(Week 28) Los Naranjos, Honduras
The story of how we almost got denied entry into Honduras but lived to tell the tale! Week 28 of our big, worldwide adventure…
Author: zoegoesplaces-td
(Week 27) Caye Caulker, Belize
A week of island living on the beautiful island of Caye Caulker on Belize’s Caribbean coast. Laidback vibes and Caribbean food – perfect!
(Weeks 25 and 26) Lake Atitlan, Lanquin & Flores
Guatemala was not so slowly becoming one of my favourite travel destinations after the first few weeks in Antigua and El Paredon. And, the following weeks in Lake Atitlan, Lanquin and Flores only cemented that further. Guatemala is such an underrated place for backpackers. It’s perfect for a month-long trip and can easily be combined with neighbouring countries for those looking for something longer.
Lake Atitlan
Just two hours from Antigua is the beautiful Lake Atitlan – the deepest lake in Central America. It’s a place popular for relaxing and for partying. I was definitely in the relaxing camp. Around the lake are many small towns connected by regular water taxi services.
The first 4 nights we stayed in the quiet town of Santa Cruz. From here, we took half-day trips to Panajachel and San Marcos for a wander and for more variety in restaurants than what we had in Santa Cruz. Not much to report as we really did very little and it was wonderful!
A personal highlight was West Ham beating Liverpool. A game that I tried and failed at streaming on a 0.5 MB internet connection. But, at least Twitter kept me informed.
Luckily, after Santa Cruz, our next stop on Lake Atitlan was San Pedro where the internet was significantly better! So, I could watch Match of the Day on iPlayer and highlights on repeat on YouTube!
We only stayed in San Pedro for two nights. And, the main reason for coming was to do the Indian Nose sunrise hike. Pick-up was at 4am but luckily the climb was not too steep and only took around 30 minutes. Then, we were treated to a gem of a sunrise over Lake Atitlan with the San Pedro, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango volcanos in the background.
It was the perfect last day in southern Guatemala as we were then heading to the central highlands.
Lanquin
Getting to Lanquin was not simple! We had booked a direct shuttle from San Pedro to Lanquin to pick us up at 5.30 am for the 12-hour drive. But, less than 12 hours before we found out that we were the only people booked on that shuttle, so the company weren’t going to run it. Instead, we had to get a water taxi to Panajachel at 6am. And then take a bus from there that left some time, apparently, between 7.30 and 8am.
Yet, despite taking a boat across the lake, the drive still took 12 hours. Even though San Pedro to Panajachel is a 2-hour drive because the roads around the lake are not well connected. 12 hours of some of the bumpiest dirt roads ever. Unfortunately, Guatemala really lacks infrastructure. There are no big bus companies like in Mexico. Inter-city travel is mostly through private shuttles as the alternative of chicken buses normally means you need to make about 5 changes.
However, despite the bumps and extreme heat of the engine below our feet, the scenery was quite something. And, it was here that my obsession with Designated Survivor began as I had the first four episodes downloaded, then proceeded to watch all three seasons within 3 weeks! Maybe a political career is in my future, it’s quite easy to think you can be Prime Minister when the current standard is Boris, after all!
Semuc Champey
The main reason we – and everyone – visited Lanquin was to go to Semuc Champey. This impressive natural beauty has freshwater pools formed in the rock, where the river runs underneath through caves. Our visit here coincided with mine and Adam’s 10th anniversary and was the perfect fun day out
The whole day is an adventure starting off with caving. With a guide, you navigate through 900 metres of the caves with just a candle for light. Walking, swimming and climbing are all required – one-handed mostly as you need to keep the candle above water and alight.
Next up, we swam in front of the waterfalls before tubing back down the river. Another of those ‘how is this my life’ moments as we bobbed along the river, surrounded by jungle in Guatemala!
After lunch, we then headed up to the viewpoint of Semuc Champey to get a bird’s eye view of the whole place. The walk is hard, especially in the heat. But, the view is more than worth it!
