We wanted a few jobs done on Ruby and get her checked out for the last leg of her trip, so we found a Land Rover garage in Central Farm near San Ignacio. The plan was to leave her there for a few days whilst we headed to Belize City to catch a water taxi to the island of Caye Caulker. We found the land rover garage and were greeted by a wonderful Liverpool accent-this was Joyce, who owns the garage with her husband Graham. Graham is a wonderful character from Wales-he has so many stories to tell, about so many things! From the small former drugs plane that is parked outside their garage to the landy he owns that transported Princess Margaret when she visited Belize! Joyce also runs a British shop which she showed us. It was beautifully decorated with all things British and most importantly stocks a variety of goodies we have not seen for a long time such as-YORKSHIRE TEA BAGS (!) , mint sauce, crumpets, Eccles cakes, Flakes, baked beans and many more delights! We went around the shop oooohing and ahhhing and stroking things much to Joyce's amusement!

Graham and Joyce kindly took us for lunch and dropped us off at the bus stop in San Ignacio. We caught the local chicken bus to Belize city, however after a few miles into the journey-the engine started to belch out a load of smoke! "EVACUATE" shouted the driver-so everybody hurried off the bus and stood a safe distance away! A passing taxi driver drove slowly past and in his wonderful Belizean accent shouted "Mon look-the bus is on fire" whilst laughing his head off! Good business for taxis I guess!
Eventually another bus came and everyone piled on. We got to Belize City without further problems and caught a taxi to our hotel for the night. The following day we went down to the marina and caught a small water taxi to Caye Caulker which took about 45 minutes. The sea was beautiful-aqua green and very clear. As we approached the island-some dolphins swam ahead of the boat. Caye Caulker is a small limestone coral island off the coat of Belize, in the Caribbean sea.

The island was wonderful. The motto, which is painted everywhere, is "Go slow"! We did not need telling twice! We sauntered up the street to our small guesthouse and checked in for 3 nights. We could see the sea from the hotel and it was possible to walk around the island in a hour or so as it is tiny. We went to visit Caveman tour company-as we had booked a snorkeling trip for the following day. We met Gerald-the owner`s brother-in -law, who was in charge that day. We started chatting to him and before we knew it-he had bought us a Belkin beer (Belizean beer)! He told us about his long career in the police force, which he was in the process of retiring from. We bought him a beer back and so the story went on for another couple of hours! We then went in search of food-there was so much choice. We settled on the sports bar-overlooking the sea and with our toes in the sand. we had high hopes for the singer, Tsunami Nick, however we left after a few songs as, in our opinion, he did not live up to his name!

The next day we returned to Caveman tours for our all day snorkeling trip. We said hi to our new friend Gerald and met our captain and guides-Harry and George! We love the Belizean names! This was the best snorkeling trip we have ever done. We were a small group of 10 on a medium boat with our 2 guides. We had so many snorkeling stops I lost count-at least 6 or 7! We stopped at the Hol Chan Marine reserve; Shark Ray Alley; Coral gardens and more! Each stop was different from the previous one and so memorable. In Shark Ray alley we swam with tens of nurse sharks who surrounded our boat. Nurse Sharks are OK, they’re slow-moving bottom-dwellers, and usually harmless to humans. However, they can be huge – up to 14 feet (4.3 meters). Plus they have strong jaws filled with thousands of tiny, serrated teeth and they will bite defensively if stepped on or overly bothered! We didn`t bother them and gave them sufficient space!

 We saw various species of sting rays at a number of places. Most stingrays have one or more barbed stingers on the tail, which are used exclusively in self-defence. The stinger may reach a length of around 35 cm (14 in), and its underside has two grooves with venom glands. All I (Jen) could think about when I saw them floating beneath me was the sad end of Steve Irwin-so I had a quick look at them and then swam away quickly!

 We saw the most beautiful coral and colourful fish-our guide took us on a hour and a quarter snorkeling tour of the reef, where we swam after him and he dived down and pointed things out to us. We also saw a massive leatherback  sea turtle-the largest of all turtles. Adults can measure up to 7 feet in total length and weigh up to 1.540lbs in weight! He was splendid. We snorkeled over the shipwreck of a huge barge-admiring the fish and coral which had grown on it.

