Sun shine on Christmas Eve

Its Christmas Eve and were on Caye Caulker and I walked outside round the back of our apartment this morning, on our 1st morning here and I could have cried, with happiness, cheesy I know, but its true, looking around, palm trees are scattered around the shore behind our house, a little lone boat bobs up and down on the calm water, a fat iguana scurries along the sand looking, I suspect looking for Christmas treats or maybe thats just me getting caught up in the moment, he was probably just making his way back home after a morning stroll by the sea. Either way, I had a bit of a moment, I didnt cry, but as much as I miss being around my family for these lovely holidays, I thought, I am in the next best place, a beautiful island in the carribean, soaking up the warm sun and swimming in the light clear green sea.
And, Guess what, I saw my very 1st shark today, Age and I were snorkeling near the shore when these 2 little boys about 10yrs old said they´d show us the 2 sharks that they had discovered and that were hiding under the jetty. I was a bit bloomin nervous as they were only feet away from us as the boys were telling us this and I didnt fancy being a sharks lunch time snack! but, holding our breath, we dove down 2 ft looking past the lingering shoawl of fish and then, saw a large black head lurking under a piece of corregated metal, it was about 1ft long with tiny piggy eyes, oh my goodness, if the head was a foot then its body must be about 7ft long!! (and ive just googled nurse sharks and they grow to between 7.5-14ft!) it is a nurse shark, and probably nearly as long as I am tall, this freaks me out a bit, and thought this is amazing, but maybe I have actually had enough of snorkeling for the day and would get safely back onto dry land again, quick smart. Im thinking though, maybe now I can say I have swum with sharks!? Maybe, but either way, Im a little bit nervous about getting back into the water tomorrow incase one of these guys fancies treating itself to a bit of tasty Cate for its Christmas lunch or even if they dont want to snack on me, if I saw one full length gliding beside me I may just have a small heart palpitation!!

Just after sun set, I finally had my pedicure that I have been wanting to treat myself to for a week now. I have very pretty feet again with a peachy pink colour gracing my nails, then met up with Age and an English couple I had left drinking in a beach bar earlier, for another rum & pinapple (this tastes so much better enjoyed on a carribean island sipped next to the sea) then home, a little light headed to cook a yumi dinner in our sweet kitchen whilst watching Star Wars, ahhh Christmas Eve.

Buenos Noches amigos xxxx

Feliz Navidad one and all xxx

Feliz Navidad, A very Merry Christmas, Feliz Nuevo Ano and Happy New Year everyone xxxxx

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday filled with lots of laughter, fun, great food and good times, I miss you all, heres to a great 2010 xxxxx Adios amigos

P.S Mum, Dad & Sean, Hilary, Annie & George, Ian & Jonathan and Anna, Kathy & Andrea & Marco we have sent you Christmas cards, but these were posted 3 weeks ago in Cuba so am crossing my fingers that you all receive them in time, but am thinking it might be wishful thinking considering how slow Cuba is & the snow in England, you may not, so my apologies and they will have to be Happy New Year cards instead - bugger

Tales from Cuba...

Hello and Merry Christmas

Weve just got back from 2 wks in Cuba, traveling around the north south and west of half of the country, if that makes sense, and heres what I thought. Well pictures and thoughts of one of the places we visited, the rest will follow later today. Hopefully off to see some Manatees am so excited, I love them!!

Vinales
What a wonderful delight of a place, and a much needed tonic on our 2 week trip touring around Cuba. Vinales is set in a lush valley in the north west of Cuba, surrounded by the most incredible mountain range, home to lots of organic fruit farms, tobacco and coffee plantations and genuinly lovley people, barely a jintero or scamster in sight, quite refreshing.
Only having 2 nights and 1 full day here, we decided to explore on foot and see as much as we could. This is where our adventure and possibly the most lovely day in cuba started. Age and I set out on foot, with a little guidence and direction to help us get started on the right path from a couple of locals. With a mass of bananas, (i know, I cant believe after 29yrs I have actually trained myself to like them!) water, and a smatering of fried plantain chips left over from last nights feast, we set off in search of Rauls organic farm and then hopefully on to La Cueva las Palmerito (a natural swimming pool in a cave). Off we trecked, its funny to see Age and myself in our walking shoes and ruck sacks, looking all sensible and ready for a hike he he!

We had the most wonderful day, trecking through lush fields, watching farmers plough their farms with the help of strudy buffalo, climbing through bat caves and down steep cliff faces, watching fellow tourists, lazy ones on horse back chug along, swimming in natural pools in caves filled with staligtights and staligmites, eating juicy pinaples fresh out of the ground and chatting in our broken Spanish with the old man farmer who grew them. Buying his fresh coffee beans and tasty sweet honey, and sniffing his hand rolled cigars pretending we know how to tell a good one before we buy these too.

