Eo Ire Itum

Photos: Warsaw, Poland July 2011

mazystar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:12:00 GMT

Photos: Italy, June 2011

mazystar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:11:00 GMT

Photos: Australia, November 2009

mazystar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:55:00 GMT

Trip home to Sydney in the summer of 2009

Photos: Spain December 2011

mazystar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:40:00 GMT

Photos: Frankfurt, Germany December 2011

mazystar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:54:00 GMT

New Years trip to Frankfurt and Hidelburg 2011/12

Photos: Prague, November 2011

mazystar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:34:00 GMT

Photos: Berlin April 2010

mazystar — Thu, 8 Apr 2010 08:33:00 GMT

I´m Still Here!

mazystar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:16:00 GMT

It´s been eleven or twelve days since I last wrote in here, and it was at least six days I went without being able to contact anybody at all.

We were staying on Little Corn Island, and the internet was down. They only have one internet cafe on the island and regular loss of power and an obviously weak internet connection, meant no access for quite a while. There wasn´t even any way of my calling home.

I apoligize to those who were worried - mainly my family. I know a few days can feel like an age when you haven´t heard a peep from a family member who is traveling in a dangerous part of the world.

The past eleven days have been both full on and relaxing. I have been writing in my own personal journal, so I´ll be BACK DATING a few entries when I get home...but for now, just a short update.

I arrived on Big Corn on the 2nd. The flight was amazing! The plane was tiny and we flew very low over the coast of Nicaragua and the Caribbean Sea - the view was incredable.

I took the flight alone; Alex and Morgan had decided to take the boat over from Bluefields (they said it was horrible), so that day I relaxed by the beach, read and walked around Big Corn.

The following few days were quite similar. I caught up with Alex and Morgan and we did some swimming, exploring the island and general relaxing. After a few days we decided to head over to Little Corn Island, but we had a hiccup with the money side of things.

The ATM on the island wasn´t working at all for my cards and Alex and Morgan also had problems withdrawing money. It was a stressful time, but it was soon solved as I realised I could withdraw money over the counter in the back, from my debit card.

We took the tiny little panga boat over to Big Corn the next day and it was a bumpy ride. The waves were throwing up all over the place and as the boat skipped over the water, we all bumped along with it. It was like a ride at Seaworld or something - I´ve gotta say, it was LOTS of fun. I love that feeling of euphoria you get from that sort of thing. :)

Little Corn Island was fantastic. I loved the people there - everyone is friendly and wlcoming. I ended up staying there for six nights, in a little bamboo hut by the beach. Alex and Morgan left on the Sunday morning and I spent a few days there by my self, do some more exploring and relaxing by the beach.

Yesterday, I took the panga boat back to Big Corn and checked back into the same hotel by the beach for the night. I went to the airport and tried to book the flight to Managua yesterday, but they told me it was full. I ended up having to just rock up this morning, on the off chance that someone didn´t show up.

I wasn´t very positive about getting on the flight...but in the end, I was told there were three spare seats! So the two Canadian travelers I met and my self, managered to get seats. It was SUCH a releif. I had visions of missing my flights back to London and wasiting hundreds of pounds!!

Anyway, I´ll fill in the blanks later with my back dated entries. I hope everyone is well!!

Photos: Granada July 2009

mazystar — Sat, 1 Aug 2009 09:29:00 GMT

Another day of traveling

mazystar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:11:00 GMT

Yesterday we woke up early and got the 8:45am bus from Managua to El Rama. It took a lot longer than we thought it would and we didn´t actually get there until about 4pm.

It was a crazy trip: every time we stopped a long procession of locals selling food and drinks would troop through the bus, shouting and waving their products. At one point a very loud man got on, and stood at the front of the bus yelling about god.

It was a noisy and uncomfortable trip, but it was an experience. When we arrived at El Rama, another experience was waiting for us. We got on a long speed boat down the river to Bluefields. It went VERY fast - our hair flaped in our faces and the boat bumped up and down on the water. It was intense and took about two hours in total.

When we got to Bluefields it was 6pm and we had spent another whole day traveling. To be honest I´m kind of sick of it and I´m annoyed that we haven´t found anywhere we like enough to hang around for a few days. I´m hoping the Corn Islands will be different.

