for a look. I thought you'd be able to kinda stroll behind the water but it turned out you walk right through the waterfall!

Words cannot describe how powerful the water is. I was soaked through before I was even near the waterfall. We had to be led by a guide, but there was so much water coming from every direction it was impossible to see him, even though he was only a meter in front of us. You can recreate this experience at home - locate a pressure washer, point it at your face and turn it on to full power. It was worth it though - once inside, we looked up and were blown away by the sight of thousands of gallons of water flying overhead. Everywhere I looked there were rainbows and the water glistened in the sun. It was magical...

One aspect that was not magical was the fact that I forgot to take my money out of my pocket. That got dried out in the sun along with the rest of my clothes...

The next day I headed to The Bay Islands for some more diving. It is only 300km away from the lake, along good roads. We allowed seven hours for the trip, aiming to catch the 4pm boat. Obviously we missed it due to some of the slowest buses known to humankind. Well, things happen for a reason because I bumped into my friend Leon, who is doing a work secondment in the Cayman Islands! He was flying back from a short holiday. What are the odds!

I hate boats. And this one is known as the vomit comet. Fortunately, I'd been given some seasickness tablets by a Japanese girl I met in Peru. Unfortunately the instructions were in Japanese. I erred on the side of caution and took them all.  I don't know what Japanese is for drowsy but I fell asleep about 6 minutes later. I had to be woken up to get on and off the boat - thank goodness for friends!

Utila was the island of choice. There is world-class diving and its cheap. I'd randomly met a dive instructor in La Paz while he was cycling around South America. He told me to get in touch if I was even in the area and six months later I came calling. He really sorted me out with cheap dives and free accommodation. Cheers Dave! Well, the diving was great and I'm now officially an Advanced Open Water Diver. I also had the unbelievable opportunity to swim with about 100 dolphins. When we were returning from a dive we saw a huge group of them and jumped in with snorkels and flippers. They are so graceful under the water and you can hear them squeaking away as they approach. At one point three circled around me blowing bubbles! As we headed back to land reflected on one of the best experiences of my life as the sun went down...

Other activities were scarce - I attended tequila Tuesday, got a free t-shirt for downing shots in another bar and went to a party on a deserted island.

The final highlight was a bar called Treetanic. A huge outdoor bar that looks like a shipwreck that’s been sunk in a patch of mango trees. Every surface has been covered in wacky mosaics, and the owners have been at it continuously since 1998! The objects you see making up the mosaics are from the owners' trips through Guatemala and Honduras. And the odd flea market in LA

You may have noticed that I've been a bit behind with my postings. I've almost caught up - this was 4 days ago! Next up, some Mayan ruins, which I just left yesterday. Then onto Guatemala!

Esteli, Somoto and into Honduras!

Esteli is home to some of the best cigars in the world.

It was on my way to Honduras so I thought I'd drop in and check out a cigar factory. Unfortunately, I arrived on Friday afternoon - just after the factories shut down for the weekend. I didn't fancy waiting around for three days either. The only choice was to sample the finished product myself.

This left me with a free day so myself, Zack and Maya went to check out Salto falls. At 36 meters, they pack some serious power!

On the way back we visited a farm selling local cheeses - jackpot!

My visit coincided with the opening of a Western-style supermarket. I woke up on Saturday morning and sleepily wandered out to pick up a bottle of water. I was hit with a full-on street party. There were bands playing, stalls handing out free samples and street entertainers. The opening of the store must have been the most important event the town had seen in a decade. After a day of raucous celebrating, and just when I thought it couldn't get any more over the top, there was a 30 minute firework display!! I think they might make a slight loss in the opening week...

The next day I headed off to Somoto, right near the Honduran border. The region is home to the Rio Coco, Central America's largest river. Over millions and millions of years, the river has cut it's way through a huge area of solid rock. The result? A truly stunning 10km canyon.

If you can find a good guide, they will take you to the start of the canyon, put a life jacket around you and chuck you into the river. The next three hours is spent sliding down river rapids and jumping off cliffs. You emerge 10km downstream with a huge grin on your face.

The next day myself and Michelle headed for Honduras. The boarder was extremely efficient, which is unusual for Latin America! We'd aimed to get up to Lake Yojoa but we were too late, so stayed a night in the capital, Tegucigalpa (te-goos-ee-gal-pa - ridiculous name!).  We took a slight detour to visit Suyapa church, containing Our Lady of Suyapa, the patron virgin of all Central America. The church is a huge modern Gothic affair with some beautiful stained-glass windows. The virgin statue, however, is six centimetres tall.

We arrived in the centre of the capital at 4pm. Tegucigalpa has a reputation for being a very dangerous place and I usually take these warnings with a pinch of salt. However, when the guesthouse owner told us to come back before it got dark, it seemed a bit more real. We were right in the middle of the downtown area and every corner had a policeman with a shotgun. I can't say I'd recommend it! Anyway, nothing bad happened and we headed off early the next morning.

I've just arrived at Lake Yojoa for a bit of beer tasting at a local microbrewery. Can't wait!

The crew at the canyon.

Salto Falls

Cheese. Mmmmmmm.

A cool statue in Tegucigalpa. I had to hide my camera and run round a corner as soon as I'd taken this picture...