Our treck lasted about 6 hours and we did it all by ourselves, which we were very proud off, accept the part in the cave, which was pitch black and absolutly couldnt be done without a guide. His name was Jose and met us atthe entrance to the cave, a really friendly local farmer who led us by torch light slowly through the cave, I only fell over once! It took about 15min to reach the natural cave pools where Jose lit 3 tiny flames and we stripped off (much to Jose´s delight! urgh!) and enjoyed a lovely refreshing swim in the cool waters, really amazing, but I did think that suddenly a horrible crazy creature from the depths of the cave was going to pull me under and Id never be seen again, so I stuck colosely to Age, so that If I got eaten then so did he and at least we could go together! Im suh a scardy cat!

On the way home, we passed the local park. There was all ages making use of this area, young men playing a game of football after work, a mix of teenagers and younger playing a great animated game of base ball, middle age mums running laps trying to get fit again, and parents watching from the stands, cheering their kids on and just chating amongst themselves, winding down after the day. It was so lovey to see, the sun was setting, casting a beautiful orange glow all over the field, and there was a real sense of community, general mood was jovial and light hearted. Age and I just sat there, watching and cheering for the base ball players and admiring the people running laps, one old man inparticular who was like forrest gump, he just did lap after lap after lap, his t-shirt growing wetter and wetter by the minute, but the determination on his face was realy refreshing to see and we gave him a big cheer when he finally called it a day and staggered on his way home.

The day was coming to an end, it had been fantastic and all there was left to do was mozey home, kick off our smelly clothes and relax with a rum and pinapple and a tasty peso pizza aahhhh.

Its officail, we love Vinales xxx

Cuba, cuba, cuba

I am in Cuba, and what a strange old place this is!! We are finding our feet here, just left Havana, and to be honest, Havana felt like one big flogged to death photo opportunity! The crumbling architecture is wonderful, the Jinterios who constantly hastle you, are so bloody annoying and make you not want to talk to anyone, the food is tasty, but we may get a bit bored of pizza and rice, beans and pork! so our feelings are mixed at here moment.
Internet is very scare so Ill write my blog on mine and ages new lap top and post at a later date.
The places where we stay, the casa particulars, rooms in peoples houses are so lovely, we just stayed with a wonderful old lady, it was like staying at tyour grandmas house, we shared a rum and pinapple, cooked her spagetti and pesto and had a good old chat.

Just arribved in small seaside town, Cienfugos, I love to be by the sea, have a beutifuul old decadant house to stay in with very kind lady, so Ill be in touch in a week or so to let you know how we are finding the rest of this intriging, crazy, edgy country.

Adious Amigos xxxx

Oaxaca pics - Hierve El Agua, El Tule

We visited surrounding sights of Oaxaca city. We went to a tapestry house, a nice man showed us how they make rugs etc and the dyes they use, my hand was a pallete for the colour mixing, so I was left with a pink hand, I didnt mind so much. We also visited Hirve al Agua a petrified waterfall, really stunning, Age had a swim, it was chilly though so I just dipped my toes in. ooh and also saw El Tule which is the largest tree in the WORLD!!! SO so huge, its was really stunning with the light shininig through the branches, and just the sheer size of it.