Another highlight for us was swimming with 3 huge manatees as we have never seen them before. Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They measure up to 4.0 metres (13.1 ft) long, weigh as much as 590 kilograms (1,300 lb), and have paddle-like flippers. Manatees are occasionally called sea cows, as they are slow plant-eaters, peaceful and similar to cows on land. They often graze on water plants in tropical seas. It was wonderful to watch them whilst they grazed and occasionally came up for air!

We finished with a trip to see some sea horses and to feed the Tarpons-massive fish-which can make spectacular leaps into the air! We had to hold a small sardine between our fingers and the tarpon would make an unexpected leap and grab it! I tried 3 times-however dropped the fish in each time in nervous anticipation of the fish leaping out at me!

 We dragged ourselves away from Caye Caulker and returned to San Ignacio to collect Ruby. Graham and his boys had given her a full service, replaced the hub seal and replaced the clutch master cylinder. We took Graham and Joyce for lunch as a thank you and they invited us to a boxing event in the town the following evening! The event was a charity event but had professional boxers there as well as amateurs. Well what a great night! We had the best seats in the house-eye to eye with the boxers in the ring, on the front row. We loved the local crowd who really got into it-particularly when a Belizean was fighting! There were boxers from Mexico, Guatemala and Belize fighting-they were all tough wiry little things who gave it their all! My favourite fighters were the Mexicans who just did not give up. One fight, between 2 professional boxers-a Mexican and Belizean went the full 4 rounds. The Belizean boxer kept backing away and the Mexican boxer was doing all the work. We were shouting and hollering and generally supported the tough little Mexican boxer (the rest of the crowd the Belizean boxer!). It was pretty obvious to us all that the Mexican had won on points BUT the judges declared it a draw! Well, that was not fair. Even the Belizeans were laughing in disbelief! I leapt out of my seat and began to boo VERY LOUDLY and gave the thumbs down sign to the referee and chanted "Mexico Mexico"!Gav worriedly said "Jen-remember the crowd are Belizeans". "But it is not fair" I yelled between my boos!

Before we left San Ignacio we visited some more Mayan ruins of  Cahal Pech-the site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family. We spent an hour or so admiring the structures and the views from the hill top.

We left San Ignacio ,first saying goodbye to our new friends Graham and Joyce at the garage, and made a stop at the Belize zoo-the slogan for which is "welcome to the best little zoo in the world"! The Belize Zoo was started in 1983, as a last ditch effort to provide a home for a collection of wild animals which had been used in making documentary films about tropical forests. Shortly after the backyard "zoo" began, it was quickly realized that its Belizean visitors were unfamiliar with the different species of wildlife which shared their country. This very aspect fomented the commitment to develop the little zoo into a dynamic wildlife education center. Today, The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Centre exhibits over 175 animals, representing over 45 native species. The Zoo keeps animals which were orphaned, rescued, born at the zoo, rehabilitated animals, or sent to The Belize Zoo as donations from other zoological institutions. The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Centre believes that by bringing the people of Belize closer to the animals which are their natural heritage, they will feel proud of these special resources, and want to protect them for future generations.

 We loved it here. The zoo was beautifully laid out in the jungle and it was possible to see the animals up close. The signs for each of the animal enclosures were charming, funny and informative. We saw 5 species of wild cats including the jaguar, Ocelot and puma; Belize`s national animal-the Tapir; monkeys and wonderful birds including toucans, parrot and eagles.

However, the animal encounters had not finished for the day. We drove to the community monkey sanctuary, where we were going to camp for the night. As we pulled up, a tour of only 2 others were about to set off around part of the sanctuary so we joined then. This was a wonderful experience. The guide told us all about the protection of the wild monkeys and then he called them down. We got the chance to feed two of them, including a mother. We held some small pieces of banana in our hands and they climbed down, took hold of our hand with their tiny fingers and gently ate the banana from our hand. We did this individually to each monkey. It was amazing to feel their tiny soft hands and watch them as they literally stared into your eyes before eating the banana.  Gav said they recognised a kindred spirit in me! Haha! We also saw iguanas in the trees and a crocodile floating down the river! What an excellent day for wildlife! We camped at the sanctuary overnight and were a mixture of amused and scared the next morning as the camp site owners rushed to check the toilet for snakes before we used them!

