Tikal and Semuc Champey

Tikal and Semuc Champey

Tikal was an important Mayan city in the north of Guatemala, near the Belize border. We passed without visiting in our hurry to get to Belize, but on our way back we could not miss this world renowned monument. What’s more, there is a lovely campsite there with plenty of wildlife. After the rain, the Coatis appeared en masse to […]

You’d Better Belize it!

You’d Better Belize it!

Belize was always on our itinerary, but after a ‘Whoopsie’ in Honduras, we arrived sooner than expected. The Mennonite community in Spanish Village, Belize, is a large farming community with all that goes with that, including engineering capability – of which we took advantage. The Mennonites pretty much feed Belize with the majority of meat and vegetables being produced by […]

Guatemala – Part 1

Guatemala – Part 1

We had a “whoopsie” in Honduras and, as a result, after consulting with our overlanding friends, Neil and Pat, we decided to head directly to Belize for a repair at the Mennonite community in Spanish Village. More about that in our Belize post.. From Copan in Honduras we headed directly to the Guatemalan border, crossing with relative ease. We then […]

Honduras

Honduras

It was hard work getting into Honduras (visas) and so we thought we would have a bit of a look around instead of crossing directly into El Salvador in a day (as many travellers choose to do). From the border we headed up to the capital Tegucigalpa and visited the cathedral (the Father very kindly let us stay in the […]

Nicaragua (Nee-ha-ra-wah*)

Nicaragua (Nee-ha-ra-wah*)

Our primary objective in Nicaragua was to organise our United States B2 tourist visa and our Honduran visa, to allow us to cross Honduras into El Salvador. And so we made a bee line to the capital, Managua, from the border. On the way we visited Rivas to withdraw some money from the ATM, have our visa photos taken and […]

Costa Rica – ¡Pura Vida!

Costa Rica – ¡Pura Vida!

Costa Rica has a “Pura Vida” (pure life) philosophy and abolished its army in 1949 to allow the country to invest more in social programs like education and healthcare. It is a very popular country to visit, but an expensive one! From the border with Panama we made our way to the beautiful, but swelteringly hot, Osa Peninsula and stayed […]

Panama – Short and Sweet!

Panama – Short and Sweet!

We flew into Panama expecting to have to wait a week in a hotel before picking up Big Bertha from the port. But the shipping stars were aligned and we got the call to come to port on our third day and so we were limited to one day of sightseeing in Panama City, but nonetheless, we liked what we […]

South America – it’s a Wrap

South America – it’s a Wrap

We have left South America! We had never been there before (except Francine’s very short Venezuelan visit, a long time ago) and we were not sure what to expect, but it has very much lived up to the hype – we have really enjoyed our nearly two year trip around this massive continent. Of course, there have been some ‘bumps’ […]

We’re Shipping Big Bertha – Again!

We’re Shipping Big Bertha – Again!

There is no road between South and Central America. Not a lot of people know that! Instead we have the Darién Gap; a 100km stretch of dense rainforest and swamp on the border between Panama and Colombia, making it the only overland break in the Pan-American Highway. So you’d think there would be a vehicle ferry. Er no. Instead we […]