Pics of Oaxaca celebrations, cemetry and my bday

Where to next.... San Cristobal

San Cristobal was next on the list, this seemed to be the destination that most people headed to next, at some point, it had great reviews so we thought we´d check it out. We took a 1st class night bus as it was a 13hr journey, this saved on accomodation for the night and actually is the only way to do these big journeys. With a bag of treats to see us through, we boarded the bus and of we went into the night, soon to awake in our new exciting destination, and even though you get there a bit tired and groggy, this soon lifts, helped by the excitement and buzz of being somewhere new, and not being able to wait to explore.
We had heard San Cristobal was cold as it was up in the mountains, but on arrival at 11am seemed nice and warm, the cold was to come later, in the afternoons and evenings, ooh after 3 months of summer sunshine and hot hot heat, my little body doesn´t feel equipped for for the drop in temperature - I don´t know how I will ever adjust to living back in cold climates of the UK eek!!
After 1 night in a sweet, but cold hotel, we explored and discovered these great apartments which over looked the whole city, we´d have our own terrace too, the price was high, well, for our budgets anyway, (actually half the price of a travel lodge in England!) but we decided this was too great to pass up so treated our selves and ended up staying 3 nights. We cooked ourselves spicy pasta in our cute little kitchen, ate frsh fruit and pastries for breakfast in the warm morning sun on our private terrace and curled up and watched films in bed in the evening, sipping on good wine, ahh bliss!! Its so lovely to have a base like this for a few days, this is something I miss a bit, my things spread around me, having complete privacy, being able to go to the supermarket and then cook a lovely meal in my own kitchen.
There was some kind of festival happening over the weekend we were there and the main sq was filled with a huge stage and live music and djs playing into the night. One evening we happened to bump into Craig again, randomly, so the 3 of us eneded up enjoying a few drinks together inthis funky little bar, shared some great food and danced in the main sq till nearly 1am.
Me and Age have this habbit of being able to bumble around places for days without actually planning anything or really seeing all of the sights, so we decided it was about time to go an explore behond the confines of the city and see what else was there. An amazing trip to a Canyon followed, (again the pictures will be posted shortly when Age wakes up and shows me how) there we were at miday on a Wednesday flying up this Huge incredible canyon, in a speed boat, spotting crocadiles, monkeys and pelicans on the way, what a wonderful life!! It was such a fantastic sight, and I had been really sick (food poisoning I think) earlier in the night but this re charged me and put the fresh air back in my sails horray!
We ended up staying in San C a bit longer, (not in the nice apartment but a cheapy, and bit smelly hostel) than expected due to us both being sick, but now that was all out of our system it was time to head on to Palenque and absorb ourselves in Mayan culture.
I had heard about a super place to stay called El Panchan nr Palenque, from a mexican guy id met in Juayua El Salvador, it was in the jungle, I wanted to find this place. After a couple of nights in town, we headed out to the jungle and found El Panchan, a fantastic, peaceful, calm place consisting of little groups of cabins, a great italian-mexican restaurant and not much else. Our cabins were run my Margarita, a lovely chatty lady who kept very spic and span cabins and rooms. Once settled, all you could hear was the buzz of the jungle insects, trickling water from the nearby river and the distant call of monkeys and gheckos, bloomin brilliant and tranquill!
So so lovely to enjoy really good home made pasta, by candle light, listening to local bands as we people watch and chat about our days exploring.
I´ll tell you more about the ruins later, but now, breakfast beckons and a stroll by the sea front, as weve moved on to a place called Campeche, a small colonial town by the sea on the mexican gulf coast in the Yucatan, its a complete mixture of very old town, 80´s beach front and pastel colours, and some slightly modern buildings thrown into the mix.

Hasta luego amigos xxxx

Back at the beach

So, after Oaxaca City, it was time to head to the beach, Puerto Escondido on the Pacific. It was a long old journey from 5pm-12 midnight, in a little shuttle, just me, Age, a nice Irish guy that we would later befriend, and 9 Mexicans, all of us packed cosily into this tiny minibus. It wasn´t that far to the beach but the route took us over mountains and along dirt tracks! Amazing scenery, untill it went dark that is, and a beautiful red sun set, but then just a bumpy rickety old ride the rest of the way. On arriving we discovered that we had the pent house, well thats what I called it anyway, in this lovely big hostel over looking the bay, this was the perfect well come. Our room was lovely and spacious, we had a balcony and our own bathroom, which is always a treat! and just outside our door was a lovely lounge area with grand piano, lots of books and another balcony just behond it, which you could see the sea and the surrounding bays from, just beautiful, that and a building site to the left (but we won´t look left!) We had landed on our feet. It´s such a gamble finding a lovely or even just nice and clean room sometimes, even when the guide book recomends it, so just before I find my destination i´m always a little aprehensive as to what will be there waiting for me, but when its a lovely suprize and exceeds expectations, its a fantastic feeling. Little things on this trip make me so happy.
On exploring Peurto, it seemed to be, just as we expected, quite a touristy spot, but with some beautiful beaches and a lot of the tourists still being Mexican, we were happy for a few a days. We went off exploring to find smaller coves to just lay in the sun, watch the novice surfers practice and of course eat plenty of freshly caaught fresh fish mmm mmmm mmm. We spotted a man bbq ing large red snapper at a little eatery right on the beach, the place was filled with mexican families all filling their faces with differnt fish and sea food cocktails, so decided this was the perfect spot to settle, re charge and sample the wonderful smelling fish. The chef showed us our large snapper, smothered half of it in Diablo sauce, a vibrant red -orange, spicy like hell! tasty devil sauce, and left the other half with just a bit of garlic on, popped it on the barbie for a few minutes and wha-la! a yumi, fresh, spicy treat for us to feast on while sipping cold beer and margaritas and watching an old mexican couple who had been there all day and were drunk as skunks on Bacardi, dance and sway to an old cheesy tune floating out of thier gheto blaster he he!
At the Mayflower, which was the name of our hostel, we met a bunch of people, ranging from a 30 something american called John who constantly ate fresh dorado fish and body surfed, without a board!! (didnt know you could do that) but he was so so tall, his body could act as a human board, he was friendly. To lots of young uns! mainly from America or Canada, just traveling for a few months. We all ventured out one night together, ate really really good tacos from a locals place a bit out of town, played a lot of fuse ball, then myself, Age, the irish guy, Craig and a middle aged, hippy lady we met that night along the way went dancing in this open air bar, which had an amazing DJ, the setting was fantastic, just off the beach, under the stars, the only problem was, we were the only people there, the rest of the gang had headed home as it was quiet out and was 3.30am, but we had to stay for at least a little dance as this place was so unique! It was a funny funny night!
The hustle and bustle and good mix of people gave the hostel a good vibe but it was also great that when we wanted, we could get away from it all and retreat back to our room in the pent house and feel a milion miles away from anyone.
I´ll post lots more pics once I figure out how to on this darn computer!!