The only problem is that getting there doesn´t seem to be an easy task. You can get a light plane from Bluefields, but I´ve been looking it up on the internet and I can´t find ANY information about it at all. There is also a boat, but according to my guide book, it only leaves on Wednesdays and being that today is Friday, Wednesday is quite faw away. Alex and Morgan went down to the docks today and said someone told them there might be one leaving on Sunday...but I think I´m going to try looking into getting the plane there. There might be a travel agent in town that can book the flight.

Anyway, I had an awful night last night...I was throwing up from food poisoning and I didn´t get any sleep at all. I´m feeling slightly better today though, apart from the odd stomach cramp. It´s just so hard getting a balanced diet when you´re traveling. Food poisoning is pretty much inevitable.

I do actually miss home at this point...it isn´t easy traveling when you´re sick. I think my immune system was beaten down from the shingles and I´ve just been feeling very fed up and tired. I have another two weeks left of traveling left, so hopefully I can do a week in the Corn Islands and then another week in Costa Rica by my self, before heading back to Guatemala for my flight home.

Back to Managua...

mazystar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:17:00 GMT

Yesterday and today have been travel days...

...yesterday we got a bus to a part of Isla de Ometepe that we were told was good (Merida), but it turned out to be VERY isolated and the only hostels in the area were expensive and the staff of the cheaper one were extremely discourteous.

There really was no "town" to speak of - just a tiny rocky road with a few houses, a comodore (local eatery) and these two hotels.

We were disapointed that Merida wasn't what we expected, especially after the bus ride there (an hour of standing up, squished into a tiny bus in the heat).

BUT, a huge part of travel is trial and error. You never know if you don't try...we tried and that is all that matters. You just have to chalk it up to experience and carry on.

In the end we decided to head back to Moyogalpa (the main town on the island and where you catch the boat back to the mainland).

We waited on the road, sitting on rocks and watching the local animals. At one point a troop of piglets gaggled across the dirt road in search of the guava fruit that lay rotting on the ground outside the comodore. They were adorable. I don't think I've ever seem so many piglets just "doing their thing" without being fenced in.

I'd love to explain the other amusment that occured as we waited for the bus...but Trumpapillar really defies explanation. :)

The bus ride took two or three hours, but it wasn't too bad. It gave us a good chance to soak up some examples of island life.

It's fasinating to observe people whos lives are so different to my own. The people of Isla de Ometepe live in small, very simple houses - brick or ply-wood with corrigated iron, and many with a dirt floor. They seem to really cherish family life, like a lot of other traditional cultures. Most keep animals (pigs, cows, bulls, chickens and maybe a horse or two) and farm the land (corn, plantains, maze etc). So often while traveling, I wonder about our comforts and whether we could live without them. I can't imagine living in one of these tiny houses with a dirt floor... it seems so far away from my life..and yet, millions of people live this way...

We stayed the night in Moyogalpa and stayed in the same hotel we stayed in the first night we were on the island.

Today we got the boat back over to the mainland in the morning and then caught a small local bus back to Managua. It's my birthday today, and this hasn't a FANTASTIC way to spend the day, but it is pretty fitting considering travel has been the main theme of my 25th year. Alex and Morgan have done their best to make today special for me though, which I appreciate very much.

SO - TWO DAYS of traveling! Its been alright though. Our aim now is basically to get to the Caribbean side of Nicaragua and visit Corn Island and Little Corn Island, where we will relax for a few days. The beaches there are suppose to be white sand and bright blue clear water. I can't wait to get there.

Oh and a shingles update!! I'm feeling MUCH better now and have almost finished my course of medication. I've gotten back the strength in my left arm (it was getting weak and painful because of the virus) and the horrible rash is clearing up very well. :)

PS: Photos soon, I sware! I haven't been able to upload any tonight becase there is a lock on the computer and I need a password to get into My Computer. I don't know the Spanish for "I need a password"...so I'm giving up. Will upload photos another day.

Isla de Ometepe

mazystar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:21:00 GMT

On Saturday we got the boat over to Isla de Ometepe, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.

We got a taxi from Granada down to the docks near Rivas, and caught the ferry over - which took about an hour and a half (we also had to wait for two and a half hours for the ferry to actually leave).

The island is very different from the mainland - there are beautiful birds here and HEAPS of bugs (tonight we saw GLOW bugs in the grass). The people also seem more relaxed.

Yesterday afternoon we even saw a mother spider monkey with a baby on her back. She came right up to the entrance of our hotel, and one of the men who works there, gave her a few bananas which she snatched and ate in a nearby tree.