Our final stop in Belize was Orange Walk, near to the Maya site of Lamanai. We camped for 2 nights at a fab place on the banks of a river, full of crocodiles! We were parked literally on the edge of the river and we loved looking out for wildlife, and from the roof tent. Mr P was the owner, a great man, who does a lot for the community-which is very poor. He told us about the crocs, the boa constrictors and other delights that frequent the waters and his lodge! He got some raw chicken and threw it on the edge of the water by the bank. We watched in awe as up to 3 crocodiles, circled and eventually came for the food. Gav and I were sitting right next to the bank tentatively watching a croc as it inched its way towards the food. Suddenly there was a huge commotion and splash. I thought it was making a dash for us, as we have lots more meat on us than chicken(!) and I legged it to the lodge where others were watching. In hot pursuit was Gav! We gave them a good laugh and we think the crocs had actually spooked themselves and the splashing was them going back under the water.

We took a boat for the 38 mile journey down the river to the Maya ruins at Lamanai. This was our first land based group tour and with hindsight, we wished we had driven it ourselves as there were too many people on the boat and for the tour of the ruins. We enjoyed the boat ride through the jungle-spotting a baby croc, some birds and bats. Lamanai was once a major City of the Maya civilization and was renowned for its exceptionally long occupation spanning 3 millenia. The vast majority of the site remained unexcavated until the mid-1970s. Archaeological work has concentrated on the investigation and restoration of the larger structures, most notably the Mask Temple, Jaguar Temple and High Temple.The summit of this latter structure gave us a wonderful view across the surrounding jungle to a nearby lagoon. The guide was excellent, even though we were a  huge group, and he took us around the main temples and sites.

Our time in Belize sadly came to an end.  We must start our journey North, back through Mexico, with a shipping date for Ruby in the USA in mind. We both love Belize and would highly recommend it. The scenery is stunning-lush and green. The wildlife is wonderful. The people are just brilliant-kind, funny, charming, helpful- even in the face of huge poverty. We should never forget how very privileged we are to travel in other people`s countries and share their resources. We should always travel with humility, humbleness and humanity. Sadly, some people have forgotten that as they swan around in their big vehicles, judging the wonderful people from the countries we are guests of. You might be able to tell that my cage has been rattled. Maybe more on that another time.

We crossed the border at Corozal into Chetumal. We paid our Belizean exit fee of 40 BZ each, had our passports stamped out of the country, then had Ruby stamped out of the country. We drove into Mexico-filled in our visitor card, paid the fee of about 533 pesos each and went through customs. We already have the temporary import permit for Ruby from last time and it is still valid, so one less task  this time.

We will start in Yucatan and slowly head North, going to places we did not visit on our way South. We have approximately 6 weeks before we need to take Ruby for shipping and 8 weeks before we fly home! Where has the time gone?!

We spent a night in Coban, before setting off for the mountainous jungle town of Lanquin-then on a further 11km to Semuc Champey. The scenery was spectacular, the lush jungle greenery spread across the mountains, and narrow roads with steep drops. Semuc is described as one of the most difficult places to get to in Guatemala and the last 11km from Lanquin were certainly an adventure-with steep ups and downs, off-road, on a single track. Ruby went into low range and handled herself brilliantly-though we were relieved to reach our camp spot at Posada Las Marias- at the bottom of a very steep hill! It was a beautiful location -in the middle of the jungle with a turquoise river flowing in front of it.

Semuc Champey means “where the river hides under the earth” in Q’eqchi’, and  is a natural limestone bridge about 300 meters wide under which passes the Cahabòn River. At the top of the bridge is a series of stepped natural infinity pools filled with turquoise water where locals and visitors can dip in for a relaxing swim. We got up early the next morning and hiked the fairly short steep path through the jungle to the mirador. From here we had our first glimpse of the Semuc pools and they were spectacular. We hiked down to the pools and got straight in as we were hot and sweaty from the heat of the jungle. The water was cool, crystal clear and very refreshing!