Lots to report

Hello

Well ive been a little bit naughty and not updated you on my travels in a while. Lots to tell.
I´ll start with the Dias de Meurtos (Day of the dead) 3oth Oct-2nd Nov celebrations in Oaxaca City, the weekend Age flew in to join the adventure. It was such a fantastic weekend. The whole of the state of Oaxaca and I think Mexico (but Oaxaca being the best place) celebrates in such style and the energy is electric for this occasion. In the main plaza, the Zocalo, huge sand sculptures were being created like murals that adorned the floor and you couold feel the buzz inthe air of things to come. On the night of the 3oth, lots of processions flooded the streets, hundreds of party goers in halloween masks, fancy dress, kids of all ages, teenagers, adults and oldies all dancing in the streets to the familiar sound of regatone, this quick beat drummed out by small brass bands, 3 or 4 average looking men, no uniform or formality, just brought together by their love of music, amazing talent and they were surrounded by hundreds of followers, everyone being swept up in this warm, crazy, contagious excited buzz!
The lovely thing was, looking around, no one was exculded from this event, everyone was caught up in the energy, and there was something for everyone to enjoy. Everyone was merry, but no one was too drunk, or was self concious or too cool, everyone just got stuck in and had a good old giggle. Age saw wrestler masks on the sat afternoon, as wrestling is a really big thing here in Oaxaca, so of course, he wanted one, and bought me one too, and named me the Pink Stink! but I won´t be keeping that name!! With candy floss in one hand (yes I am a Blackpool girl!) and rum and pinapple in another we put on our masks and quickly joined a parade and danced and jigged and laughed our way all around town with the rest of the masked prosession, getting laughed at along the way, as even though wrestlling is a big thing here, im not sure that it had a place in the Halloween - day of the dead celebrations! After a lot of running around, we snook off for a bite to eat to re-charge, at some fantastic local street food stands, here we enjoyed Tlludya, it´s like a big crispy tortilla with chorizo, cabbage, beans and avocado on with picante salsa applied liberally over the top, yuuum yummm! mexicans travel far and wide to these stalls to gorge themselves on this and then head off, back on their journeys, and I can see or rather taste why.

On the evening of the 2nd, we took a trip to the Pantheon, the main cemetry, to see this side of the traditions. The 1st and 2nd are 2 days to remember the loved ones who have passed on, old and young. I had never seen anything like this, the whole of the cemetry was awash with thousands of bouquets of beautiful flowers, they covered every single grave. Families sat around the graves, sang songs, lit candles, ate toffee apples! chatted, cried, laughed, drank and toasted the memory of these family members that they had loved and that had no gone on to a new exciting place. The Mexicans believe that on these 2 days, the souls of the dead come back and visit their families, so I suppose, they party, and put on a good show for them. I felt privaliged to see this and be a part of it, even if from a distance, and quite over whelmed, as even though this isn{t my culture, it´s lovely to believe that for this day (and it being the day before my birthday) someone that I have loved and that isn´t here anymore, may be close by and in my presence, by my side, it´s comforting.

Well, after a crazy few days in the city, I took Age up to the Oaxacan hills to La Villadda for a few days of lazing by the pool and relaxing, perfect. Oh yes, and my birthday of course. What a fab way to spend it, the sun was shining, Age made me a beautiful card full of fresh wild flowers and decorated the room with them too, and had bought me my favorite Baci choccies from Italy to enjoy too. Happy happy happy.

Bye for now, but I have lots more to update you on so keep tuned as I won{t keep it so long till the next issue xxx

La Villada in the Oxacan Hills

Hers some pics of the beautiful multi coloured candles in one of the churches in the main square, it had been filled to the brim with thousands of colored lillies and the smell was amazing, it is in the Zocalo which is the main plaza of Oaxaca City and the other picture is of the cathedral and the others of my lovely retreat in the hills.

Age is joining me

Age is flying out, as I write this he will be boarding the bus from Mexico City to join me in the electric craziness that is Oaxaca, on the most celebrated weekend of the year! As of tomorrow, or 2am today, I will no longer be a solo traveller. In a way I will miss this, I didn´t think I would. I have learnt to be self sufficient and this makes me feel very liberated, and Im proud of the fact that Im able to get around all of these countries all by myself. But, I will be very happy to see Age and we will have a different kind of adventure as a 2, and it will be so so lovely to share all of these amazing experiences and wonderful sights with him.
I will keep you posted on, now, our adventure.

