In this episode I cover my entire six-week visit to Nicaragua, plus a brief summary of this country's history. The places I went to were, in order: Potosi (the border); Leon plus surrounding area; Managua, where I managed to extend the CA-4 90-day visa; Granada and surrounding area; Big Corn and Little Corn Island; Bluefields; Matagalpa; Jinotega; Selva Negra; Reserva Natural Miraflor; Somoto Canyon; Esteli; Laguna de Apoyo; Ometepe Island.

To leave Ometepe I took a ferry back to the mainland, then a bus from Rivas to the fontera. I saw crested caracaras by the roadside en route. It was easy to change cordobas to colones here and the money changers paid the market rate. There was a fee of $1 to enter the Nicaraguan immigration building and a further $3 exit fee, to be paid in cash. They had change for a $20 note. Then I had to walk about a kilometre across no man's land to the Costa Rican side. I left/arrived on September 15, the day on which, in 1821, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua gained independence from Spanish control.

Unfortunately, this episode cuts off a minute or so early because my voice recorder was full. I was saying that my SIM card would have been sent to my home in England where it would have been no use to me anyway. I also wanted to add that I would definitely go back to Nicaragua, in spite of what happened. I am mostly over it but remain vigilant!

The podcast continues! In this episode I recount my journey from El Zonte surf town on the Pacific Coast to San Salvador- museums, Dave's walking tour. Fun times diving in Ilopango Lake. Suchitoto. Cinquera. San Miguel. A hunt for the Quelepa ruins. La Union. Volcan Conchagua with its Lenca connections. Plus a brief history of El Salvador up to now with Nayib Bukele as presidente.

Notes:

1. The cost of the panga from La Union, El Salvador, across the Gulf of Fonseca to Potosi, Nicaragua, was $50 in 2025. Contact Captain Mario by WhatsApp 503 72824362. The journey takes less than 90 minutes in calm weather. Plus $20 more for the shuttle to Leon.

2. Fried chicken is very popular in El Salvador and it's good, though I doubt it's highly ethical or healthy. Of the 3 fried chicken outlets I tried, the best was Don Pollo, then Pollo Campero (Guatemalan), then Pollo Campestre ( Salvadoran).

The journey continues! First to Guatemala City. Then how to cross the border to EL SALVADOR. Santa Ana, Chalchuapa and the Mayan ruins of Tazumal and Casa Blanca, Santa Ana Volcano, Lago de Coatepeque. La Ruta de las Flores: Juayua ('whyayua'), Nahuizalco, Salcoatitan, Apaneca, Ataco. And finally by bus to the surf town of El Zonte on the Pacific coast.

Notes: The small towns around Lago de Atitlan are:

San Pedro - Gringolandia, Tz'utujil Maya, Tzunun' Ya' Museum, shops and cafes, San Pedro Volcano.

San Juan - La Calle de las Sombrillas handicraft street ( I kept saying this wrong!). Amazing textiles e.g. in Casa Flor Ixcaco Weaving Cooperative. Plantas Medicianales Mayab. Mayan Abejas Nativas (bees). Artesanal Chocolate Diego. Indian Nose climb (half an hour up from Santa Clara and then about 1.5 hours down to San Juan via the Mirador).

Santiago - great local market; access to Volcan Atitlan and the nature reserve with Quetzal birds.

San Marcos - alternative therapies; 'spiritual' cafes; good swimming in the lake; high cliff jump.

Santa Cruz - ATI divers and La Iguana Perdida Hostel.

Santa Caterina and San Antonio - textiles, ceramics.

Other small places that would be lovely to stay in if you want to relax: Jaibalito, San Lucas.

To reach Chichicastenango via public transport from the lake, take a boat to Panajachel, then a camioneta to Solola. Switch to another camioneta to Los Encuentros, then a minibus to Chichi.

I stayed in the Casa Diego Ignacio in Chich, which I liked a lot.

I studied at the Sol Latino School in Quetzaltenango (Xela), which was $220 / week for 4 hours of one-to-one tuition and a room in a Homestay with 3 meals a day (Casa Rosa), plus 3 salsa classes.

While in Xela, go and do yoga with Kevin in Yoga House. Eat a custard donut from Xelapan (although San Martin is a better bakery) . The 'Mennonite bakery' is called The Bake House and isn't open every day. You can learn backstrap weaving in Trama Textiles. Fuentes Georgina is the hot spring.

Volcan San Pedro is 3020m. Volcan Acatenango is 3,976m. Volcan Santa Maria is 3,772m. Volcan Tajumulco is 4,220m (the highest peak in Central America).

In this episode I describe my stay in the Hotel Casa Perico on the Rio Dulce, plus a day trip to Livingston using the public boat. From this hot and sultry place I travelled west to the lovely old colonial city of Antigua Guatemala, in the Highlands, where I admired ruins and museums and joined a sweet little tour of a coffee plantation in San Miguel Escobar run by Eduardo Hernandez and his wife, Francisco. The tour was organised by De La Gente NGO, who currently represent over 140 small-scale coffee producers in Guatemala. At the end of the week I climbed Acatanango and Fuego and was lucky enough to watch a volcano erupting in front of me!

I leave San Ignacio in Belize and enter Guatemala through the Benque-Melchor border. I summarise the last 2000 years of Guatemalan history from the point of view of someone who knew little about any of it before I got here, and I describe my travels in Flores including the Tayasal Maya ruins, the stunning Maya ruins at Tikal and the smaller but quieter ruins at Yaxha.

Note: the population of Guatemala has increased from 885,000 in 1900 to approx. 18,700,000 in 2025. This is the fastest population growth in the western hemisphere during the 20th century. This is due to a high fertility rate combined with a lack of access to, or education about, family planning, primarily due to high levels of poverty and a strong machismo culture that emphasizes male dominance and traditional gender roles.

Hello and welcome to my last podcast about Belize. I jump off the bus to see Belize Zoo on my way west, which is a zoo worth seeing because all the animals are native to Belize and have been rescued in one way or another. I continue on to San Ignacio, the main city of the Cayo District, and have a blast in a lovely hostel there called the Old Hostel . I see the Maya ruins at Cahal Pech and Xunantunich. A group of us hire a car and go on a day trip to the Mountain PIne Ridge Forest Reserve, with its caves, pools and waterfalls. I cuddle several iguanas at the Green Iguana Conservation Project. I have pretty much all my hair cut off. I eat pupusas and fry jacks and drink a lot of beer and rum. I meet some funny new people and catch up with others I've met before. I do the famous ATM cave tour. All in all, I have a great time!

Note: The crested guan is a large bird that looks a bit like a turkey. It's found throughout Central America, Mexico and northern South America, but is under threat due to the loss and fragmentation of its forest habitat, and the fact that it's still hunted heavily in certain areas.

Continuing my adventures in Belize, I catch a bus south to Dangriga and on to Hopkins, a Garifuna town on the coast. From here I visit the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, independently via buses and hitching. I have a Garifuna drumming lesson with Jabbar at Lebeha Drummers and enjoy the local food, I hitch and bus up the beautiful Hummingbird Highway, stopping to explore Billy Barquedier National Park and St Herman's Blue Hole National Park. I arrive back in Belize City soon after a state of emergency has been declared in response to a surge in gang-related violence. Nevertheless, I enjoy BC, it's food, houses, museum and people. And I visit the ruins of the ancient Maya city of Altun Ha, which is only 50 km north but takes me a long time to get to!