We spent about half a day in Semuc and then returned to our camp spot to escape the heat. The following day-we made the challenging, steep climb back to Coban where we were due to spend the night before moving on to Flores. The roads in Guatemala have been pretty poor-with numerous pot holes-some of them massive! 8 miles into the journey-we drove over a pothole and Ruby started to judder! We pulled over and Gav had a look underneath. We had cracked the radius arm axle bracket, so we turned around and slowly headed back towards Coban to look for a garage. We found a small place that did soldering and the young mechanic soldered a piece of metal onto the axle and bracket for a few dollars! There were a few giggly young mechanics there who were drinking beer and watching the work been done on Ruby. One of them soldered a piece of metal for the repair and the sparks were flying everywhere-we had to jump out of the way! No safety equipment here!

 After another night in Coban, we headed to San Miguel, just across the Lake from Flores. Flores is an island on Lago Petén Itzá, and is a pretty colonial town. We had wonderful views of the island from our hostel on the shore of the lake, in San Miguel.
After a couple of nights here, we caught the car ferry across the lake and carried on to the Tikal national park. We camped in the jungle and what a treat that was. We heard all the wonderful noises of the birds and animals-particularly the howler monkeys, as the jungle awoke early in the morning.

Tikal is a large archeological site. During the Classic Period it was one of the largest and most important of the Mayan cities. Today it's one of the most fascinating and enjoyable of the Mayan sites to visit, largely due to its remoteness, but also its jungle setting. Some of the temples are still being uncovered, and you can watch archaeologists busy at work. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1971. Many beautiful buildings have been uncovered and many more wait to be discovered. Amongst the many Maya sites in Central America, Tikal is perhaps the most breathtaking because of the scattered impressive buildings which have been restored in an area with many more ruined buildings still enveloped by the jungle. The sight of the temples poking through the canopy is amazing. You can climb to the top of a few of the temples and get panoramic views from above the tree tops.

We got up early and spent a few hours at Tikal in the morning-beating a lot of the crowds. We loved walking through the jungle and hearing the trees rustling-looking up and spotting spider monkeys swinging through the trees. Later we heard the guttural roar of the howler monkeys and spotted them in the trees. As their name suggests, vocal communication forms an important part of their behaviour. Group males generally call at dawn and dusk, as well as interspersed times throughout the day. The main vocals consist of loud, deep guttural growls or "howls". Howler monkeys are widely considered to be the loudest land animal. According to Guinness Book of World Records, their vocalizations can be heard clearly for 3 mi (4.8 km). The function of howling is thought to relate to intergroup spacing and territory protection, as well as possibly to guarding their mates. We also heard their howls very early in the morning from our roof tent, an eerie but amazing sound!

We enjoyed seeing all of the temples-both the restored ones and those still covered by the growth of the jungle. We climbed many of them and by mid day-were exhausted particularly because it was so hot and humid. We returned to camp where we rested for a few hours-before returning to the park late afternoon. By this time-it had cooled a little and most of the crowds had left. This is the first of our Mayan ruins-and we have many more to come!

After one more night camping in the jungle-we headed the short journey to the Guatemala-Belize border (Melchor de Mencos). We have loved our time in Guatemala-it is a colourful, vibrant, incredibly friendly country-in spite of all its hardships and we loved the landscapes and the wonderful people. The crossing into Belize was very straightforward. We went to immigration and were stamped out of Guatemala and then to customs-where we handed in our temporary import sticker for Ruby. Stepping over the border into Belize was like stepping into the Caribbean. As a former British colony, English is the language spoken, and the Queen`s head adorns the money! We received our stamp at immigration and headed across the room to customs. We met a wonderful customs official who told us about Prince Harry`s visit in 2012 (and there is a painted union jack and sign saying "welcome Prince Harry" on the wall). We received our temporary import paperwork for Ruby and headed a few hundred metres away to buy car insurance.

