So I spent a night on Caye Cauker and had the lobster. Its really good there and really cheep. I think my chef might like them a bit too much.I went to bed well fed, then up the next morning to travel across Belise to a lovely town called San Ignacio. I spent two nights and a day there and it rained the whole time. Really heavy rain.

The first evening I saw a lone backpacker wandering around the town looking at her Lonely Planet Guide Book a little confused. I asked her if she was looking for somewhere to stay as my place had space. Anyway her name is Dolores from Ireland and we ending up spending a really fun few days together. We went on a tour through Mennonite country, accross a huge orchard ranch to get to a river called Barton Creek, where we paddled our own canoes up stream to a cave 8 miles deep. We paddled into it for about an hour to as far as we could go and saw breath taking limestone cave formations. Myself and Dolores got a little edgey when our canoe started leaking and we thought our tourch might stop working. But after a quick bale, all was good.

It was still raining at that point, so if I was going to get wet, I thought I would go for the whole plunge.

Then today I crossed my second border into Guatamata, where it stilled rained. All this rain really didnt help the unpaved road which we had to travel along from the border.

We arrived in Flores and got a fantasticly tiny Tuc Tuc, with another traveller we met at the border. We manager to cram three people, three day bags and three large rucsacs into it and get to our hoster in beautiful Flores.

Me, Dolores and Rob in Tuc Tuc

TucTucs

So that brings me upto date. Im heading off south tomorrow. not sure how far yet. Ill keep you all posted. Ill leave you with the two parrots who sleep in my hostel.

love Roz

Well, I've crossed my first border and am in beautiful Belize. If I could use one word to sum up Mexico it would be diversity. If I could use one word to sum up Belise so far it's 'people'. They are fantastic. Everywhere you go, they are open and friendly. They all say hi and ask about your story, and not like in the Mexican way where you feel they're either trying to sell you something or are trying to chat up a tourist. Here they really love to talk! I arrived into Corozal and spent the night in a family run guesthouse. You'd get the impression that you were the only guest from the amount of time and help the owner gives you. I wandered around a market here where you can buy fruit and Guinness!

Then I headed down to Orange Walk and had my first beans&rice meal (but certainly not my last). It was interesting to be in a place with so few tourists. There are a group of people called the Mennonites who are a christian group. The moved into Belise on condition that they could follow their own rules, not vote or pay taxes and supply Belise with crops. They are 3% of the population and supply 60% of all the food eaten. They dress very conservatively. They only marry within their communities, use basic farming equipment and don't use electricity.

From Orange Walk I took a trip along the very meandering New River to the ruins of Lamanai. The ruins had a fantastic 360 degree view of the jungle canopy.

We saw some crocs too, and my first Tucan.

I met some Americans there who were in Belise on a house building program. I got a lift in a CAR, not a bus!!! to Belise City, where they dropped my off at the door of a guest house. I've was very grateful as any Central American City isn't a place you wanna be walking around after dark (or at all). Here, I sat with an old Belisan man who proceed to tell me all about his long and varied life and that of the lives of his 27 children.

From there I took a water taxi to an island called Caye Caulker. That's where I'm at now. It's a beautiful Carribean island with a full coast line of coral reef. I went snorkling today and saw hundreds of Manta rays, some Conger eels, baracudas, and many beautiful other fish.

This photo was taken at a place called 'The Split' The last hurrican that blew here split the island in two. I'm staning on one part and you can see the trees on the other.

I'm heading towards the Guatamalian border tommorrow. I'd love to stay longer in Belise but it's too expensive for my tiny budget. More to come.

Well today I swam in the Carribean Sea, and only a few days ago it was the Pacific Ocean... not a bad life eh! I´m in a small place called Tulum south of Cancun. I saw some more Mayan ruins. These are really small and not that interesting, except for their amazing setting right on top of some cliffs on the Carribean. (you can see rain clouds comming in)

I spent the day on the beach and went to the ruins in the afternoon. I´ve been with a girl from Switzerland for the last day or so. We are sharing a beautiful Cabana right on the beach. It has blown my daily budget but you have to have some comforts now and again.

