Best of Central America

After spending an awesome few months travelling the length of Central America, from Cancun in Mexico to San Blas in Panama while taking in as much as I could of each country. I thought I’d run a little summary of my highs, lows and favourite picture from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Mexico

Just a small part of the trip due to cheap flights into the resort airport of Cancun. We took in Cancun and Tulum before heading to the border with Belize.

Highs
– An easy introduction into Latin America
– Gorgeous beaches of Cancun and using the pool/bar of the Ritz for free
– Scuba Diving at the Underwater Museum
– Swimming in a cenote (a crystal clear freshwater lagoon) where limestone rock has given way into an underground river
– Delicious sugar cane mojitos with free buffet in Tulum

Lows

– Cycling a very heavy bike in 40 degree heat turned out to be a bigger challenge than expected

Favourite Picture

Converted VW Beetle (an iconic car of Mexico) used to make sugar cane juice for mojitos in Tulum.

Belize

Such a relaxed country that feels so British Caribbean. The people really were the highlight of Belize, you will struggle to meet such friendly and relaxed souls anywhere else in the world.

Highs

– Hearing people shout “You got to Belize it!”, “Unbelizeable”, “Drink but don’t get drunk” and “Woah man, it is hot today”. Really made us laugh!
– Relaxing and reading on the beach in Placencia
– Luckily finding a tubing company to float through caves and appearing on local TV

Lows

– Despite 3 attempts, not being able to dive the Blue Hole due to weather and lack of numbers to make a trip

Favourite Picture

Many a day was spent relaxing in the beach town of Placencia on these colourful sun loungers. Bliss.

Guatemala

We popped into Guatemala as we travelled south through Belize to see the stunning Mayan ruins at Tikal before returning to the country after we’d visited Honduras. On our second stop we spent much of the time taking a crash course in Spanish, soaking up the town of Antigua and visiting Lake Atitlan.

Highs

– Climbing temples lost in the jungle Tomb Raider style at Tikal
– Cooling off in a bar in Flores watching the sunset
– Learning Spanish and attempting conversations about football with my fantastic tutor Rolando
– Staying in a Guatemalan apartment in Antigua and being able to settle in a place for a couple of weeks

Lows

– Foolishly jumping into a lake with my sunglasses on top of my head only for them to sink to the bottom
– Going from the high of speaking Spanish with my tutor with a clear accent to not being able to understand another person’s accent

Favourite Picture

I’ve chosen this as the view from the tallest temple at Tikal where you can see others poking their heads above the canopy. I also loved Antigua where I became addicted to Instagram.

Honduras

Honduras was a strange one. It really has the highs and lows of travel. One of the main reasons to visit was Katrina taking her PADI Open Water course while I took the rescue qualification. Sadly while here we had trips to the hospital and police station but still came away having loved the country.

Highs

– Qualifying as a PADI Rescue Diver – just one more step towards Divemaster
– Taking in the La Ceiba carnival, the largest in South America
– Zip lining in the jungle followed by a massage and a dip in natural hot springs
– Climbing underneath a waterfall in the morning and spending the afternoon relaxing at a brewery

Lows

– Katrina being taken ill and going to the hospital for an endoscopy
– My wallet being stolen in La Ceiba

Favourite Picture

I’ve chosen my picture of the amazing Pulapanzak waterfall which you can climb right behind and jump around pools underneath. Great fun!

El Salvador

Our stay in El Salvador was relatively brief. We came here for a bit of surfing and to see a lesser travelled part of the region. We turned out to be pretty poor surfers but enjoyed the chance to cool off thanks to some less sunny weather. San Salvador gave us a taste of urban metropolis for the first time in a while.

Highs

– Taking in the incredible scenery of the Pacific coast
– Sampling some great food in Juayua
– Making the most of western life in San Salvador’s malls and cinemas

Lows

– Finding out I’m not very good at surfing while getting caught in a riptide

Favourite Picture

I love this shot of a surfer meeting his match on this wave in Playa El Zonte. Watching other people fall off made me feel slightly better about my own performances.

Nicaragua

A fertile land of volcanoes and lakes would sum up Nicaragua pretty well. We took in Leon, Managua, Masaya, Granada and Ometepe. Despite being bogged down with a mysterious fever like illness I loved my time there, so that must say something for the country.

Highs

– Climbing an active volcano, sliding down in on a sled before climbing another, sleeping on the summit and descending the next day for a refreshing lake swim
– Scuba Diving in a volcanic crater lake
– Playing ‘Quetzalympics’ with a random bunch of people we’d just met
– Getting over my paranoia of horse riding amongst the beautiful scenery of Ometepe

Lows

– Feeling incredibly ill when all I wanted to do was explore
– A strangely high number of incidents of waiters trying to exploit tourists

Favourite Picture

Upon arriving at the peak of the El Hoyo where we to camp for the night we could not see the sunset as the fog rolled in. Thankfully sunrise in the morning made up for it!