Our first stop for a couple of nights was San Ignacio, on the banks of the Macal river. We were in time for the bustling farmer`s market, selling wonderful juicy produce and we took a wander through town, noticing the relaxed Caribbean vibe! We visited the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich-near the border, by catching a shared taxi, taking a hand cranked ferry across the river and walking about a mile uphill to the site. We really enjoyed a couple of hours here-it is a lot less touristy than Tikal and we shared the site with only a few groups of people.

Our next stop is Caye Caulker, a Caribbean island off the coast of Belize City. We will catch a boat there. Ruby, meanwhile, is booked in for some TLC at a land rover garage near San Ignacio!
 

We spent a couple of days heading South towards the Mexico-Guatemala border. The night before the border crossing , we stayed in a small hotel in the City of Tapachula, so we could get an early start the next day. We crossed into Guatemala at the Ciudad Hidalgo-Tecan Uman border and it was very straightforward. We did not cancel our temporary vehicle permit because we will be returning through Mexico at a later date. We went to immigration, handed in our tourist cards and were stamped out of Mexico. We paid 17 pesos to drive across a long bridge and then we were on the Guatemalan side. Our passports were stamped at immigration and we filled some paperwork in for Ruby. We headed to customs, paid 160 Quetzals (Guatemalan currency) and were issued a temporary vehicle permit for Guatemala.

Our first stop was Quetzaltenango, a city in Guatemala`s highlands, with a back drop of volcanoes. This was our first experience of Guatemalan roads and it took a few hours to go a short distance due to the potholes and hills! Our first impressions of Guatemala were good-the people were very friendly and it was such a colourful place-particularly the  locals in their wonderful  woven traditional dress. As we climbed higher-the temperature cooled which was a welcome relief after the hot and humid climate on the Pacific coast of  Mexico. We only spent one night in Quetzaltenango so didn`t fully get the chance to explore it, before heading to our next destination-Lake Atitlan.

One of the things we spotted as soon as we entered Guatemala, speeding along the roads and noisily beeping their horns, are the colourful chicken buses. When North American school buses reach the age of ten years or 150,000 miles, they are sold at auction. Many of these buses are bought and driven down through Mexico to Guatemala where they are prepared for their second lives. And wow, what a second life they have! In contrast to their modest first lives as yellow buses carting children to school, their second lives are spent stuffed with people, topped with roof racks full of cargo, and driving at high speeds over mountain passes. The old yellow paint is covered with colourful murals and praises to Jesus. One guide describes them as "dressed like a Vegas showgirl" which sums up these colourful buses perfectly! They are called chicken buses because they squash people into them like chickens and chickens are sometimes taken on to them! With the high-speed of the chicken bus and driving techniques of the driver such as overtaking around a blind corner on a narrow road on the top of a hill, a ride on them can be quite an adventure! They also regularly belch out thick black smoke-not pleasant when you are driving behind them! Ruby loved them-and has decided that she needs a paint job when she gets home so she too, can look like a Vegas showgirl!

The roads to Atitlan were better than the previous day-until we began the long winding descent downhill to Panajachel on the North East shore of Lake Atitlan. We could smell the burning of Ruby`s brakes as we inched our way down, trying not to career out of control! We headed around a steep corner and both shrieked as we saw a car and 2 motorcycles had stopped in the middle of the road. Gav was pressing the real brakes and I was pressing the imaginary brakes as we headed closer to the back of the motorcycles! We stopped with millimetres to spare and both heaved a huge sigh of relief, as Ruby juddered to a halt-as if to say-what`s the problem?!