I have discovered Mezcal!

I´m a little bit fuzzy headed today as I´ve found a drinking buddy in my little Oaxacan hideaway in the hills. He´s a nice scottish guy, a science teacher, and we shared some beers and a bit too much Mezcal last night, which is made from cactus, similar to tequilla, tasty stuff, but quite potent! The bottle even comes with a worm inside, don´t ask me why - so disgusting, and John ate it urgh!!! It´s really nice to just sit in our little lounge area outside in the night air, kick back after a days lounging by the pool and just share a drink or 3 and have a giggle. The hostel is starting to fill up now in time for the Dias de Meurtos festivities so its so lovely to meet all these new people, young and old, couples, friends, people on their own, all on different adventures with stories to tell.

Water falls

These are pics that I hadnt shown you of me at various water falls. The ones with me sat dressed beside the waterfall is in Suchitoto in El Salvador, the rock formations here were like the Giants Causeway. Then the 1 with me in the water, freezing water btw, as you can probably tell by my face is in Juayua and was 1 of seven stunning water falls hidden amongst a thick lush forrest, me an dthe guys that I met and shared rum with at the lovely hostel went here after our day at the food fair, and I think the walk and the shocking coldness of the water shook away our fuzzy heads from all that rum!

So content in my hideaway in the Oaxacan hills

I never want to forget this feeling of calm content and happiness, im sitting drinking a beer, by the pool of my beautiful hostel in the hills over looking Oaxaca City, this place is a gem! Ive decided, as Oaxaca will be my home for over a week, to head out of the city for 3 days to a little retreat just 20min drive away in the hills, to lay by the pool, soak up the glorious sun shine & submerse myself in a great new book that Ive found on the book shelf here & also practise my spanish home work too.
Ive only been here a few hours and I feel so refreshed & at ease. I think on this trip of mine, insticts play a big part, if you feel something is wrong then just dont go with it, walk away, but if you have that excited vibe immediatly about the place you are in & meeting great people, then stay, absorb everything it has to offer & just move on when you are ready. There is no rush & no time limit, just amazing experiences to be had.
I feel I am gushing, but my days are like a roller coaster of emotions, predominantly more ups than downs, this is for sure, but I feel like when I have a perfect evening like this or a whole day, I need to treasure it and store this feeling away somewhere so that I never forget it & once I am home can access it and be inspired to search for it again and bring it into my everyday life.
The family that run this hostel are so sweet and kind. The 2 brothers Javier & Chay run the buisness day to day but Chays children and their mother seem always to be floating around. The mother, I forget her name, I must ask her again tomorrow, was making Red Mole today and has been for the last 2 days, this is a spicy sauce that contains chilies, tomatoes, & a million other spices too all ground together and then made into a rich sauce that acompanys chicken and rice then when there is left overs you use it in tomales. She was making it in a huge pot outside on an open fire, I was chatting to her in Spanish and she let me try some, it tasted spicy and a little sweet, mmm yumi. She is preparing this and other local dishes for Dias de Meurtos (Day of the Dead) which is 1st and 2nd Nov and also celebrations on Halloween too. I have come to Oaxaca especially for this celebration which just so happens to precede my birthday nicely, 4 days of celebrations and traditional festivities are in order I think. Locals cook and get their families together to remember their loved ones who have pssed on, they think that on the 2nd day the spirits come back for this one day so they gather in cemetries and bring offerings and dance and I supose I will see what else they do. I think it is warm, family orientated & festive rather than morbid and sad, a celebration of life and the people who have lived and gone on to something new & exciting rather than a comemoration and mourning.
I wanted to spend these days in Mexico but it was Juash, the Mexican I met in Juayua that told me that Oaxaca is the best and most vibrant traditional place to be, and if I liked, his cousin may be able to show me around, so here I am, and so far, I love it.
Buenos Noches Amigos xxx

2 long long days and one even longer night traveling to Mexico

Guatemala to Oaxaca in Mexico, a lot of ground to cover! Nice air con buses helped me get to my destination, andactually once in Mexico realised this is the only way Mexicans travel, unlike the rest of central americans on these crazy and fun disco chicken buses which I had grown to love very quickly, but now my modes of transport seemed a lot more civalized, serene, and can I say, a bit boring! My1ststop was Tapacula,just across the border, Igotinat 9pm so was praying a nice hotel was near by as usually Idont like to travel at night. On the bus I got chatting to, or rather he got chatting to me, an old prob mid fifties american guy named Bill, heoffered me some good tequilla in at lunch time at the beggining of our trip, I politly declined, but 8hrs later when still on the bus, I tookhiom up onhis kindoffer and we shared a few swigs together whilst hetoldme of his reasons for traveliing, divorce beingone of them, being kicked out ofhis house byhis wife and having a girlfriend inNicaragua being another! This passed the time untill I made my excuses and went back to my seat, with a slightly warm fuzzy feeling from the booze ahhh. Ifound a nicehotel right by the bus station andsettledfor thenight and Dirty Dancingwas playing on Cable so all was good.

