Caves by candelight

Crossing the boarder from Belize to Guatemala was like entering a different world. Suddenly the English-speaking stopped, there was chaos at the boarder crossing, and the roads and cars became noticeably worse; however, the landscape became more beautiful. The country's frequent flash flooding creates a lush green expanse of landscape like I have never seen before. The hills and mountains are almost void of human settlement and you can see for miles through sporadic mountain peaks. Such stunning views outside the window make for a much-welcomed distraction from the experience inside, where drivers navigate giant potholes and fearlessly storm over some of the roughest roads I've ever been on. But I survived and arrived in Flores unscathed, despite getting caught in one heck of a monsoon downpour!

Flores is a sleepy island (although it's joined to land, so I guess it's technically not an island...not sure what that is classed as!) housing backpackers and tourists looking to explore Tikal - a Mayan archaeological site found within a rainforest. Although the ruins are impressive and they let you climb them (health and safety is not really a consideration here), the best thing about the site was hearing howler monkeys and seeing the tucans.

After a few days' recuperation at a fab hostel, 15 of us got picked up in a mini-bus that was probably more suitable for 9 people (Mayan people are on average about a foot smaller than westerners) and braced ourselves for a 9-hour journey. Despite not being geographically too far away (approx 180 km), the condition of the roads makes this a pretty long and arduous journey (the last 14km took 1.5 h). Needless to say, we were all best friends by the end of it ;o)

Now in Lanquin at another great hostel/lodge, generations of travellers have flocked here to explore the beautiful caves and waterfalls of Semuc Champney. Thankfully the area is untouched by mass tourism - although for how long remains the question - and essential activities for every visitor are cave exploration by candlelight, swimming in the lagoons and jumping off bridges and waterfalls. OK, so I managed to pluck up the courage to do the first two but not the second two... the waters in the lagoon were the clearest I've ever seen and the landscape just breathtaking. Thus, I saw no reason to ruin a relaxing outing with fear and panic.

I move onto Antigua tomorrow - a must-do guidebook-essential city. However, my must-do essential for tomorrow is laundry... I simply can't go on turning t-shirts inside out any longer!!