After leaving Semuc Champey I headed towards Tikal. Some ancient Mayan ruins set in the jungle in the northern part of Guatemala. It was an interesting journey! First we were crammed into a tiny shuttle and a few of the other passengers appeared to be suffering from terrible hangovers. I felt for them, because some of them looked pretty green and there was not a lot of room!

Three hours into the bumpy & windy journey we got caught in a protest between a poor village and an electrical company. We were ground to a halt and ended up sitting on the side of the road for a couple of hours. In some instances this would've been a hindrance, but in this case it was really good fun! We sought shade behind a truck and quickly became friends with fellow travellers from another bus.

Given the delay in our journey, we arrived into Flores late and I'd missed the last bus to El Remate where I'd been recommended to stay (thanks Jolene!). Thankfully a fellow traveller Sophie wanted to head to El Remate too so we were able to share a taxi. Upon arriving in El Remate everyone was in the midst of a power cut so I invited Sophie to share my room and we bonded by candlelight communicating in Spanglish (her mother tongue is French).

We shared breakfast the next morning then parted ways.

That night I was invited to a Mayan ceremony where I met some shamans who had been travelling for 3 years giving ceremonies and blessings. We blessed ourselves and Mother Earth and then the following morning I was up at 2.30am to do the dawn mission to Tikal.

Walking through the jungle in the dark is magical!! I love the sound of the jungle in the night. The howler monkeys were going wild and sounded like dinosaurs. Other than the sound if the monkeys there was a sense of peace in the jungle as we explored the ruins.

After visiting Tikal I was unsure as to what my next move would be. However after a morning run around Lake Petèn Itzà I fell in love and knew that I was to stay a little longer.

I moved further around the lake to the sleepier part of El Remate, where I stayed in a very cool dorm at Mon Ami. It was a loft/tree house with big queen size beds and I had it all to myself (it made a great yoga shala too!). There were no windows, just thatched roofing and mosquito screens for windows (I'm still covered in mossie bites though), I was surrounded by lush jungle and was often woken to the sounds of howler monkeys going wild!! I spent my days running, practicing yoga, meditating, swimming, hiking, bird watching, star gazing, watching amazing sunsets and making new friends on the pier. For a few days I was in heaven!! And I felt so free. It really is one of the most magical spots I've discovered so far.

All good things must come to an end though and I'm now back in Antigua suffering from a cold! I did however climb up the Pacaya volcano yesterday where we saw lava and toasted marshmallows.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Lake Atitlan for a month of yoga and meditation.

Until next time amigos...

Love Lili xx

Hola amigos! The past few days as I've indulged in some amazing R&R in El Remate I've had plenty of time to reflect.

What has struck me most about my travels so far is how blown away I am by the kindness and thoughtfulness of everyone I've crossed paths with. These people that start off as strangers quickly become new friends, even if just for a moment, a few minutes, hours or days. Stories are told, wisdom is shared and everyone is so inspiring in one way or another.

When I first decided to travel to Central America solo I was greeted with mixed reactions. Excitement from some, fears for my safety from others. However, I knew I had 100% support from everyone.

The closer it came to my departure, I did start to feel a little anxious. But I was to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Since arriving in Guatemala I've been overwhelmed with the friendliness of the locals and other travellers. Everyone is warm and open and always eager to help. Often we communicate in Spanglish with many smiles, hand gestures and laughs and if we are still unable to communicate then someone else always comes to the rescue and helps translate.

In any situation I've come to trust that it will all work out. Even if on the outset a situation seems an inconvenience, something amazing always comes out of it! And so far everything has been perfectly imperfect.

What I'm loving the most is the broad selection of people I'm meeting. People of all ages and nationalities. All with their own life path and stories to share. I've been inspired by entrepreneurs, doctors on medical missions, a man cycling from Alaska to South America (he left Alaska in July), a translator who speaks many languages and travels the world, a retired lawyer who now builds wooden kayaks, a beautiful soul who lost her mother last year and is travelling solo for introspection, people learning Spanish just because, or to help further their careers, a parachute specialist in the army who loves that he gets paid to jump out of planes. The list is endless and I've only been travelling for a month!

Tomorrow I head to San Marcos in Lake Atitlan to begin a month long meditation retreat. It's because of this retreat that I am in Guatemala. I'm excited about who I shall meet next!

Until next time....adios.

Love Lili x

Hola amigos! It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote. I feel like so much has happened!

My second week in Antigua was very similar to the first, Spanish lessons, cafe hopping and a general feeling of being overwhelmed by the language and feeling homesick.

So come Monday I was more than ready to hit the road and have some adventures. And adventures have been had!

First stop was Lanquin to visit Semuc Champey and the Kan'be caves.

Early Monday I bid farewell to my beautiful host family and hopped on the shuttle bus where I was also meeting new friends Amanda & Mark from Sydney (thanks Katie P for the intro!). It took us 1.5 hours to get out of Antigua but by the time we got on the road we were already besties with new amigos Andy and Evan and the 8 hour journey flew by.

Arriving in Lanquin we were herded onto the back of a ute and taken to El Retiro hostel where we were welcomed by the sound of the river and the early evening sounds of the jungle. Being in the jungle it was hot and humid and we were grateful to be able to dip our feet in the river.

However the icing on the cake was when we were told at check in that a yoga teacher had just arrived from London, and starting the next morning there would be free yoga on offer morning and night. Music to my ears!!

El Retiro also does the most amazing buffet dinner every evening and it was a delight to be able to overdose on veggies after living on rice and potatoes for the past 2 weeks. I cannot recommend this hostel enough. It's fantastic!

The next morning after a great power yoga session with the river and jungle as a backdrop (thanks Rishin!) we were again herded onto the back of a truck and taken to the Kan'be caves. I had very little expectations and the whole adventure totally exceeded any expectations I did have and then some!! First our guide gave us all a candle, walked us into the cave and then initiated us into the tribe, painting warrior stripes on our faces. We started our 1 km walk and soon we were up to our necks in water, climbing ladders, scaling up waterfalls, sliding down water slides and jumping into natural pools. All by candle light. It was the most fun I've had in ages and it felt like we were on the set of The Goonies or Indiana Jones!

But the fun didn't end there.... Next there was tubing down the river and then we hiked for approx 30 minutes up a very steep incline to view the pools of Semuc Champey.

Semuc Champey is a limestone bridge with a series of stepped turquoise pools and the Cahabón River runs under it. The view from the lookout was stunning and we then had the pleasure of declining back down and diving into the pools where we spent an hour or so cooling off and exploring. It was pure bliss!

What struck me the most about this day was the kindness of strangers and team work. Everyone helped each other, holding each other's candles while scaling rocks, sharing food and water with those in need and general support for those out of their comfort zone. We were no longer strangers by the end of the day.

The following day feeling a little battered from the previous days adventures, we enjoyed more yoga and then an afternoon of tubing. We were taken by truck upstream and then spent an hour floating down the river on our tubes. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Surrounded by jungle on both sides, mini rapids to mix things up a bit, and chatting to the locals also swimming as we glided on by. When we reached our hostel on the side of the river we were just in time for evening yoga. After months of mainly self practice, it was such a treat to be led and challenged by another teacher.

After 3 nights in Lanquin it was time to bid farewell to mi amigos, and move onto new adventures. I think it's fair to say we all said goodbye with big happy grins on our faces knowing out paths will cross again....

Until next time....adios!

Love Lili xx