Well,I thought Id head to the pacific ocean on my way to Oaxaca City, just for a few days, I seem to get withdrall symptoms if I dont spend a few lazy days hanging out at the beach every 2 wks or o, I think this is fair enough. BUT, and as you can see, this is a BIG BUT, unless I choose a beach which my guide book says is comercial and is equiped for tourists then it really is not worth going to. The big problem being the accomodation, or lack of, rather than the beaches themselves which are always pretty stunning. I arrived by collectivo taxi, to abeautiful strectch of Pacific Ocean, only to find myselfbombardedby men, trying to help me find a suitable place to stay for the night, this bit was fine, but I looked at 3 rooms in various locations just off the beach front and OH MY GOODNESS they got progresivly worse, as did my mood! Ok think Bankok Hilton!! these places were horrendos! I walked into this one room, which had a steeldoor and tiny tiny window like a prison cell, the lady was saying bonito si (pretty yes) paint peeling off the dirty stone walls, a scruffy sink in the corner, a skanky probably bug ridden dirty mattress on an old wooden frame and the thought even now,is sending shivers down me!! how on earth did these people think that this was acceptable, yes it was only $10a night but I wouldnt keep pigs in somewhere like that! so disgusting! but I actually found myself, just for 1 second thinkning, maybe it would do for just 1 night,then suddenly right away came to my senses and backed quickly out of the room smiling and cringing saying gracias but not for me and practicaly ran in the opposite direstion, which is kind of tricky with my 2 stone backpack on my back!! So,I hobbled to the pretty beach,sat and ate some good grilled fish and drank homemade lemonade and contemplated whilst being stared at by some local young chicos on quad bikes, what on earth to do next! Get the hell out of here, and maybe just see if there is a night bus all the way to Oaxaca City, this is exactly what I did. Luckilyonce Iarrived 2 busses later in Oaxaca City at 4am,I made afriend, an Israli guy named Joran, we whiled away the hours of the night in the bus station waiting forthe new light of the day so we could venture to a nice hostel, me eating cookies and us just swapping stories and chatting away, lovely,and as I hadnt really spoken to anyone properly in a day or 2 this came as quite refreshing. We found a lovely hostel, settled in, met another guy, called Danilefrom Bible camp in a near by village, he was sweet and acted as our tour guide for the morning, took usfor breakfast inthe local Plaza and we watched the day unfold and the city become alive, and I gotthat feeling of content and realised I had a found a little gemof a place and was very happy to call this home for the next week.

Oh what a perfect day...

In Antigua again, and ive gotten to know the place quite well now, I love this feelingof familiarity in a place which untill recently I had never even heard of.

I was all set to leave my lovely and really cheap hostel, which included a great free breakfast of fresh fruit and pancakes and many other tasty treats too, always a winner, and head to Mexico,when I took a little early morning stroll into town, under the warm morning sunshine, watching the quaint little town come alive, andthoughtto myself,do I really wantto leave just yet?With my guide book in hand, which it permanently is these days, I noticved that for a small price, one could use the pool at a nearby swanky hotel, well, this cemented my decision, I was staying! On my way to check out the pool, I stumbled across Franks Salon and thought to myself, as much as I like my traveller, slightly surfer like scruffy long hair, it was maybe time for a trim, so I booked myself an appointyment with Frank himself, for the end of the day, so id have pretty hair for the evening, great!

Then I remembered about a photo exhibiton that i had seen advertised on my previous visit so I made my way there, to get a bit of culture and be inspired. It was a really amazing exhibiton including stills and video by photographers all aroundcentral and southAmerica, documenting their lives and also those of the people within their cities. Itwas exhibited within the ruinsof a beautiful building and half newbuilding too, so there was lots of nooks and cranies and archways & interesting natural light, happy and content. Then it was time for a little stroll around the jewelery & craft shops which there were tons of in amongst the cobbled streets and of course a spot of lunch which consisted of a delicious baked bread roll filled with spinach, herbs & peppers heated up so it was all gooey,mm mmm mmm.... thisfrom a fantastic tiny bakery I found hidden away from the main plaza, I took a picture of the young boy baking all of these lovely treats, he was only too happy to pose!

An afternoon at the pool side of this swish hotel swimming and soaking up the sun pretending that I was actually staying there and not my $5 pretty hostel up the road, I was so glad that I had stayed.

