16 & 17 August: Free Day and Travelling to San Ignacio

16 August 

I didn't get many photos today as my iPad spent most of the day in the room charging. 

We did have a great free day though, this just meant that there were no specific plans and that everyone could do as much or as little as they wanted. A lot of us were nursing hangovers from the night before (myself included, oh the pain).We got up around half 11, so myself and Erica went for brunch, whilst plodding along to the bar where we were going to eat we decided we'd hire a golf buggy for the day as walking was too much...

We hired the buggy for 3 hours and managed to drive around the whole island, this was pretty cool as we got to see where the local people live. We also found some beautiful private beaches and decided that we would rush back to the room and get our swimming stuff so we could relax on one of the wharfs. We spent the rest of the day jumping off the dock and floating in the sea, we did head for the split around 5 to watch the sunset but realised it was too cloudy to see it too clearly so we went back to the room and decided to relax, watch a film and get a takeaway. 

17 August 

Luckily we didn't have an early start today and only had to be out the rooms by 11, yay! I don't know whether I'm getting stronger or more used to it but my backpack is getting easier to pack and carry around. That or I'm losing a tonne of stuff along the way... That sounds like the more logical explanation. 

Was pretty sad to be leaving the island as everything was so laid back and easy, I did get told by one of the locals that I was beautiful and if I ever want to come back and have a Belizean boyfriend I was more than welcome to stay with him, so I guess I've got that to fall back on ;) I'll bear that in my mind if England doesn't work out for me...

The ferry was windy and uneventful, and once we'd collected our bags we were whisked off in taxis to the bus station in Belize City. From there we took a local bus across the country to San Ignacio, this took around 4 hours and we made only one stop for banjos (ha I'm so used to saying that instead of toilet now). 

We soon arrived in San Ignacio (I passed the time by watching Eurotrip) and checked into our hotel. It was basic and the bathroom wasn't really separated from the rest of the room, more partitioned by saloon doors that didn't really close, but we DID have cable TV in the room and a bit of wifi (hallelujah).

We decided that before it got dark a few of us would brave the local bus again and go to a nearby butterfly farm, a journey we were told would take 10 minutes by bus... No. It was more like half an hour and we ended up constantly asking people on the bus if we'd missed our stop. Central Americans definitely operate on a different timescale to us. 

Anyway once we reached it we were told that the farm was closed, the owner was kind enough to let us in and have a look, although most of the butterflies were sleeping by this point. I got quite a few good pictures on my camera, but the poor quality of my iPad didn't fare so well with the beautiful and delicate butterfly wings.

We waited around on the side of the road and were constantly beeped by male drivers, it would appear that not many (and by that I mean none) women drive. We eventually hitchhiked our way home on an out of service school bus with a lovely guy who directed us back to our hotel from the road he dropped us on. We grabbed dinner (I had the best nachos I've had the whole time I've been out here, soz Mexico) and then headed back to our rooms, where I spent the night watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Friends.

 

10 August: I have arrived!

I finally arrived at my hotel in Cancun at around 9.05pm local time (I believed that's what the time was, my wifi isn't working so my timings haven't updated, oh technology you beaut!). I think this works out at around 3am in the UK. Despite grabbing a couple of hours sleep on my flight from Dallas, I'm still quite tired and am just going to be chilling in my hotel room this evening. 

The flight over from London was not too bad, I watched a load of films, some of which are still in the cinema, and I made a friend haha. I've got to say I don't like being wedged in the middle, I always get put there on family holidays but normally I can lean on either my mum or my sister. It's a bit different when you're between two strangers, but I coped and the boy; Davi (hiyaaa!), was nice.

So I got to Dallas, and I've got to say the Americans get you through passport control and customs a hell of a lot more quickly than they do in England (and I'm a British citizen, so you'd think re-entering the UK would be a breeze for me). I had a great chat with the man who checked over my passport and ESTA (can't remember what it stands for right now but its to do with the Visa Waiver Programme). He gave me a bit of advice of what to do in the airport and checked what gate I needed to be at and when. Although the gate did change just before boarding, resulting in me doing a mad dash across the terminal. Standard. 

Much to the disappointment of my mother I expect, I went out for a cigarette and WOW, the heat out there was insane! I hid in the shadows and managed to plonk myself down on the only bench plastered in "NO SMOKING" signs.... Typical. I quickly shuffled on. Anyway once back inside I did a bit of writing and then went to charge my iPad and iPhone. After that I grabbed a drink and before I knew it, the gate was open and I was at the wrong one, cue me running across the airport. 

Like I said before I slept most of the way on the plane to Mexico, so that was pretty dull. Oh apart from the fact that I got stuck next to two newly weds who couldn't keep their hands off each other (VOM). 

While going through security and customs in Mexico I got pulled over and had to unpack my rucksack for them, DO THEY NOT REALISE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO PACK THAT THING EFFICIENTLY??! They were really friendly though, not like the miserable shits you get in England. I learnt a new thing in the airport, and my hotel for that matter, apparently I can pass for Italian (no joke). I got asked about 4 times if I was from Italy, have they seen an Italian person before? I mean, with my blonde hair and less than dark complexion I'm not your typical Italian but hey I'll take it. See guys I'm not that pale!