Costa Rica

The jewel in the crown of Central American tourism, Costa Rica is where you will find many holiday makers. We spent just a week here but enjoyed the experience back on the beaten track.

Highs

– White water rafting on Class III & IV rapids near La Fortuna
– Watching all kinds of wildlife like Attenborough in Tortuguero
– Randomly finding a softball game in Puerto Limon being played by some very out of shape players gave us a good laugh

Lows

– Spanking our budget with the highest prices we’ve had so far
– Being a little disappointed by other tourists behaviour when watching turtles lay eggs on the beach

Favourite Picture

I love my photo of this lizard blending into its habitat in Tortuguero. This part of Costa Rica was like a mini Amazon rainforest.

Panama

Central America saves the best till last. Panama has gone straight into my top 5 favourite countries. We took in Bocas del Toro, David, Santa Catalina as well as longer stays in Panama City and San Blas. A combination of stunning scenery and the buzzing capital city kept us well occupied.

Highs

– ‘Glamping’ on the pristine Red Frog beach in Bocas del Toro
– Scuba Diving with sharks, rays, eels and countless fish in Coiba, part of the same chain of islands as the Galapagos
– Celebrating Katrina’s birthday in the luxurious Trump Hotel in Panama City, the tallest building in Latin America
– Getting stuck in the paradise that is the San Blas islands while waiting to sail to Colombia

Lows

– Going to visit the Baha’i temple outside Panama City to find it closed for renovation work

Favourite Picture

I went a bit photo mental in Panama as I’m sure my Instagtram account will show. However the one I keep looking back on is this incredible island in San Blas. Will I ever see paradise quite like this again?

What I’m trying to achieve …

I’ve wanted to take a big trip for a very long time, since before University, then after University, then after my first job. Now I’ve got a good bit of experience working in two very different companies I feel confident in getting myself a job on my return (or maybe even while I’m away). My current employer has also kindly left a potential opening for me to return to depending on workload, very much appreciated.

Despite this I still want this gap year / trip to be stay relevant and give me something to stand out and help me get a job either on my return or while I’m abroad. That’s partly why I’m writing this blog (if I can entertain the readers and say something insightful, then hopefully it bodes well for getting employed.) I’ve got a few things in mind that I want to do while I’m away that I think will be good for the CV as well as my enjoyment.

The first of these is to learn a language! I get incredibly irritated when I can’t speak another language, then I realise I didn’t make the most of the opportunities for French or German at school and my ability to speak these languages (albeit moderately) has died away a little. This is why I hope to take Spanish lessons in Central America and immerse myself in a language dominant across almost an entire continent. I know languages are desirable to employers but it would make me feel pretty good if I’m speaking like a local in a Madrid meeting!

Next up in volunteering. I’ve always been quite fortunate and somewhat spoilt so I want to try and do something that will help people less well off than myself. I’m looking for the right project, somewhere I can really offer something rather than just show up look silly and leave a few weeks later. Watch this space. I’d like to think that by doing something a bit out of my comfort zone I’m going to learn new skills, many people will know I’m not exactly the most practical person.

Point 3. Business. It might be a bit of a bus man’s holiday but I’m fascinated by different ways of doing business. I intend to write about this from time to time and see how economies I’m less aware of are developing. I’ve heard so many things about the entrepreneurship in countries like Chile and Costa Rica I’d like to see that and share it. You never know, I might find a job there or it could be useful in the future. It’s good to know about these things 😉

From here the ideas get a little less relevant to helping me get a job, it’s more about life experience and having a bit of fun. I’m in love with Scuba Diving thanks to my Mum making me try it on a holiday to Greece. Since then I’ve got my PADI Advanced Open Water Qualification and have dived in Egypt. Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Indonesia & Cape Verde. I intend doing an awful lot more of this, including diving the world’s best dive site at the Blue Hole in Belize. It’s also time for my girlfriend, Kat, to learn how to dive. I’d love to be able to work with this passion so I might keep my eye out for somewhere to get to the level of Divemaster. Anyone with tips about good places for this or looking to train people up, give me a shout!

I’ve got a bit of a thirst for trying new activities and sports. I’ve learnt fencing (awesome) and snowboarding (painful) in the past year, now I’ve got surfing in El Salvador in my mind too.

Photography has been another new addiction of mine over the past year or so, it used to be something I thought was a bit poncy but now I’m finding myself spending a lot of time on Flickr but I’ll post some of the better ones on here.

Apart from that, I’m here to make the rest of you incredibly jealous 😛