To top of the day I have a very pretty new hair do, a swish bob, have strolled around taking lovely pictures of the sun setting against a back drop of the volcano and cobbled streets and treated myself (again) to a really lovely local meal of spicy lamb stew with tamalas and rice and a large glass of red wine, happy happy happy :) xxx

Back in Antigua, a beautiful old ruined church

I explored this beautiful old ruined church with a nice Calafornian guy called Wilando that I had met just that morning on my tica bus from El Salvador. A funny, kind of creepy old man, well half man half umpalumpa showed us round and nearly had an asthma attack on the way just from climbing a few stairs - ah bless him...

Mis lead by my guide book!!

Well, it was a sunday morning and I decided to leave my comfy, beautiful hostel and new friends in Juayua in search of a beautiul lake, what a mistake! Its silly beacuse my insticts were telling me to just stay in this lovely place another day, enjoy more good food at the food fair and just laze in the hammocks and plan properly where to head to next, but no, this was too easy and off I went in search of Lake Coatapeque, as it looked stunning, and my guide book made the accomodation sound wonderful. Well 6hrs later, I only just arrive, after taking a slightly wrong bus to an area just 5km from where I was meant to be, and having to stand, being stared at by the side of the road for an hour, dying for the loo, waiting for the right bus!! No fun, and I was close to tears, sounds silly now, but I was really fed up and annoyed at myself or A, not staying in comfort of Juayua and B, no taking the right bloomin conectinmg bus!!
I tell myself all will be fine if once I get to my destination the acomodation is how descibed in my guidebook and how it looked from the pictures I googled, but on no, far far from it!
The place had a different name, maybe it had just changed hands, 80 percent of it was under construction or being decorated, the pool had no water in it!! and the dorm was shabby and no one else was there so Id be all on my own, in this bleak, slightly dirty dorm which was on stilts by the waters edge, a bit isolated!! I didnt have much choice as I took the liberty of venturing next door to a lively hotel where there was actually people and music but the room there was 3 times the price, had no bathroom and was rubbish too., so I opted to stay with the cheap rubbish one. On the up side, I was on the edge of this picture esque lake, the sun was close to setting and I had a beer to hand, so I curled up in a deck chair, read my book, took a few piccies, drank my beer to take the edge off my day, then went in search of a couple of tasty Pupusas, horrah I found them easily at least. Needless to say, I did not sleep well, Jonathan I thanked goodness for my silk sleeping liner, so my skin didnt have to touch the bed sheets urgh! and slept with one eye open, kept awake by the whipping wind and crashing rain, creaking sounds all around me, and the constant thought that the boogie man may break the flimsy lock in the night and get me!!
Ah occasionally Im going to come across these places, but I do hope that they are few and far between.
Adios, and wish me luck in finding somewhere lovely to lay my head tonight xx

Juayua

Hey, im in Juayua, pronounced why you uh, in the hills in north west El Salvador. Im staying in such a sweet hostel, its really relaxed with lots of comfy areas, hammocks and chair swings in the garden for lazing and relaxing with a glass of wine, I think illstay a few days...
There are a few lovely people here too, 2 Canadians, 1 mexican, 2 Americans and 1 other English si}upprizingly as we are very few and far between! We all shared wine and lots of good rum last night, was so lovely to finaly have other people to interact with over a drink or 3!
Every weekend they have a food fair here, so I picked the best time to visit and sample lots of culinary delights which you know makes me so so happy!
There are also lots of beautiful sights nearby like water fuls, trecks through the mountains and volcanos too . Im off to explore

The crazy city that is San Salvador!!

Yes im in San Salvador, this is a crazy place. It´s so so busy and bustling all the time which is great as this makes me feel safe, it has the most crazy market stalls (im thinking which must be a bit like India!), there is pupusas and fruit shakes being sold from every angle, ive become friends with a half Latino half Korean family who own a creperie - delcious! who have taken me out for pupusas, offered me their spare room for free as they live near all of the museums, and would like to take me on a trip into the hills to visit quaint towns and volcanos at the weekend! This is so so lovely but I think there is only so much kindness I can take before I start to back away and my mind thinks there must be some sort of catch! but no they are actually just lovely people and despite all of the old pervs that like to have a good stare, this city and actually it seems all of Central America seems to be filled with the kindest and very genuine people who just want to help when they see someone who needs it, and generally I do!
So after navigating my way around the city yesterday, visiting a good bunch of shops, (thank goodness for posh department stores that sell real chocolate!) got myself a pedicure, i´ve got happy pretty feet again, got a healthy dose of culture at the MARTE modern art museum and found Fernando Llorts (the most popular Salvadorian artist) gallery and work shop, I was happy and feel I have seen my fill of San Salvador.
This morning is my last in the city for now and im going to explore on foot some more, find the New Cathedral which is meant to be stunning and has 2 large murals by Fernado on the outside, which will be interesting to see as his work comprises of simple shapes, figures and animals and has a great bright use of colour, so on the outside of a white washed church, this will make a refreshing change. Then sit back in the park and atempt to read my Latino copy of Vogue and plan my trip to the hills.