I'll have to post the photos up when I get a chance. There isn't much much internet access AT ALL on this island and at the moment I'm sitting in a hotel down the road from our hotel, and the computer screen is COVERED in bugs.

Anyway, our first night on the island we went to the fiesta they were having here!! I think it was a day in celebration of a saint...although, I can't be sure.

We saw young women dancing in colourful traditional dresses and people playing trumpets and drums. In the evening there was bull riding (it was too crowded, so we didn't get to see it...I doubt it would've been very interesting though) and loud music played long into the night.

On Sunday we pretty much spent most of the day waiting for the bus up to the beach. We got told different times, but the bus never came. In the end, we split a mini-bus with another group of tourists ($3US each). It was a very good deal, we were quite lucky. I talked to a very nice woman on the bus who had been to China. She also told me she had been volunteering down in Costa Rica, at a turtle breading beach.

We checked into a cheap enough hotel ($6 each, for a triple room) and we're right near the beach, which is lovely. I love hearing the waves at night time. :)

Today we explored some of the island, went to some vocanic water pools that are supose to have healing properties and in the afternoon went for a bike ride on the rocky, bumpy road.

I'm going to go now, these bugs are driving me crazy. I'll write again soon. :)

Virus...

mazystar — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:21:00 GMT

I went to another doctor yesterday afternoon and I finally found out out what I have - shingles.

So it isn´t just an allergic reaction to the painkillers, it´s a virus, which explains all of my other symptons such as sight fevers and head aches.

Now I´m on antibiotics and will rest when we get to Ometepe, which is our next destination. We´re getting a taxi to the dock and then getting a small boat over there. Hopefully it will be relaxing enough for me to start feeling happier - I just want to get better and get on with my trip!!

I took the anti-biotics and used the new cream for the first time last night and as a result, I had a better sleep than I´ve had in quite a while. I hope the improvement continues. :) I´ll update again after we arrive on the island; we´re leaving this morning.

Allergic reactions and extreme humidity

mazystar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:19:00 GMT

It´s no exaggeration to say that Central America is VERY HUMID.

I dislike extreme weather and the heat makes me cranky and stressed out - this is the same for a lot of people.

For me, London summer weather is perfect. It´s not too hot and you can still wear a cardigan or a long sleeve shirt without passing out or drowning in your own sweat.

Central America is so hot, none of us feel like doing anything. Sure, there´s stuff to do here, but the humidity seems to be sapping all of our energy and walking around in the heat all day just makes it worse.

Another thing that isn´t being helped by the heat is the horribly inflamed, burning rash on my left shoulder, back and breast that I´ve been developing ever since we were in Antigua. I think it occured when I started taking some painkillers for my back pain...soon after I noticed a small rash forming on my back, but didn´t think much of it. Now it´s huge and spreading...

It´s awful and it´s making me stressed, sad, self conscious and WHINGY. Hahaha. For one, It´s painful to take off and put my shirt or bra and it just burns on and off throughout the day. My arm and shoulder is stiff and moving it too much irritates the rash.

Thankfully the other day, Alex very kindly took me to the doctors. The doctor was amazing - she reccomended I pour some cold chamomile tea on it, to stop the inflamation, and she prescribed me some cream for it.

The cream doesn´t seem to be helping too much, sometimes I see a change and the next day it just flares all over again and I feel like I´m going round and round in circles.

This morning I tried the chamomile for the first time (it took me a while to track some down) and it helped A LOT more than I thought it would. After only a few hours I could see a change in the colour of the rash. HOORAY.

I just have to persist with the treatment and if it is still bad when I get to Costa Rica, I´ll find another doctor to check it over again.

Anyway, I´m going to talk about something good now!! :) Yesterday was a pretty good day - I spend the day by my self: I had a lovely breakfast at a cute little cafe where I met two guys and we chatted about travel and the best places to go in Central America. Then I went for a walk around town and bought a few things, I do like this time - even despite the horrible men learing at all the women.

In the evening, I met Alex and Morgan and we went for a nice dinner at a little comodor follwed by a few drinks in a little bar with Alex´s friend from Mexico that we bumped into. It was a pretty good evening.

In the next few days, we´re going to get a boat over to Ometepe Island, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It should be pretty good and there is lots to do there, including kayaking (which I REALLY want to do at some point).