It was scorching during the day but we´re in the town now because it started to rain. One of those wet to the bone rains, which is hard to escape from went you live in a house with palm tree roof on the beach. Black thunder sky!

I´m off to Belise tomorrow. I´m nervous about leaving Mexico behind and heading into the less travelled Central America. And just a random photo of the last hostel in Merida, taken against a mirror wall!

oh.. P.S. toe is much better, thanks for all the e/mails wishing it better xxx r

Hello again. After the Mayan villages, I visited a canyon about an hour south of San Cristobal. It is constantly surprising me of the different climates in Mexico. In the canyon, it was very dry and hot. In San Cristobal, it is freezing and very cloudy, as we are so high up, I guess we are in the clouds! The pacific coast I was on a few days ago had scorching weather all day and night, with no breeze, ever! I've just left the jungle where it was incredably humid and sweaty sticky. Well, I'm certainly getting through what few clothes I brought with me. Anyway, back to the canyon.... I saw lots and lots of wild life and the guide was good at telling us all about it. We saw pelicans, vultures, engrets and best of all, crocodiles!!!! Fantastic. I spent that day with an Isralie girl and an guy called Geof from Zimbabway. Myself and Geof then headed off the next day into the jungle of Palenque, visiting some beautiful waterfalls on the way. Palanque is home to some fantastic Mayan ruins. I had only seen Aztec pyrimids up until now. I have to keep reminding my self when I see the huge structures, that these were build without any metal tools, pack animals or the invention of the wheel. Just a lot of slaves! I think what made them so special was their jungle setting. You walk around the ruins and hear howler monkeys in the trees. I didn't see any but their howl is the most blood curdling, horror movie sound I've ever heard from nature!

That night I stayed in a Cabana in the middle of the jungle, in a compound called El Panchan outside Palenque, where the monkeys and bugs sang (and bit) me to sleep. The next day I went off by myself on a bit of an adventure through more jungle to see some hidden Mayan ruins. These took 3 hours to drive to, followed by a one hour boat journey on the Rio Usumacinta , which creates part of the Mexican/Guatamalian border.

The Yaxchilan ruins have not been restored and are visited by very few tourists. They have a little scary atmosphere as you really don't want to wander to far or else get lost in the jungle for days. You can clamber over and into these structures much more so than the other sites. Unfortunitly, there were no lights in the long dark passages ways, and the warning of snakes stopped me exploring too much. I did spot some bats near one of the entrances though.

And I watched a highway of leaf cutter ants for ages.

I also got a sight of the howler monkeys, who looked a lot smaller than I imagined them to be. They were very high up and the photos are blury.

Then on the way back I stopped off at one more set of Mayan ruins called Bonampak. These, in themselves, aren't too amazing compared to all I'd seen previously, but what puts them on the map is their increadibly well preserved murals covering three whole rooms, floor to celing. They are about 2700 years old! The photos is dark because you're not allowed use flash but I think it's worth putting up to get an idea of how well preserved they are. Well, I think that's enought ruins for a while!

After all that jungle, I sat on a bus for 12 hours during the night and made it to a city called Merida. The bus passed through the Tabasco region, which had the flooding. I didn't see anything as it was pitch black, but judging from the bumps on the road, there is a lot of mud and debris that needs clearing. I'm pretty tired today, so I've just wandered around the town. I've treated myself to a really big meal and am going to have a sesta now before the free salsa lessons tonight. I'm off to the Carribian coast tomorrow for some more relaxation.

Well, Ive been travelling a bit since I wrote last, and I've been in places with no internet till now. I spent another day in Oaxaca visiting some Aztec ruins, called Mount Alban. They weren't as big as the ones outside Mexico City, but there was much more detail in the structures and carvings. It was also on the top of a central mountain so I got beautiful 360 degree view of the area. Then I headed of to the the pacific coast to a tiny place called Zipolite. It´s simply beautiful. I went on a snorkling trip along a coral reef. We saw turtles, dolphins and a manta ray!, and lots of beautiful tropical fish. It´s also really really hot here. Really Hot!

