Adios Centro America....

Well, I have come to the end of my Central American adventures. Tomorrow I leave for Los Angeles, and then after a couple of days, Sydney. I´m looking forward to coming home, but am going to miss Latin America so much. I really love it here. The last couple of weeks in Guatamala have been amazing...

When I last wrote I was in Copan, Honduras. Due to all the political business going on there it was a bit touch and go. Nothing too bad, but the night I wrote my last blog we were sitting eating dinner when the power in town was suddenly cut and everything was pitch black. All of a sudden Pro Zelaya supporters (of the ex president) performed this big demonstration down the streets. It was completely peaceful but we were a little wary walking back to our hotel in the pitch black!! The next day we left for Guatamala, and they actually closed the borders to Honduras, so that we had to physically walk through and then catch another bus from the other side. Anyway, we got to Guatamala safely and all was fine, it was a bit of an interesting experience!

First stop in Guatamala was Antigua - a lovely colonial city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It´s a very pretty place, but not the real Guatamala, it feels a lot like a nice movie set or something of the like purely constructed for tourists. Needless to say i´m not really a fan of it, but, you can do some really cool day trips from here like the one I did to Volcano Pacaya. We left in the afternoon and climbed to the top of this active volcano. Naturally, I took along some marshmallows to roast on the running lava we found at the top. Possibly not the smartest thing i´ve ever done but definitely one of the coolest experiences! It was so hot up there that our shoes started to melt a little, as well as plastic bags! We stayed to watch the sunset which was GORGEOUS and then stumbled our way down the volcano in the dark... Fun!

My next stop was Tikal ruins, in the north of Guatamala. It was all very Indiana Jones like, lots of amazing pyramids and ruins scattered amongst the dense jungle. There were lots of animals I saw there too - Toucans, Spider and Howler monkeys amongst many others. I had a really fun day there exploring and chatting to the local guides.

I left Tikal for Semuc Champey, a little to the south. Most people go there for the caving, where you can swim and squeeze through caves with only a candle to guide your way. This I could not do - being a little claustrophobic and all. But Semuc Champey is really beautiful for it´s nature and bright turquoise river. We spent a lovely day exploring, swimming in the gorgeous lakes and jumping off rocks. Fun Fun Fun! That night we also went to some local caves to watch the bats that live there fly out at dusk. There were thousands! It was really very cool.

Almost last, but very not least, was the time I spent in San Marcos de Laguna, a really lovely little village on Lago de Atilan - this amazing, huge lake set in the middle of the jungle. It really was stunning there, you could swim in the beautiful clear water of the lake, and look up at the volcanoes and jungle surrounding it. There was a lot of holistic medicine in San Marcos, and people go there to meditate and do yoga as they feel the place has a special energy. I decided to do my Reiki II certificate there, met some lovely people and had a really special time :)

Yesterday I returned to Antigua and spent a frantic afternoon in the markets bargaining away and doing a last stock up before I head home....I´m looking forward to seeing what LA is like on the way home, and if I have the money I may even pop into disneyland on the way!!!

I´ve had a really amazing time the last couple of months in Central America. I´ve met some really special, amazing people and pretty much just immersed myself in beaches and nature for 2 months, heaven!! Latin America definitely hasn´t seen the last of me, I´m going to be back for sure!

TTFN xo