Journey to Nicaragua...

mazystar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:44:00 GMT

The other day (Monday) we got the Tica bus from El Salvador to Nicaragua. We had to be at the bus station at 4:20am to buy our tickets and register with our passports and we really didn´t get much sleep that night. We were all tired and cranky, but it was a relief to be able to get a bit of a nap as the bus gently rambled through the city before the sun came up.

Thankfully, the bus wasn´t too packed so we were all able to sit seperatly and have two seats to our selves. As we left the city, we increaed speed and that made it hard to sleep. Getting to sleep on a bus isn´t as easy as it might sound, especially when you're powering over cracked, bumpy roads and around sudden sharp corners.

We stopped a few times, once in the morning for breakfast and the other times were border crossings (which were no problem, although cost us US20 each...) and to let people off when we crossed into Nicaragua.

Passing through Honduras was quick and easy. The terrain and atmosphere looks no different to El Salvador or Nicaragua, and although the country is currently having many problems and tourists are being told NOT to go there, it seems passing through on the west cost is trouble free.

The bus trip took over 11hrs and by the time we FINALLY got to Managua (the capital of Nicaragua), we were all hot, tired and very cranky. We grabbed our bags and went to look for a hotel near to the bus station, so it would be easy for us to leave the next day.

Managua is horrible (even according to some of the locals we spoke to). I don´t think it would be an exaggeration to say that our first impressions were NOT GOOD. As soon as we walked off the bus and into the bus station, we started getting hassled by taxi drivers, and when we got onto the street it was the turn of the hotel workers, trying to get us in to their establishments.

One guy said he could do a triple room for US6 each, so we went to have a look. The man checked in all the rooms, as we followed, but he soon realised they had filled up. Then another man said "we have one room - six dollars!!" So we followed him into a room that OBVIOUSLY belonged to the people that worked there. We stood there looking around and Alex and I exchanged confused looks. Suddenly one of the men just yelled "ARRRRRRGH" and threw a glove in Alex´s direction, then the men starting laughing.

The glove hit the wall (thankfully, it didn´t hit poor Alex!) and slid to the ground. Alex and I shook our heads and just walked out; I think the noise scared us both, especially since we were exhausted from our journey. Morgan said a few words to the men in Spanish, and then we just walked away. It was a WEIRD thing to do on their part and it was not a good experience for us in our tired state.

We stopped in a small bar - I had a soft drink and read my book, while Alex and Morgan went off (without backpacks) to find a hotel. This way they weren´t hassled because it looked as if they were already settled into a hotel.

As I waited, I felt quite nervous because I had read so much about how dangerous Managua is. Alex and Morgan were back soon, and they told me we had a nice hotel around the corner. That night, I had my own room with a double bed and a tv. It was lovely. I wasn´t feeling too great, so it was nice to be able to chill out on my own and watch tv and read, and I´m sure it was nice for Alex and Morgan to have some time with each other as well. :)

The next day, we checked out and got a cab to Granada (which is about 45mins south, down the river). We only paid US25 to get there, split three ways, which isn´t bad really. We checked out a few hotels when we got there and decided to stay at Oasis, which is expensive enough, but pretty central and the staff are REALLY nice.

Yesterday Alex and Morgan checked into another hotel that´s just down the busy market road, but I decided to stay at Oasis. I like the staff there and have starting talking to some of the other travelers there, all of who are very nice. Most of the people I´ve met here are American (northern, obviously), and although I´ve seen/heard a few examples of bad and disrespectful traveling, most people seem to be very friendly.

As for the locals, most women are fairly friendly and you can usually get a smile from any one, even on the street. The men however...well the men working in business such as resturants and shops are usually quite nice and you can tell they´ve been trained to be respectful and courtious, but walk around the streets of Granada for 5mins and you will find a man learing at you, making cat-calls, whistling or being generally rude and sexist.

I know that that kind of thing can and does happen everywhere, but here it seems to be every second guy doing it, and this behavior tends to make women feel uncomfortable and vulnerable, especially when you´re alone and in a developing country.

I delt with a similar thing in Cambodia, especially in Phenom Phenn where tuk tuk drivers and sprukers are notorious for their lude comments to females with white skin. You just have to ignore it and let it wash over you like water off a ducks back. As a woman traveling to a developing country, you are always going to be judged, no only on the color of your skin, but also on the basis you´re a woman. Put "white" and "woman" together and some men just think of it as an invitation to be scum. This is espically the case for women walking out alone, or traveling completly alone.

