Belize Is Beautiful, Guatemala Is Great

Days 76-77

Once we'd stopped at the beach in Mexico we found it hard to leave, so having spent an extra day there we'd be spending less than 24 hours in Belize, zooming across most of the small country the same day we came in and not bothering with the (more expensive, and away-from-the-bikes) islands.

All this staying extra days in Mexico had another consequence which we didn't realise until we reached the border – we had outstayed our visa by three days! While Emily had visions of Mexican jail, Ric was directed hither and thither to talk to different people and try to work things out. In the end they couldn't really be bothered with the paperwork so just sent us on our way - phew!


So we found ourselves over the border with a 1-day transit visa. This was something we instantly regretted as we had no idea Belize would be quite so nice. Maybe it was the relieving fact that everybody spoke English (Belize being ex-British Honduras), maybe it was the laid back Caribbean feel (nobody is in a hurry in Belize, as indicated by the fact that not one single person overtook us while we were in the country), or maybe it was because it was just a beautiful place.

Whatever it was, though, we didn't want to leave so the next day we went to the border and blagged an extra day! That afforded us a walk in some great botanical gardens (where we saw our first tarantula in the jungle section, thankfully dead) and a bit more time to absorb some of the atmosphere.


Days 78-81

Our Guatemalan experience began with the famous ruins at Tikal. We've seen a lot of Mayan ruins recently, but this one stands out because it's spread out in an enormous rainforest that you can look out at from some of the taller structures. It's also quite un-restored, so you get more of an idea of what it must have been like for the first archaeologists to come across the huge structures completely covered in jungle. And in that jungle we also saw lots of cool wildlife, like spider monkeys, wild turkeys (which look more like peacocks than the turkeys we know), and a big raccoon-type thing.

We're now in Antigua, the old capital of Guatamala (before it was destroyed by volcanic activity) which is nestled in the mountains between three volcanoes and is part trendy gringo town and littered with crumbling, gleaming and half-restored buildings. We have taken a day to see the stunning Lake Atitlan, surrounded by more dramatic volcanoes and traditional villages; and yesterday we climbed the closest active volcano. It's quite a luxury for us to spend three nights in one place, but we're planning on going through four countries in the next three days so it's nice to have a bit of a rest first!