The first turtle I saw, he's not suposed to be upside down!

Sunrise

My accommodation, cabanas

Me

Unfortunately, I learnt (the hard way) not to walk barefoot on Mexican beaches!

Then I took a night bus (12 hours) up to San Cristobal de las Casas. This is a town back up in the mountains, with a vast network of Mayan villages. There are around 1.25 million indigenous Mayans living in these valleys and today I took a tour up into two of the smaller villages. I'm glad I went with a guide as he was able and aloud to enter far more places than I would have been able to do alone. In the first village it was forbidden to take photos as the people really believe it takes away their souls. We visited a church where smalls groups of people were offering up their prayers, along with some chickens who met their maker right there in the church! It was really atmospherically lite with hundreds of candles. The second village saw the potential for some profit to be made out of tourists and so some families opened up their homes to be visited.

Now I'm washing my clothes, and planning the next few days. love r

Hola,

I´m in Oaxaca, a lively large town with a large student population. I came here yesterday from a 5 hour beautiful bus journey accross the mountains. I was going to stay an extra day in Puebla to see some ruins but I was told that a roof which was covering some murals fell, and the bus driver didn´t think it was worth it, so I´m here a day earlier.

The hostel has little quirks like a coy pond, roof fountains and spinning coloured lights on most of the walls!

I visited a local Sunday Market, which was excellent. I wish I could put up more photos of it, but I´d be here all night if I did. It´s the type of market that you can buy your meat alive, dead or cooked. It was full of indigenous wemon dressed in brightly coloured clothes. I had a fun time buying a Mexican blanket, haggling with no Spanish with a man who had no English.

I then went to a museum housing lots of Aztec treasures, including an amazing scull covered in turquoise. The photo of it isn´t the best because it´s behind glass, and well, I wasn´t really supposed to be taking the photo in the first place! The muesum also had a beautiful garden full of Mexican plants.

Following the botanical them, I then hopped on a (bone rattler) bus to see a really really big tree! It´s a 636,107 ton cypress about 3000 years old. Cool eh!

That´s all for now.

Hello again. Well I´ve moved on from Mexico City but I´m left with a wonderful impression. I´m not sure what I expected before I went there, but I was plesantly surprised. The Mexicans are incredibly friendly and helpful. The city centre is beautiful and very cosmopolitan. Every where you go, you´re surounded by music. There are much fewer tourists than I expected and it´s colder!!! But the traffic is as crazy as imagined. Crossing the street is a skilled art! I was also very surprised by one protest I walked into as I exited a muesum. Yesterday, I went to a idealic Spanish colonial town 3 hours south of Mexico City for the day. Taxco is tucked away into a hillside, with a maze of steep streets and markets. Today, I´m in Puebla, south east of Mexico City. It´s a city that really feels like Barcelona transplanted, full of colourful tiled buildings.

Today I also said goodbye to my first travelling buddy, Natalie. We met the first evening in the hostel and have kept eachother company for 4 days. Hopefully I´ll meet back up with her in Costa Rica. This is her surrounded by pots!Tomorrow I´m going to have a look at some more pyrimids, maybe with a Belgin couple who are staying in the same hostel. After that... follow the ´Gringo trail´south I guess. I might have to skip some sights due to the flooding in Tobasco. Every city, town and village I´ve been in and passed through are collecting emergency supplies,. Mexico City had a massive tent set up in the main square with food, water, medication, blankets and clothes. It was a bit shocking to see the 100 or so armed police and soldiers guarding it. I guess there are plenty of people in that city that would like to see that aid sent to them!! Anyway. More to come. Thanks for the comments, keep them comming. Sorry about the spelling. I´ll blame the clingfilm wrapped around the keyboard making it very difficult to see the keys.
Oh and check out my Simon´s progress in Madagascar here : Mad Exped