A map showing our route from Colombia through the 7 countries of Central America & Belize

Central America (Excluding Panama) Overland. See Here for Panama

Hi to all our friends around the world as we continue our life on the road.

We cycled north out of Panama January 15th 2015 so that is the end of South America for us and Panama (which was the last newsletter).

So before we leave this continent here are the scores from 1 we could live there because of lifestyle, low cost and what is there to do, down to 14 where we would not at all.

(Employment is not considered because the wages are so low (if not being paid western wages by western companies) so here we go:

1 Mexico 2 Nicaragua 3 Panama 4 Bolivia 5 Colombia 6 Ecuador 7 Peru 8 Argentina 9 Chile 10 Guatemala 11 El Salvador 12 Honduras 13 Costa Rica 14 Belize (the only ex British Colony ironically)

It was really nice to be on the road again after a few months over winter (Rainy not cold) 2014 spent in David Panama oh and to reign in the budget.

I won't go on about each country as I tried that and it was just going to mean pages and pages of detail you could all do without on this occasion, suffice to say, we have both loved the three years on this continent. It is quite beautiful and the people we met have all been very civilised and courteous.

One could easily spend a lifetime just travelling around Mexico and south and using each visa allowance to the maximum would mean about four years without repeating countries. Internet is pretty good everywhere and the supermarkets are very good but lack variety. Imported goods from the west are more expensive of course but lodgings food and transport is cheap mostly. Cycling or motocycling is really the way to do it. I dread the thought of busses and feel sorry for those who have no choice.

The photos tell the story really, oldest first so scroll down to view.

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The Slideshows of Latin America (in HD) are: Here

The Movies of Latin America (in HD) are: Here

Description of the Photos are below.....


Costa Rica The lush forests on both sides of the road were a treat after not so lush Panama

One of the many beaches along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, this one was Ojochal

The kids playing in the pool at Gerts Bavarian hostel restaurant where we ended up staying 15 days

Many little stops along the way as it is always hard to resist a nice beach. Mary is hot and tired.

The river that leads to the sea a few metres to the left, in Domincal, a Backpackers tourist spot, Yuk

Carrying on our way to Quepos which is a large town with lots of Hotels and a famous National Park

The Manuel Antonio National Park, Great for swimming but $80 USD per person with a guide, to visit

Downtown Jaco, the next large town along the Pacific Coast. We enjoyed many concerts opposite our Hotel

Never anything to rave about when it comes to Latin American food let alone the fast stuff.

Jaco Beach. They had some American bands performing at a festival over and beyond but too expensive

Puntarenas, way at the end of a peninsula so a good 20kms from the main road but a decent pool

We saw all these tourist buses parked up ahead and tourists overlooking the bridge to view these biggies

GGNicaragua We finally left expensive disappointing Costa Rica and arrived via Rivas to Granada

The beautiful gardens within the large colonial Spanish buildings. This is inside a restaurant

Very touristy but great for poor old Nicaragua which is one of our favourite countries. Very liveable here

Party time as always, at The Backyard Hostel where we partied for a month, oh and a small pool

On the way to Managua where we found a hostel with a large pool right next to Metro Centro Mall

Heading to Leon after a couple days in Managua swimming and eating out in the modern Mall

Our lovely Leon, where we stayed for two months hence extending our Visas in Managua

The usual lovely architecture of Spanish colonialism

We stayed at Lazybones Hostel for two weeks, we met many backpackers but management were iffy

A great pool really appreciated as Leon is so incredibly hot, nice and comfy in the evenings poolside

Typical of the buildings, are central internal gardens

Volcanoes everywhere along with lovely old Catholic churches

Honduras The Frontera (border), just a little nervous after all we have heard

As it happened, Honduras was good to us, friendly people good towns with some upmarket malls

The volcanoes are really a great feature of the landscape, some really good roads also, some bad too

It took ages to get around that mountain but finally some new scenery

Cycling near the coast again, So incredibly hot all day, Photography and videos were not high on the agenda

47 degrees centigrade by 1pm as you can see. It makes cycling so exhausting

El Salvador On to the bridge connecting Honduras, another scary country but it wasn't

A few days in San Miquel after a couple in Santa Rosa. Another lovely town and Hotel with a pool

Onto Usulutan and there we go, a really cheap hotel like $15 USD a night with a big clean pool

Next stop a few days later was Zacateculuca with the old and the new

Our lovely pool at yet another super budget hotel at the end of town

Onward up the hills by the Pacific coast, very tiring climbing hills in the heat

A newish bridge as the old one was bombed during the civil war

And then we reach El Tunco lodge. A surfer backpacker village with a horrible beach but loads of restaurants

Further on and we find Palapa Cabins by the sea, All inclusive for a few days

They were a really nice family that owned the place. They took us for day trips up to the coffee plantations

Guatemala The Frontera (border), loads of trucks waiting to get through, very busy

Eventually we reached Antigua, the jewel in the Guatemalan crown. Delightful town 1500 metres up

Just wandering around the streets was a treat, and of course more Volcanoes. We stayed here for 15 days

Lake Atitlan they said, was the most beautiful place in the world, well obviously they hadn't travelled much

No we didn't take any expensive boat trips around the lake as we have done that many times before

GGuatemala City which we went around so this is a stock shot. Just a typically large SA City high up

Flores in the northern part of the country and once again a stock shot. Lots of backpackers but a great place

The view from our hostel private room. Whow how the weather could change so quickly in the heat.

And then within what seemed like minutes, it went dark and rained like hell, the heavens opened up

Onto El Remate for a few days. Mainly a spot to stay near the Mayan ruins which is not us

Belize The border and all in English but our language made no difference to our time there

There are only 360,000 people in Belize so it is pretty empty with diverse topography for sure

The swing bridge in Belize City from the British colonial days almost. Now it is a very poor country

Queen St. where we stayed for two weeks at a family hostel. Chinese & Bangladeshi businesses mostly

There were many old houses like this but not the majority. Many Creole people living in the city & country

We went down to Hopkins to check it out as everyone said it was amazing but average to us except this pic

A cheap grotty backpackers hostel but plenty of space and our own bathroom and balcony so not bad

The view from our balcony in Hopkins. Very expensive country however, we went over budget by 30%

The final bit at the beach before heading back to Belize City

Probably the main shopping street in Belize City. Five days of hurricane after this, which we sat out

A sea water pool & restaurant at Old Belize but the $10 USD each for the use of was a bit steep

Finally, on the way to Mexico, a stoney road with a head wind was not much fun for two days

Mexico The border with Belize, just over the bridge is Mexico, our final country of this leg of the world

So we stay in Chetumal for 4 months then head for Merida then Tumal then Cancun B4 flying to London