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Road Trip!
Saying goodbye to Caye Caulker was a sad day as we all loved it so much but a new adventure was ahead- a road trip through Guatemala with seven of us in a six-seater camper van! We got the water taxi to Belize City in the morning and then a taxi to the hostel where the boys had left their van (named Sadie). Luckily she was still there so we set about unpacking, tidying and packing up again in the midday heat-great fun! Somehow we managed to fit all of our bags in the back and when we all piled in it was actually reasonably comfy, except maybe for the person who had to sit on the floor because there wasn't enough seats! So we set off, 7 people, four guitars, a long board, loads of bags and some good tunes all in a little van called Sadie. Our original plan was to drive to San Ignacio, on the other side of Belize and stop there for the night to cross the border in the morning (which is apparently the safest time). However, we made such good time we got there by about two and so decided to carry on to Flores, Guatemala. We made it across the border ok, apart from a slight falling out with the guy at the entry to Guatemala because he said we had to pay entry and we all thought we didn't have to and he couldn't give us a receipt, therefore we refused to pay, and he knew there was nothing he could do so he just had to let us go through and sit there in a stress! I refuse to be ripped off, and I love arguing with people in Spanish! So we head off down the road, if you can call it a road, it was actually a gravel track that went on for miles, but did eventually turn into tarmac-ish! Couldn't believe the main road into Guatemala was a dirt track! We made it to Flores just before it got dark and found a great little hostel where we drank cocktails all night and chilled out in hammocks. Flores is beautiful, it's a little island town in the middle of a lake with colonial buildings and a good pier to dive off and swim in the lake. The next day we went to Tikal, a mayan city deep in the jungle. The journey there was comedy because we nearly ran over a man who had fallen asleep with his head on the main road-very bad idea and only funny because we didn't hit him! Then there were the signs on the way up to the temples which consisted of 'turkey crossing', and snake, tapir and loads of other random animals that might cross the road. Funny at the time! Tikal is just amazing, hard work because you have to climb a million steps to the top of the temples, but when you get there the view is breath-taking! In the afternoon after Tikal we went swimming in the lake and the boys tried to show off their diving skills and impress the locals and then took it one step further and decided to create a human slide-very funny! I chilled out, sunbathed and swam in the lake and got nibbled by the fish because my legs are constantly covered in mossy bites and they obviously like the taste of raw flesh-nice!Next it was off to Semuc Champey. We didn't set off as early as planned and we got a bit lost trying to find the right road out of the town but eventually we got there and everything seemed fine. The roads were very windy and got worse and worse the further into the jungle we got, going up one side of a mountain and then down the other, amazing scenery but slow going, or rather it should be but Matt was driving like a maniac so we all fell out with him! Then just as we were ¾ of the way up another mountain the rain started, and then the thunder and the lightning and the rain was torrential, as in we couldn't see more than a few metres infrount of us. This is not much fun when there are no barriers on the corners and there is a hundred foot drop down the mountain. The last 2 hours of the journey would best be described as off road- it wasn't even a dirt track and some of the climbs were so steep we needed a run up. Luckily Sadie was 4WD with a V8 otherwise I don't think we would have made it. That night, we celebrated the fact that we had made it alive with three bottles of rum and some yummy food!Semuc Champey was absolutely stunning. It is where a river, at the bottom of a 1000m deep valley goes underground creating lots of nice slow flowing pools and cascades with the water that doesn't go underground. Over one of the pools there was a tree hanging over about 8m above the surface of the water. We decided it would be a good idea to climb to the top and jump off. That was awesome. Matt (one of the Canadians) was a national level diver and showed off by doing a backflip and a piked somersault dive (1 ½ rotations) which were very impressive. I don't have to feel bad about not going to Acapulco to see the cliff divers now. Aidan jumped off the tree but it took him about 20mins to climb to the top! His fear of heights meant he clinging on very tightly making going very slow!I climbed up half the way and managed to jump off the cliff which was about 5m high - my highest ever! We also hiked up to the Mirador which was a 1.2km hike going 1km up! The view from the top was well worth it. In the afternoon we went on what we thought was a cave tubing tour - sitting on tyre tubes floating though caves in an underground river. The cave tour and the tubing turned out to be completely separate. We were all given a candle a started to wade through knee deep water into the cave.The water got deeper and deeper until the guide looked at us and told us we had to swim! We swam through the water trying not to extinguish the candle (swimming with one hand is not so easy!) and going through tiny crevices following the underground river for about 1 hour deep into the cave.We also had to climb up a really dodgy ladder that was in a waterfall and then shimmy along a ledge with just a rope to hold onto on slippery rocks - all with candle in hand of course!It was amazing and also quite dangerous - it would not be allowed in England! Aidan managed to cut his foot open on a sharp rock under the water because he insisted on leading the way when the guide was at the back.We then tubed back down the river to the hostel which was cool. Ian went a bit too close to the shore and managed to bash his bum on some rocks which was very funny. And Melissa, when getting in, sat too far back and it flipped her completely backwards overhead so just her legs were flailing above the water! The next day we headed to Antigua. Now the map said Highway 5 was paved, but after the 1st 2 hours it turned out not to be. We probably should have asked but once you are on it there is no way back. The journey which should have taken 6 hours ended up taking 12 most of which was completely off road and the fastest we could go was 20km an hour. We managed to get 2 punctures along the way but luckily we had 2 spare tyres. One more and we would have been in trouble. Both times when we pulled over the locals came and chatted to us and when we said which route we had taken they seemed to think it was hilarious!Luckily we all found it pretty funny too and managed not to kill each other- trust me 12 hours in a small van, going very slowly and not knowing when its going to end tests anyone's patience.It's also amazing how much fun you can have and how many wicked random games you can come up with! The reason we took the road was to avoid Guatemala City because it isn't supposed to be particularly safe. Managing to finally get off the dirt track we ended up in Guatemala City anyway at night and lost! It was a bit sketchy having to stop down dark back roads in the city and ask directions. None of us felt very safe but we eventually made it to Antigua at 10 o'clock at night and found a cool hotel and all was well.Having made it, we yet again decided to celebrate the fact we were all still alive and go out for more than a few glasses of wine!!Spent the next day wondering round Antigua, seeing all the sites and buying stuff at the markets and then in the evening the Canadians did an open mic at one of the bars- it was so funny, they have made up all these songs about funny things that have happened on their trip, the words are absolutely hilarious and they had everyone in stitches!The next day we climbed a volcano-which was AWESOME!It was hard work getting to the top due to the fact that the volcanic rock was slightly unstable and the near the top was virtually melting our shoes.Its was amazing how much heat you could feel through the rock, you could spit and it would hiss and steam!We couldn't go all the way to the top due to the fact that the volcano was very active and was spilling out lava - another thing we would never be allowed to do in the UK-definitely not meeting health and safety regs!We were only about 20 metres from the flowing lava river though-which was pretty cool and definitely close enough! Yep, it was hot!Getting down was even dodgier because because the rocks just give way underneath you, so mostly you slide down.As we were reaching the bottom the volcano started getting properly angry and actually spurting molten lava out of its cones-so cool!Next we headed to Lake Atitlan for some chilling out after the adventures.
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