After an equally sweaty walk down it’s finally time to swim in the refreshing pools of Semuc Champey. You can’t wear sun cream to protect the colour of the pools, the biodiversity and to prevent the water from getting contaminated from the build-up of every visitor’s sun lotion. As a result, we mainly swam in the shaded parts, but nevertheless, it was an amazing experience.
Cheers to 10 years, Adam Brookes!
Flores
Lanquin to Flores is another 10-hour bus ride. Not helped, by the fact that the buses start off driving 2 hours in the wrong direction to Coban. And then have to drive the same road back on themselves towards Flores. Since we had spent our anniversary and 3-night stay in Lanquin in a dorm room, we treated ourselves to a fancy hotel in Flores. A double bed each was the dream!
Flores is a cute town located on a small island in the Peten Itza Lake. Being much closer to the Caribbean side of Central America, the island has a totally different feel and look to the towns on the Pacific side of Guatemala. Aside from a couple of days dedicated to doing nothing (this is a common theme in our trip), the main reason we were in Flores was to visit the ancient Mayan city of Tikal.
Hidden in the Guatemalan rainforest, it’s impossible to explore the whole site in a half-day trip. But, you can certainly see the best bits (and a good chunk else). While I’m far from someone who loves nature and ancient history, what I like about the Mayan ruins through this part of the Americas is how each still has something unique.
For Tikal, this was definitely how spread out the site was and the views you got from the top of the tallest temple over the jungle canopy. Another cool part is that while there are a couple of temples you can climb on the restored steps, for a few of the temples in Tikal they have built separate wooden staircases that bring you out at the top.
After Flores, it was time for surprise country number 4 of this trip – somewhere we didn’t expect to go. Stay tuned!
(Weeks 22 to 24) Antigua Guatemala & El Paredon
My first three weeks in Guatemala, spent in El Paredon and Antigua. Includes sunsets over the ocean and sunsets over volcanos!
(Week 21) San Francisco, USA
A flying one-week visit to the United States. See what I got up to in sunny San Francisco, from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz!
(Week 20) San Miguel de Allende & Guanajuato City
My time in San Miguel and Guanajuato happened to be my last week in Mexico after 4.5 months. I didn’t plan to say goodbye so soon or so suddenly. But, the luxury of my current nomadic lifestyle is being able to go where ever, at the drop of a hat.
While I was sad to leave Mexico after a better 20 weeks than I could ever have imagined, the last week was as action-packed as the last 19! Seeing Mexico off in style…
San Miguel de Allende
The journey to San Miguel was a luxurious albeit slow one. Apparently, we had discovered the business class of buses – reclining seats, leg supports, individual TVs, chunky dividing armrests – the works. Which was nice since the journey ended up taking over 6 hours due to an overturned concrete lorry.
San Miguel de Allende is a city strangely popular with North American ex-pats. This is, even though it’s in the middle of nowhere – hours from both Mexico City and Guadalajara. As a result, there’s a much more western feel to the town. Along with a large collection of bars, restaurants and cafes to suit the demographic.
My two full days in San Miguel were spent exploring the city from the botanical gardens – home to the largest collection of cacti I’ve ever seen – to taking lots of photos of the cinderella-esque church in the centre. But, largely there isn’t much to do unless you want to take a costly taxi out to some hot springs or ruins.
To be honest, I don’t get the hype about San Miguel. Sure, it’s pretty. But, it feels very superficial – almost as if it’s been made to look rustic and colonial, like a film set. San Miguel isn’t anything special. There’s plenty of other pretty towns. There’s also plenty more towns with lots of activities to do too. Spend a day, two at max, then move on.
DETAILED POST > > > Visit the Mirador of San Miguel de Allende for City Views
Guanajuato City
After San Miguel, I travelled a couple of hours further northwest to the capital of the state of Guanajuato – Guanajuato City. A town that, in my opinion, is prettier and cooler than San Miguel. With its colourful buildings climbing the sides of the hills, Guanajuato is just beautiful.