I was pretty lucky with my transfer, I'd booked to share a shuttle bus with a group of people going to the same area, however, when I went over to the taxi rank they put me in a cab of my own and took me straight to my hotel, winning!

So I'm all checked in now, watching Top Gear on the only English speaking channel as I write this and munch on sunflower seeds (had a real craving for them). It's all been quite plain sailing thank god! I did have a Ross-from-Friends moment when I first got to my room, I went straight to get my face wipes out and realised my travel wash had leaked all over everything in the bottom compartment, fuck my life. I just stood there holding soggy boxes of ibuprofen saying "why me?", But I've rinsed everything and left it to dry in the shower. Just going to chill out now and pray that I can get some wifi in the morning so I can let the family know I'm alive.

Inside my hotel 

Obligatory mirror selfie ✌🏻️

Departures board in Dallas Fort Worth airport

My room for the first night 

Itinerary

I thought I would post an itinerary of exactly when and where I'll be, mainly for my colleagues (you know who you are, ahem Heather) so you can keep up to date on all the action. 

Day 1: Playa deal Carmen, Mexico 

This is my starting place, however I'm arriving a day early and I don't meet the other trekkers until 6pm so I've got the whole day to explore and head to the beach. Either that, or I'll just sleep...

Day 2-3: Tulum, Mexico 

We're taking a local bus down to Tulum, apparently there are a few Mayan ruins so I'll definitely be checking them out. It's also great for snorkelling so I'll be doing that too, apparently you can swim around the ancient walls that have made their way into the sea.

Day 4-6: Caye Caulker, Belize 

So pretty much as soon as we enter Belize we get ferried over to the Caribbean island of Caye Caulker. I'm so excited for this part because the marine life is supposed to be amazing.

Day 7-8: San Ignacio, Belize 

So we leave the coral reefs and manatees (um yeah, apparently we see a lot of them out there) and we head inland to the highlands that sit beyond Belize's capital, Belmopan. We get to visit waterfalls (I love a good waterfall) and more ancient ruins. We'll be doing caving, canoeing and tubing (someone's going to have to explain this to me before I sign up haha). All sounds pretty exciting and right up my alley. 

Day 9: Tikal, Guatemala 

Tikal temples, trekking through the jungle and stunning views from the top of the ruins... This is another day I'm really looking forward. We'll also be camping, which should definitely be an experience!

Day 10-11: Rio Dulce, Guatemala 

So I think we get a free day here and they have suggested taking a tour of Lake Izabel or going up the river to look for the hot springs and more manatees. 

Day 12: Antigua, Guatemala 

We take a rural bus to Antigua and just chill for the evening, as the next day we have a meeting with our host families.

Day 13: Chichicastenango & San Jorge La Laguna, Guatemala 

We go shopping in the markets at Chichicastenango and then head to San Jorge La Laguna. It's quite a basic way of life here in this part so we'll really get a chance to see what life is like for local people.

Day 14: Panajachel, Guatemala 

We leave our host families and move onwards where we can surf, hike or kayak within a volcanic backdrop.

Day 15-17: Antigua, Guatemala 

Exploring the city with volcano treks, salsa lessons and wandering about the city, it'll be time to prepare for my trip home :(

Packing and "Getting Organised"

It's the weekend before I depart (I leave Monday) and for lack of a better phrase, I am shitting it.

 

*** Disclaimer***: This blog may contain the use of foul language and expletives. Please accept my sincerest apologies (it will also contain a whole lot of sarcasm), get over it.

 

 

So, as I embark on my first solo travel trip I am extremely excited and an actual bag of nerves. I'm not one for planning and being organised; I'm more of a throw it all in the bag and hope that what I need comes out at the other end, so for me to have booked myself on this trip it's going to be a mammoth task just getting there.

 

A bit about the trip then...

 

I'm travelling with a group called Trek America, they've been running for 20+ years now, but this is the first year they've branched out in Central America (yay for being a travelling guinea pig!). My tour starts in Cancun, Mexico, the next day we begin our descent further into Mexico. Next up is Belize for a day, then over to Caye Caulker, after a couple of days on the island we come back into Belize for a few days then make our way down to Guatemala.

 

In the spirit of being organised and not being caught short while trekking through the mountains I have been stockpiling a whole host of gadgets and clothing, all perfectly dumped in a heap in my suitcase that never quite got unloaded after my travels to Morocco.

At least it's all in one place, that's my argument anyway!

 

As a starting point Trek America issued a list of things they thought necessary to bring along with us,

this included: walking boots, money, clothes, rucksack, camera etc. The bare essentials really. I, of course, have included all of these plus many many more; bar the kitchen sink. So as I sit cross-legged in the midst of my floordrobe (yes this exists and yes it is a word- one frequently used in my household anyway) I start to sift through the shit that has accumulated over the past few months. Apparently I've catered for every eventuality and every occasion, I've even got a sewing kit... Oh yeah, I'm prepared ;) 

So bearing in mind that I leave in two days and I have work in two hours, I shall get off the computer and start dissecting this mound. God help me... 

XOXO