Being asked where your husband is, is another MAJOR annoyance for me. Answer that you don´t have one and they think you´re "easy"...it makes lying the more attractive option, which isn´t really too great. :( I´ve even had women say this to me, one of whom said "Don´t worry, one day you can return here with your husband." Like I wan´t enjoying it by my self! She actually pitied me for not being married! Ha!

I know it can be a cultural difference, but as Alex said yesterday: you should not abide rude sexism from anyone for any reason! She´s very right.

Anyway, Granada is an old colonial town and in many ways it´s very beautiful. It´s set on the HUGE Nicaragua Lake (the largest lake in Central America) and is quite a touristy town with lots to do in the souurounding areas like, kayaking on the lake, canopy tours, volcano hiking, coffee farm visits...etc etc... But in some other ways it´s not so beautiful. Just like any other developing country, there is poverty, homeless, begging, dirty streets, open sewers etc etc.

I really want to book a tour to go kayaking on the lake, but it will have to be in the early morning or late afternoon, otherwise I´ll get sunburnt!! It´s SOOOOO hot here, but that is aleviated by the usual afternoon storm (it´s wet season). This doesn´t always mean rain, it can just mean thunder and lighting AND BLACKOUTS!!! AGGGHHH!!

Speaking of storms: one has just rolled in now and I´m going to get off the computer because there will no doubt be a big blackout soon. Photos and more stories soon, I sware. :)

Costa del Sol

mazystar — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:49:00 GMT

Yesterday we got a taxi one hour west to Costa del Sol. We had heard that it was really beautiful and very cheap - it wasn't really either of these things. As soon as we got there we realised that the beach was blocked by hotels or big houses built right in front of it.

The hotel we had reccomended to us was unheard of by everyone that we asked, so we just stopped at the second hotel we found (US35 for a triple, which is pretty expensive considering the room had no windows and was filthy). We dumped our stuff in the room and went for a walk on the beach. To get there, we had to walk down a tiny alley-way that stunk of rotting food. The beach its self was pretty horrible too - there was rubbish everywhere, the sand was brown and the waves looked very unpredictable.

We were all in a pretty bad mood by this stage - annoyed by the cost of everything in El Salvador (prices have gone up since they brought in the US dollar), tired from the heat and disappointed that everything we had been told about Costa del Sol seemed to be wrong.

After a beer by the beach, we headed back to the hotel for a swim in the pool. We also asked the staff to clean the room for us, which was important considering there was what looked like mouse poo everywhere!

We decided to leave Costa del Sol the next day and head back to San Salvador where we could book a bus to Nicaragua for the 20th.

For dinner we went down the road to a tiny little beach-side commodore (local eatery) for fish, rice, salad and tortias. It was delicious, but expensive compared to the prices in the rest of Central America. Then we bought some drinks and supplies and went back to the hotel to swim in the pool again.

That evening we made friends with three Salvadorian kids who were staying at the hotel with their aunt. They were so cute and even though there was a language barrier, I still managed to communicate with them and we spent the evening going down the slide, jumping into the pool in silly ways and laughing. They LOVED Alex because she could speak to them in their language and was was making them laugh. She was really good with them. She took the youngest child down the big slide, on her lap. She absolutely loved it, it was adorable. :)

In the morning we were all feeling tired and sick, and as soon as we woke up we packed our bags, called the taxi to take us back to San Salvador and went out for breakfast -fish, rice and salad again.

I started feeling really sick half way through breakfast. I've been getting TERRIBLE back pain ever since I arrived in Guatemala and I think the pain killers I've been taking are making me feel nauseous. :( Hopefully when we get to Nicaragua, I can find a doctor or something (I read that they have a lot of red cross clinics there, that welcome travelers), until then I just have to put up with it - it's not so bad that I can't bear it, I'm sure I'll manage.

The trip back into San Salvador was quick and it was nice to be in a car with the wind rushing through the windows and cooling us down. We booked into the same hotel when we got back and that's where we are now.

This afternoon we tried to book the bus tickets for Nicaragua, but were told we needed our passports. We can still book, if we get to the bus station tomorrow at 4:20am (the bus is at 5:15am). They said there should be enough seats. I hope we all get enough rest before then because we're all feeling pretty crappy. :/ The humidity is a big factor I think, but that will only get worse in Nicaragua...

Photos: El Salvador July 2009

mazystar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:19:00 GMT

El Salvador

mazystar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:41:00 GMT

After two days in Antigua, we decided to head south to El Salvador.

