Six Months on the Road: My Central America Adventure

In January I packed my bags for what I thought would be a few months travelling in Central America. Little did I know then that I wouldn’t be returning home until six months later. My original plan was to visit Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, but I also ended up going to Panama and Nicaragua. It was my first time in Central America, but I didn’t have many expectations. Usually I love to plan for upcoming trips, but this time my departure was a spur of the moment decision, so I honestly didn’t even know what would be waiting for me when I got there. For once, I didn’t feel stressed about being unprepared, so I already knew this trip would be different from all the others I’ve ever taken. I was so right.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was luscious and green as I had imagined, with the warm air greeting me as I arrived. In La Fortuna, I went canyoning for the first time, rappelling down waterfalls terrified, yet excited. In Monteverde, where the cool mountain air forced me into wearing all my warmest clothes, I ziplined high above the trees, exhilarated, flying through the air. Winding down by the beach in Santa Teresa was exactly what I needed to end my time in Costa Rica, laying in the sun and only venturing out to eat casados and catch the gorgeous sunsets on the beach.

El Salvador

The road to El Salvador was long, but we finally started snaking higher and higher up the road overlooking Laqo de Coatepeque. Arriving to the Cerro Verde national park, we were surrounded by beautiful forest, with the view of the Santa Ana volcano in the distance. Camping for the first time in years was fun and the air up there felt fresh, clean. I also visisted Suchitoto, a town that almost feels stuck back in time. It’s streets are slow, made of cobblestone, lined with cafes and pupusa stalls. El Salvador enchanted me, and in a way let me find some peace among the craziness around me, and inside of me.

Honduras

In Honduras, I explored the bustling little town of Copan. The town is famous for the ruins of Copan, which were impressive. Hearing about the history of the country was educating and so interesting. Zooming down the bumpy streets on a little tuktuk, and later in the evening, as I was sitting on a rooftop with a drink in my hand, watching over the glittering lights in the darkness, I knew I’d have to come back to Honduras one day to see more.

Guatemala

Guatemala was the next stop, specifically the colonial town of Antigua. I had some special moments in Antigua, filled with laughter. The lively streets, dim bars and colourful cafes made the town a great stop for a few days. But at this point, I was starting to feel a little sad that my adventures were soon coming to an end…

Belize

I hopped on a plane from Guatemala city and then headed over to the paradise island of Caye Caulker in Belize on a speedboat. The island is small, with streets of sand and no cars. Wooden houses of every color, palm trees swaying in the wind, and some of the best vibes anywhere. I soaked up the sun, snorkelled with nurse sharks, and ate fresh lobster, dreaming of one day living on an island like this.

Mexico

From Belize I continued on to Mexico, specifically Tulum, where I spent my time eating obscene amounts of guacamole and tacos, exploring some ruins and beautiful cenotes, learning more about Mayan culture and riding a bike around, excited like a child. But when I was due to catch my flight home, sitting in my hostel in Cancun, I wasn’t ready to pack my bags. I knew I had a choice to make.

Panama

So I ended up booking a flight to Panama, instead returning back to rainy London. When I landed in Panama City, I suddenly felt free, asI had no plans for the coming weeks. No return ticket, and all of Panama to explore. I started off by getting violently sick and instead of seeing Panama city, I was exploring the inside of the a toilet bowl to the point I thought I might have to go to a hospital.

Luckily, I got better and headed off to Bocas del Toro to explore the famous islands. I ended up staying at Red Frog for two weeks, walking through a beautiful green jungle daily to the picture perfect beach. Making friends, I kept extending my stay by a few more nights more than a few times, until I finally made a move. The journey across the country to Santa Catalina was an experience, and Santa Catalina itself was the perfect sleepy beach town. Seeing the Pacific Ocean glisten in the sunrise, I dreamed about one day being able to surf those waves. I enjoyed the slow life, before heading back to Panama City to catch my next flight. I was going back to Belize.

Belize… again

After seeing so many incredible places, meeting so many amazing people, I felt like I needed to slow down for second just to digest it all. I headed back to Caye Caulker, because it seemed like the perfect place to do just that. I rented an apartment for a month and spent it living every day like a dream. I swam in the ocean, drank cocktails in the sunset and read all the books I hadn’t touched in all my months of travelling. I learned every street, every shop and walked the sandy streets until the island started to feel like home. When I finally left after the month, I almost felt like turning back the whole way to the airport.

Nicaragua

I landed in Nicaragua, my last Central American country, which only recently was suffering from major political instability. What awaited me there, was some of the best weeks of my entire life. I knew it was time to head back home after, but I ended up pushing back my flights home a total of three times. I stayed in Nica for over six weeks, and what an amazing six weeks it was!

I partied in Grenada, saw actual bubbling lava in a volcano, spent the day kayaking on a beautiful lake, explored an island on a quad bike, hiked to a waterfall and saw my first scorpion, all in the space of just ten days. Nicaragua truly enchanted me. Then, I headed to the coast, near San Juan Del Sur, where I ended up spending over a month. I finally decided to give surfing a go and ended up loving it, and spend a lot of time on the beach, swallowing salt water as I tried not to drown with my board. I spent days and nights with new friends from all over the world, making memories to last a lifetime.

Here is a video of my entire trip:

Now that I’m back, I’m excited to get writing about the details of my trip, so stay tuned!

You can start by reading this post about snorkeling with sharks in Caye Caulker.

If you want to read about my plans before the trip, check out this post.