The first day was spent exploring the city, visiting rooftop bars and being mesmerised by the colours all around! For just a few pesos you can ride the funicular up to the city’s best viewpoint.
DETAILED POST > > > Ride the Guanajuato Funicular for the City’s Best Views
Climbing Cerro de la Bufa – a nearby rock formation – with panoramic views of Guanajuato was next up on the agenda. The information I’d gathered online was that this was about a one-hour walk from the centre of the city. But, it soon became clear that instead, it was a one-hour walk to the start of the trail.
The route up was mostly flat until the last section, which required the use of all 4 limbs to lift myself up rocks that were quickly increasing in size. Fortunately, the view from the top was more than worth it! Despite being early October, the temperature was still in the mid-twenties. And you could sit for hours enjoying the view of the city. Especially, since this seems to be very off-the-beaten tourist path and the whole time we were the only people at the top!
The way back down should have been quick and simple. Once we were down the near-vertical rocky section, it’s pretty much a flat path all the way back to the road. But, Adam had other ideas and wanted us to take a shortcut – we’d not taken this route up as reviews had said it was steeper. And, steeper it was indeed – as well as being very loose gravel-like rock. The kind that I hate walking down.
It was a disaster. Aside from walking very cautiously and slowly, I also went flying 3 times. Which, resulted in my hands and bum being cut to pieces and full of dirt and rock. After a lot of tears, the day ended with me having to perform minor surgery on myself with tweezers, a safety pin and an antiseptic wipe to remove the debris implanted in the palms of my hands!
Goodbye Mexico!
After Cerro de la Bufa, we had one more full day in Guanajuato. A day of rest and recovery – and to cement our plan to travel to Guadalajara by booking travel and accommodation. At this point, we planned to spend roughly one more week in Mexico and then fly to the USA.
As we sat down to book the next leg of our journey, it was quickly clear that neither of us were that excited for Guadalajara. We were ready for something entirely new. Plus, when we looked at flights to the USA – the cheapest ones were either the next day or in a weeks’ time. And, considering we spend about £70 a day (£350 a week) in Mexico the cost of staying adds up pretty quickly.
So, by cutting our time in Mexico short by one week we were effectively saving money. Our next issue was whether it would even be possible to get to Mexico City – and get a COVID test – in the next 27 hours. Guanajuato is at least 5 hours by road, and after our delays reaching San Miguel, we were apprehensive about missing our flight due to traffic. Unsure what to do, we took the decision out of our hands and used a random answer generator.
Guadalajara or the USA. The app said the USA.
With our chill day now aborted, we had a lot to do. To make it to Mexico City with a good cushion, we were getting a night bus at midnight. We needed to pack up our bags ready to fly – liquids organised, electricals charged, and everything we needed in the next 24 hours easily accessible.
We arrived in Mexico City at just after 5am. I’ve never got the first tube of the day before but I came here for new experiences right?! With our bags in storage lockers in the airport, we set out in search of a cheap COVID test. Which, was more difficult than expected! But, finally at 9am we had an appointment – my first ever COVID test – and someone else would be doing the swab holding, unlike in the UK. Luckily, it was negative – I was so relieved! All that stood between us and the USA now was several hours of waiting and a 5-hour flight!
(Weeks 15 to 19) Puebla, Mexico City, Toluca & Taxco
Read about my experiences in Puebla, Mexico City, Toluca and Taxco – another one month of adventures in Mexico!
(Weeks 11 to 14) State of Oaxaca
One month in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. Follow my travels through Puerto Escondido, Chacahua, Oaxaca City & San Jose del Pacifico.
(Weeks 7 to 10) Chiapas: Palenque & San Cristobal de las Casas
Travel diary, entry 6. Exploring the jungle state of Chiapas in Southern Mexico.