Travel Journal

I’ve always wanted to improve my Spanish, so what could be better than a two-week residential Spanish course in Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the central highlands of Guatemala! Our landlady was wonderful, and we had to ask for everything in Spanish. No Spanish, no food – so I learned quickly!

While in Guatemala, we took the chance to see sights like Lake Atitlan and the famous market of Chichicastenango. After graduating, we set off for Honduras to see the famous Mayan ruins at Tikal. This was amazing, another World Heritage site rediscovered in the 1850s. Watching the sunset over this incredible site with monkeys howling and toucans swooping was an unforgettable experience.

Our next destination was Belize, where we headed for the sleepy coastal town of Placencia. Staying in a beachside cabin with a hammock on the veranda and fresh fruit for breakfast every day was tough, but we managed. Feeling well-rested, we set off for Honduras once more.

Next stop was the Bay Island of Roatan, a lovely Caribbean island and one of the best-value places in the world to learn to scuba dive. After four or five days here, we were ready to head back to the mainland and the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. Big mistake. Like most Central American capitals, there’s nothing much to recommend them. They’re just places to transit on the way to somewhere else.

This was clearly demonstrated by our next stop, San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Suffice it to say, we got locked in our hostel each night, cash machines had armed guards, and even the internet café had security guards. When it was time to leave for the airport, we had to climb the gate to get out of the hostel because the guard couldn’t find the key, and the taxi driver asked if we minded taking the long way to the airport due to gunfire in the city centre. An explosive end to our action-packed trip!