Trek America - Caribbean Cruisin!

Back while studying in uni, my best friend Claire and I used to dream away the hours in the miserable call centre job we worked in of travelling to sunny locations (mixed with pirates!...this obsession is still continued today!).
While scouring through websites to keep us amused I stumbled on the company Trek america.
They organise trips around  parts of america showing you the highlights of various routes. We found one would start us is Mexico, travel through the pirate capital Belize and finish off with a few days on a beach in the caribbean, PERFECT! There and then we swore when we finished uni thats where we where heading!

A year down the line, my course finished and Claire still juggling coursework I started saving for the trip. Trying to work it round Claires course and money was proving difficult and she knew she wouldn't be able to go anytime in the near future (she had just taken on another degree the crazy bint!) so after some thought  I decided I wanted to travel and do this trip so I booked it to go alone.
The thought of travelling alone to a strange country, not knowing the language where the furthest I had been alone before was London it was safe to say my excitement and drive for a bit of adventure was mixed with fear!

We where given instructions in an email of what hotel in Cancun to meet and what day.  This is where our trek leader would be waiting for us and I would meet my fellow trekkers.

On arrival I met my first friend Andrea, a german doctor (who brought a shrek toy which reminded her of her husband and had its photo taken at all the landmarks) who spoke fantastic english (I was highly embarrassed by the fact that I only spoke just one language and anyone from outside Britain on the trip could speak at least two!). I shared rooms with Andrea through most of the trip and then with two british girls Anna (hair like rapunzel and best grammar Iv ever heard!) and Caroline (she likes to swim in dirty ponds and the locals loved her :D ). These two where lovely throughout the trip and I kept in touch with after.

Over the next 24 hours a met the rest of my group, and it turned out everyone had travelled alone (apparently 90% treks are booked by people on there own) and my team was made up of some ace characters. Mick from Oz (wicked sense of humour, has a thing for crabs!), Tim from the netherlands (i think) he was my coconut thieving partner who also had no fear about swimming in the dark or jumping into the cenotes first! he's also very good at van twister..., Carl and Andy from the UK ( pair of gentleman at all times, Carl permanently kept an eye out for me when swimming as I'm not that great at it and Andy helped me back through all the flight back when I was so ill I could barely stand!) two of the nicest blokes I have ever met. Sue (laid back so easy to chat about anything with), Andrea (we where burnt buddies together in Caye Caulker), Corrie from new york (we both struggled with the moskitos and spent a lot of the trip looking lumpy). And last but not least our trek leader Mike from brazil, Mikes outlook on life was like a breathe of fresh air, he lived for travel and adventure, took us to the best places, kept an eye out for our safety without smothering us and was always up for a laugh.

Our first day up at 7.30am took us too Merida and the mayan ruins of Chitzen Itza.

Then  after a drive though jungle we jumped into a cenote with some bats for company.

Next stop was Bacalar where we stayed at the Laguna hotel.

Me and the boys took a swim down here....well you can barely call my attempt swimming, I was just keeping a afloat!

The view the next morning, up early to head to Belize.

Uh Oh....Good driving from Mike kept us on the road.

Not a car in sight.

When eventually rescued we reached Belize and caught a boat to the island of Caye Caulker and stayed in Toms cabins. The next few days where spent swimming with sharks, rays and manatees, drinking at the split, getting to know the locals (Gilbat!), eating coconuts and getting a tad burnt.

The view from our room.

Panty rippers or a lizard juice anyone? (names of the drinks)

Onto Tikal and the jungle.

Eeeeeewwww Andrea put it down!

Howler monkey.

Finca Ixobel in Guetamala was our home for the next few days, this place was AMAZING!

It was like a childhood dream come true with tree houses on stilts in amongst the middle of the jungle.

I would have enjoyed this part of the trip more if it wasnt for my massive fear of spiders....great during the day but with just torchlight to go by at night and these furry little things crawling round the room was like my worst nightmare...I spent the next few night sleeping in the van!

I got sick around this time but didn't stop the fun as we floated down river rapids on giant floaty tyres (our guide on this spoke no english and spent quite a lot of it shouting stuff at us to which we all just nodded)

Canoeing in San Ignacio

Home for the week.

Time for a swim :)

X-PU-HA, Talum ruins.

Me infront of the storm clouds (pic taken by Carl)

Storms are coming!

The Dream Team!

I can happily say this has been the best trip I have even been on, I made some great friends, visited some amazing places off the beaten track, stayed with locals and learned about the different cultures, it made me love travelling and made me realise going on your own makes you feel like you can do anything.

Tips for trekking

• If you dont like spiders, dont book this trip!!!!
• Dont be scared of going alone, you will have more fun and make new friends along the way, taking a friend with you will hold you back from meeting new ones.
• Try new things, food, etc
• Dont get burnt, your bed sheets will stick to you at night!
• Take comfy clothes that you can walk in.
• Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!!!
• Book one now :) best trip you will ever go on.