We were picked up at our hotel just before 9am and a shuttle bus took us 45mins north west to Guatemala City, where we were to wait for the bus to El Salvador. When we got to the bus station we realised we had three hours to wait - the bus was at 1pm. The time passed fairly quickly as we talked, read our guide books and had a lunch of tortias, beans and rice.

The bus trip took about five hours and getting through the border was no problem at all. At the Guatemalan border we were mobbed by men waving money in our faces, trying to get commision on an exchange. We ignored them and went inside to line up and get stamped out of the country. It didn't take long at all, and before we knew it the bus driver was honking the horn to signal that we were leaving.

The border at El Salvador was about 10mins away from there and it was even less trouble - we didn't even have to get off the bus. A customs offical and a nurse got on and to check everyone's passport, and ask if anyone wanted to see a doctor (in case of swine flu). It didn't take more than about 10mins and then we were on our way again.

Once we arrived in San Salvador (the capital of El Salvador), we headed straight for a street dotted with hotels. The one we found was fairly expensive ($45US for a triple room), but it was clean and comfortable with air conditioning and cable tv. There was even a lovely little garden just outside our room.

That evening we had the most delicious Mexican food for dinner - fajitas with beans, cheese, veggies, salad, salsa and guacamole. YUM!

Today we decided to spend the day in San Salvador. We visited the art gallery, the museum and went to a MASSIVE shopping center called Metro Centro.

San Salvador is a huge city and although there seems to be very wealthy people around, there is also a lot of poverty - just like the rest of Central America.

I do feel much safer here than I did in Guatemala City, but even so, there is still permeters of barbed wire around pretty much every residence and many business. There are also loads of security guards around, all carrying guns (shot guns and hand guns).

Everyone we speak to, says that this part of town is fairly safe, even at night. But we still haven't ventured TOO far from our hotel.

Tomorrow we're heading south east to Costa del Sol - a lovely beach town that isn't in any guides! An American guy who's lived in El Salvador for 30yrs told us about it, and it sounds amazing. He also told us the name of a hotel right on the beach for US$10 a night! It'll be great to get out of the city. El Salvador is SO humid. :)

It's been really fantastic traveling with Alex and Morgan - we all seem to be getting on great. Alex is even teaching me some Spanish!

I'll up date more after we arrive in Costa del Sol.

Arrival in Guatemala...

mazystar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:35:00 GMT

With much anticipation and a nervous disposition, I have arrived in Guatemala. The flight from London to Huston was trouble free and we arrived in Huston half an hour early.

However, going through customs and immigration wasn't pleasent at all. The security and customs officers were commanding and rude; not a very good first impression for any new arrivals in the US. I was screamed at and they even threatned to call security. Why? Because I didn't fill out two words on my form and instead of moving away, I just tried to fill those two words out at the desk. Big mistake, apparently and I will told in a very aggresive way to more to the back of the line. When I got back to the front, I was a bit annoyed and the officer could obviously see that. This is when he told me if I was being "cheeky" he would call security. Awful experience.

Despite the horrible customs experience, I boarded the plane ready for the two and a half hour flight to Guatemala City with no other problems.

Once we landed and I was finally in Central America, I breezed through the lax airport "security" and went outside to find my guy from the hotel. He was there with a sign and a broad smile "Marianne?" he said, and went to get his van. The hotel was only 10mins away from the aiport; I could actually see it from my window.

I slept awfully that night due to airport noise, screeching cars, rumbling motorbikes and 5am by fireworks going off nearby. I couldn't stop thinking either. I was pleased that I had made it to Guatemala, but apprehensive about the trip to Antigua the next day.

After breakfast the next morning, my shuttle bus arrived and took me to Antigua, which is about 45mins west of Guatemala City, through the mountains.

The differences between Guatemala City and Antigua are extreme. Guatemala City is busy and industrial, with almost every building covered in a perimeter of twisted barbed wire. I didn't feel safe at all in Guatemala City. But as the shuttle bus drove down from the hills and I caught a glimpse of the colourfully pained colonial buildings, tall white churches and cobble stone streets, my emotions began to change.

Antigua is a heavily tourist based town, and is therefore the safest city in Guatemala. Tourist police are everywhere and the locals are friendly aand welcoming.

After my shuttle dropped me off, I checked in to a hotel called The Black Cat and went to try and find Alex and Morgan. I found a msg from Alex on my facebook, telling me where their hotel is and on my way there I bumped in to them on the street.