We based ourselves at Panajachel for 5 days, on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is a body of water in a massive volcanic crater in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands. Ringed by steep, verdant hills, it’s known for its Mayan villages and volcanoes with striking pointed cones. It was a beautiful place-particularly the 3 distinctive volcanoes around the lake-Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro. The busy town of Panajachel, where vendors sell traditional textiles, is a popular gateway to the lake. We really enjoyed our time here. We took a minibus to the nearby Sunday market at Chichicastenango, a charming, traditional and authentic traditional Mayan town, the market being one of the best known in Central America. It was probably our favourite market of the trip so far, locals travel from villages throughout the countryside and gather at this market to sell their beautiful handicrafts, colourful textiles, fresh produce, traditional clothing and more at this bustling and vibrant local market. The market was HUGE and it took over the entire central area of town. The small cobblestone streets had been transformed into narrow aisles and hundreds of vendors lined the streets on both sides, selling a variety of traditional Mayan handicrafts and textiles. The streets also featured colourfully painted colonial buildings. We stumbled upon the Saint Tomas church in the middle of the market-a beautiful white building with many people on the steps outside with incense and flowers-creating a colouful, noisy atmosphere. We were exhausted after half a day's shopping and returned to Panajachal with a few souvenirs!

Atitlan was a beautiful lake, with many small villages surrounding its shores. The best way to travel between them was by small boat. We visited the villages of San Pedro and San Marcos-both in stunning locations, with very touristy parts and then wonderful local parts if you walked out away from the dock. To be honest we found the tourist parts a bit pretentious, though it might just be our age! In San Marcos, there were loads of bare footed Westerners, and people strumming away on their guitars, singing about coffee and chocolate! Not our cup of tea!

We also took one of the wonderful, gaudy chicken buses to the town of Tonala for market day-and enjoyed the short ride up the mountain to a local market, with hardy any tourists. At the high elevation-it had a great view of the lake and one of the volcanoes.

On the day of departure from Atitlan, we set off at 7am from Panajachel, to make the long, steep, windy climb back up the hill. We wanted to avoid the traffic-particularly because various vehicles have a tendency to stop just when you have built up some momentum-and Ruby is a large, heavy lass! (I said Ruby is, not Jen!) We put Ruby into low gear and she slowly but surely chugged her way to the top! Our next destination was Antigua city in the central highlands of Guatemala, famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque -influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. We spent a wonderful few days there. We stayed in a casa on the edge of town. It had a beautiful roof terrace with views of the 3 large volcanoes that dominate the skyline around Antigua-Volcan de Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. Fuego is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Steam and gas explode daily from its top, a larger eruption occurred in September 2012. As soon as we went onto the terrace-Fuego put on a show and belched a huge cloud of smoke! We also saw it at night-when you could see the red larva at the tip.

We spent a few days wandering the streets of Antigua-visiting its beautiful churches and ruins. We sat in the main square-Parque Central-and watched the people enjoying life. We also had a proper Sunday roast dinner here at a British pub we found-it was amazing and I had brussels sprouts for the first time in ages!

We went on a day trip to another active volcano-Pacaya. After being dormant for a century, it erupted violently in 1965 and has been erupting continuously since then. We hiked continuously uphill for about an hour and a half--coming out into a clearing where it was possible to see the summit of Pacaya (you are not allowed up to the summit due to the active status) and other lovely views. It was a long slog up, given we have not properly exercised for a  while and have been partaking in far too many tacos! A number of guys on horseback follow you up the hill, making eye contact with you as you slowly make your way red faced, puffing and panting, and say "you want a taxi?"! It was funny at first but by the end, it felt like they were trying to psyche me out! Them-"madam-you need a taxi-last chance" me-"I am determined to walk this bloody hill if it kills me-no gracias"! As I staggered on! We loved the views from the top and seeing steam come out of the crater. We descended a little to a vast area where the floor is made of solidified lava. Here we toasted marshmallows in the rocks-the ground was that hot in parts! We descended very quickly (about 45 minutes) and headed back to Antigua.

I (Jen) had an important date in Guatemala City. A job interview via skype with England! I had been preparing for a few weeks, whenever I got the chance, in the most varied circumstances ever! I prepped through earthquakes in Mexico, with active volcanoes blowing outside the window in Guatemala and through the noise that is Mexico and Central America! We booked into a great business hotel in Guatemala City and paid for a small meeting room and extra good wifi. It was a strange experience being interviewed via skype and giving a presentation, however the good news is-I got the job! I will start when I return home at the end of May and am delighted to be going back to my previous place of work.

Feeling happy, we moved on for the longish drive to Coban, where we will spend a night before the short but tricky drive to Semuc Champey.