I left Caye Caulker in winds and rain on a water taxi for Belize City, the dour weather was a welcome change to the heat travelling on the outward bound journey from Mexico. At Belize city I had a tourist shuttle bus booked, which sounds quite a bit more glamorous than it really is! A mid sized minibus with very little leg room…oh how I miss Argentina’s buses! Luckily this was only a relatively short journey of five hours with a break at the border crossing into Guatemala. I think that’s the most relaxed border control I’ve come across so far…we just left our bags on our minibus and walked through em and immigration with none of our luggage being checked…I’m not complaining!

We arrived in Flores, a tiny island connected by causeway on Lago Peten Itza. For the two days I was there it was quite overcast and grey, on a clear blue sky day the setting is far more picturesque. After making some plans, booking some hostals and buses for the next few days (Easter week, Semana Santa is a very big deal in Guatemala and gets pretty busy), had an early dinner and then as I had to get up the following day at 4am I called it a day.

At 4.30am we were picked up by minibus and headed off to see Tikal ruins, it was a bit of a drive and the reason for starting so early was to see the birds, monkeys and wildlife early in the morning and to avoid the heat of the day. I’d been dreading how hot it was going to be as friends who’d come through the week before had told me it had been 40 degrees and super humid. I was lucky as it was unseasonable cool for the time of year and only peaked around 25 by midday- great for climbing the ruins and exploring. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ruins themselves and having seen so many in Mexico I was nearly at the point of not visiting Tikal, I’m glad I went. Like Palenque the jungle setting makes them far more dramatic, and they cover a huge area. You can also still climb a fair bit of them, and as we were there relatively early with the tour starting at 7pm you could easily gets photos with nobody in sight. There was also a decent amount of birds and wildlife. I didn’t get a great view of any monkeys, but saw a good few Tucan, wild turkey and some raccoon like creatures, Coatamundi. The final temple that we climbed had a breathtaking view across the jungle canopy with the other temples peaking out.

We left at midday and I was pretty beat by then, after finishing my book I had a well earnt siesta…followed by another early night in advance of my 8am departure the next morning. This was an even more small and uncomfortable minibus, and an eight journey…the biggest discomfort is the number of speed bumps! Every time you nearly drop off to sleep the buses heavily break for them before accelerating for fifty metres and then breaking again…..and then the final part of the journey was down a twisty mountain side. But at least the views here were stunning, with lush green tropical vegatation. My destination was Lanquin, and I was staying at Zephyr Hostal on the recommendation of several other travellers I’d met. It did not disappoint….set up on the hill just outside the village overlooking a valley with a river running through it. The restaurant bar had views both of sunset and sunrise. The showers had no windows or curtains, so your view is just smack out over the hills, and hot water to! It’s quite a clever operation, they set up a tab for you and as they are little way out of the village you can end up just staying in the hostal, when I checked out two days later after two breakfasts, dinners, a tour, accommodation and quite a few Moscow mules my bill was 650Quetzal….. About £55. Which actually isn’t so bad….but Guatemala should be a bit cheaper than this.

The following day was Good Friday, the most important day in the Easter week. I headed off in the back of a truck with 12 others from my hostal to Semuc Champey blue waters, waterfalls and caves. The place was heaving with people as it was a public holiday. First up we headed to some caves that you walk and swim through with just candle light to show the way, at our furthest point we could jump off a small ledge three metres into a pool. It was a little risky as if you jumped too far you’d land on rocks, I went first and lived. On our way out we came to a standstill in a gridlock of forty Korean kids, I was just saying how insane it was to their guide that they had such a big group with only two guides and I slipped and nearly took out three other people…he said to me…”Now whose crazy?”…. fair point well made. Ego slightly bruised as was my butt, we exited the final bit of the cave by dropping through a narrow gap into another pool, some of us managed that a bit easier than others.

Back outside we had a couple of other adrenalin options. First up was a swing over a river where you jumped at the highest point into the river below, only four of us did this and it was a bit higher than I thought. Normally the river was clear but some construction up the river meant it was very brown and muddy. Last up was a ten metre jump from a bridge which only two us did, and it took a little while to get up the courage to jump…these things always look much higher when you are on the edge waiting to go! My attitude to all these things is, I’m never going to be back in these places and if I have the opportunity to do anything….just do it! All though all three of those jumps my feet touched rocks or mud below was a bit scary….

We then followed our guide, who by way of totally taking the piss out of us all had crushed some local berries and painted our faces with bright orange. As if we didn’t stand out like pasty gringos all ready… He led us up a very steep climb, to a view point of the blue tiered pools below. I hadn’t really banked on this part of the tour and we were all sweating and grimacing at the apex. I suppose the view was worth it, but all I wanted to do was get back down the other side and get in the pools! It was quite comical with just how many people were there on our day, I’d seen other travellers photos of this place and it looked nearly deserted….it looked a bit like Butlins for us, but in some respects made a more fun day. And I beat some little Guatemalan kids (I think they were eight years old) in a swimming race!

We arrived back after a longer return journey as a few vehicles were stuck on the road, had time for a quick swim in the river below the hostal before a communal Good Friday meal of Prawn Paella. I’d met a fun bunch of girls on the tour, and being as it was my bday the next day all had a stack of Moscow Mules……never a good idea before another eight hour minibus ride following morning!…..