It is so good to see them again and for a few hours being here felt like a dream. We went to get something to eat (beans, tortias, rice, salsa and salad!) and talked. In the afternoon we visited the ruins of a 17th century Catholic church in the center of town. They're in the process of rebuilding it using red bricks. I thought the old parts looked best - the building had crumbled and big chunks of the old walls lie on the dusty ground.

In the evening, we drank beers on the roof of Alex and Morgans hostel and talked and laughed. For dinner we got pasta and mojitos at a little bar in the center of town. It was a lovely day and I am so happy to see my best friend again. Traveling with her and Morgan is going to be lots of fun indeed.

We spoke about our plans for the next few weeks and it seems to consensis is to leave Guatemala by bus and head to El Salvador and Costa Rica. There is a lot more fun and adventure to come. :)

PS: I'll post photos soon! xx

Photos: Guatemala July 2009

mazystar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:26:00 GMT

Guatemala City and Antigua

Photos: Hever Castle, Kent July 2009

mazystar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:16:00 GMT

Guatemala in six days!!

mazystar — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 07:42:00 GMT

As the title of this entry might suggest, I'm leaving for Guatemala in six days.

I have a return ticket (13th of July-13th of August), I have booked two nights in a hotel in Guatemala City and I have a very vague idea of where my friends - who I will be meeting up with - will be when I get there.

If I was asked to describe how I was feeling at this point, the only word I could accurately use would be ambivalent.

One one hand, I'm very excited indeed - the prospect of visiting a new country and culture, the adventures, the people...well, it's intoxicating!

But...on the other hand I am very very nervous. Sometimes I think I might have gone completely mad. Why am I going to a country where the best advice you can adhere to is to "not wear ANY jewelery and not to take photos of children because their families might think you want to kidnap them"?

Well, I've though long and hard about the reasons WHY I would want to visit such a place and the best I can come up with is....this is the world and I want to experience it.

The negative feelings I've gotten have subsided after I spoke to many people who have been to Guatemala and was reassured by their stories. I've gotten lots of advice, I'm as prepared as I can be and I will be cautious and use my common sense.

I went out today and bought - a first aid kit (with tea tree oil, the best antiseptic!), inspect repellent, a money belt, new bag locks, a big bright fluorescent strap for my check in luggage, tissues, a Central America guide, a novel, a new pair of sunglasses, organic natural hand spray sanitizer and facial wipes. I think there are probably a few more things I need...but I got everything on my list so far. I'm feeling pretty prepared. I have everything photocopied and double checked...all I really need to do now...is pack!!

I'm going on a bit of a tourist jaunt tomorrow with my Australian friend, Tara. We're going to Hever Castle the home of Anne Boleyn. It's an hour train trip from London (in Kent) and it should be a fantastic, histroical day out.

Progress...

mazystar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:10:00 GMT

It's certainly been a long time since I updated this journal. Perhaps that's because this is a travel journal and I haven't been doing very much travel at all recently.

The past few months have been mind numbingly tedious in their monotony. Moving back to London was a good idea, as it has left me open to see more of the small amount of friends I have here, and also to see more of London and surrounding areas. But it simply isn't enough to quench my thirst for a challenge and for travel.

However, that is all about to change with the recent development of my British passport being approved! This means I can leave the country in possession of a golden return ticket, safe in the knowledge that I will be let back through the border.

So, I am currently making plans to visit Guatemala and some of southern Mexico. I am also looking in to the possibility of going to Costa Rica for a few days, although it is just a thought at the moment.

After all of the stress and boredom of simply WAITING for my British passport, I finally have a project to sink my teeth in to. I'm happily organising and booking my flights, checking visa status', making lists, checking dates and details and allocating funds. I can't wait for the trip.

I'll be leaving in early July (only two weeks away) and I'll return to England in early August in order to start job hunting. I'm not going to have a huge amount of pre-booked or organised plans and travel routes, although I am making sure I am prepared.

One of the best things about the trip is that I will be seeing my best mate, Alex and her boy friend Morgan, there. It will be so good to see them. It will also be fantastic to be on this trip for my 25th birthday in late July. :)

Photos: Dawlish May 2009

mazystar — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:22:00 GMT

Dawlish, Devon

Photos: Dartmouth May 2009

mazystar — Tue, 5 May 2009 11:40:00 GMT