Adios amigos xxx

Im at the beach horrah!!

Hola.

Im in a lovely little surfer spot on the pacific coast of El Salvador called El Tunco. With black volcanic sand, I think the softest, smoothest, finest sand that I have ever felt underneath my toes, lovely.

It wasn't all plain sailing to get here though as I first headed to a place funnily enough called Costa Del Sol! thinking it sounded less touristy and exclusive. There I am sat on another crazy bus, edging up this quiet road, passing signs for all the places near to where iI was meant to be headed, but it didnt look very inviting, then I saw a sign for my destination, and still everything was so quiet and run down, and what seemed like they might be hotels, looked closed and uninviting, so I stayed, glued to my seat, in the hope of coming across some other place that looked wonderful... The driver and the conductor just kept looking at me as if to say, you have to get off sometime, but what I have figured out is that Im good at getting on buses, but once there, never have the courage to get off agian, and just stay on in the hope of being taken to somewhere lovely, that or being forced to get off coz we've reached the end of the line! This is what happened and I had to explain that I was lost, well kind of and didnt get off where I should have done, anyway the driver and conductor were so kind, and looked inmy guide book at the hotel I was trying to find and explained that they would turn th ebus round and take me right to the door, thank goodness for human kindness!!

Well I reached my hotel, it was a bit like something from Canvey Island, (Age you will know whjat I mean by this, following our random day spent there last bank holiday!) there was a murkey pool, with 2 slides, one at either end plonked right next to a litle row of basic rooms. The owner, Marco was kind and friendly and showed me to my room, it was ok, but did have ants, and one lot of them were carrying a small pice of food up the wall into a small crevice in the celing - well come I thought to myself, it was fine apart from this. But I was a bit tired and v hungry, and a bit disapointed at my destination after all these hours and hopes of trying to find the beautiful promised Cost del Sol!

So the hotel did have 2 other tourists, and they were checking in at the same time, 2 up beat chirpy Americans. I set off to find the beqach, hoping that hidden behind this quiet strip of village was a beautiful untouched exclusive beach, well it was exclusive to pigs, chickens and wild skanky dogs!! and that was once I had walked through what looked to be a shanty town, (I feel bad saying that) and wives gutting the produce that the local fishermen had caught that day, v smelly, I didnt like it and didnt want to stay. I quickly headed back to my room, where I bumped into Tori and Stu who asked all smiles how the beach was, I just couldn't muster enough enthusiasm to smile, (and this isnt like me) I think my face looked like I had swallowed something v sour and I mumbled its OK, and hurried into my room, sat on my bed and had a 3 second cry, then said to myself stop being so silly, its safe here, you have an ok room, just go find some cookies (this is all I ever seem to be able to find in the middle of the day when the only restaurant around is closed untill dinner time and this is the best thing on offer in the only shop around) so I eat a lot of cookies!! and then laid in the hammock and read my guide book.
The day got better, you'll be happy to know. I poped my bikini on and gave the beach another chance, this time walked a bit further, wwaded in the sea, took a long walk up the beach and enjoyed looking at the locals, folding up their fishing nets after a days work, kids playing in the surf and realised it wasnt soo terrible after all.

Later I ventured into the murky pool, only after Tori and Stu had had a dip seemed to survive, it was actually quite refreshing.Then later ventured out onto the street to the local Pupuseria and watched this lady and her daughter make about a million of these tasty treats and sell them to locals their as take away diner and took a seat to eat a couple myself, this made me happy, they were so tasty and id obviously found a good spot as this place, this tiny road side stall with a few plastic chairsand tables was bustling now with hungry customers, yey! I was finally content.

So the next morning after my pancakes that Marco made for me I headed off on yet another crazy disco bus, they make me smile these crazy buses! to my next destination, El Tunco.

Im staying in lovely little hotel, about 5 rooms, I have my own bathroom and there is a kitchen and a little sofa area over looking an estuary that leads to the sea about 100m away, and the owner is such a sweet young lady. It is my 4th day here, and I am settled. I go to the same lovely little restaurant called Erikas for yumi pancakes at breakfast time and then for great fresh cheap sea food in the evenings after a day at the beach, laying on the black soft sand and negotiating my way into the choppy sea water over lots pebbles and trying not to let the strong rip tide topple me over. I like to feel settled for a few days at a time rather than getting on and off buses each day and seeing other sights non stop. There is lots more of El Salvador that Id like to see, but for now, at this moment, the sun is shining and Im gonna head back to the beach and thank goodness that I found this place and also that it is mid october and im able to venture out into the hot hot hot sun and top up my tan! may even grab an ice cream sunday on the way

Hasta luego xxxxx

Trees and light on the nature trail in Copan