Yoga in the Lookout Tower

We've been staying at a very sweet place in Rio Dulce; immersed in jungle ruggedness and surrounded by water. In short, mosquito heaven. 

We all collectively decided that after the long journey, we were happy to chill the next day. That paved the way for some rum drinking silliness that evening (think Ring of Fire and a personal favourite, the 'vegetable game'- no one is allowed to show their teeth and only call one another by their vegetable name.  

The next day went something like this - 7am wake up, breakfast and a questionable coffee overlooking the lake, a few hours sitting by the pool -reading, swimming and pretending to be wizards from Harry Potter, chicken salad for lunch and then change of clothes for yoga. 

Vikki and I decided to join a few others on a 'easy' hike (260 steps uphill isn't my definition of easy) to a yoga lesson at the lookout tower in the rubber plantation. The whole experience was very special. The views were inexplicably picturesque and the yoga combined with a soft breeze coming off the trees into the tower eased any sore muscles that we may have had. 

After we felt sufficiently stretched, Lucy our instructor did a small ritual before offering us sweet mint tea and florentinas. It was very civilised indeed. Yoga has got quite a bit to live up to in London. 

Guatemala: Tikal and Flores

We hopped, skipped and jumped over the Belizean-Guatemalan border and drove to Tikal, probably the most famous Mayan ruins after Chichen Itza and according to my Lonely Planet, far more impressive. I can't make an informed decision on that as I haven't been to Chichen Itza but I can tell you that Tikal is pretty superb. In my mind it's on parallel with Machu Pichu but the difference with Tikal is that you don't have to almost die from altitude sickness and sleep in freezing tents to get there but instead happily amble through the jungle, stopping along the way to say hi to spider monkeys and toucans in the trees. Granted, it was pretty damn humid but a sweat drenched body never hurt anyone. 

Our guide was one of those darling men you just wish was your grandpa (just me?). Softly spoken, smily Abuelo Miguel was extremely knowledgeable and had that enchanting passion about his job despite having done it for 20 years. His 'office' (the jungle) as he called it was his whole world and it was evident that his devotion was unyielding. He had an incredible ability to spot something rustling in the trees which was honestly miles away to our naive eyes. A highlight of the day -when he spent a good five minutes trying to help Ali see a Toucan for Ali to tell him that he was colour blind and couldn't see things against a green background. 

A short drive to Rio Dulce and a welcome swim in the lake before street food (tostadas, tacitos and everything in between) and drinks. A few of us decided we were tired and starting heading back to the hotel, only to be lured by the Latin beats of a local bar and before we knew it we had joined a conga line and were twerking away in the middle of a circle of excitable Guatemalans! "I love a little dance before bedtime".

5 hour drive to Rio Dulce, weaving our way through landscapes along the way. A stop off at a gas station and the best coconut ice cream I've ever tasted. Words can't describe it. There are two types of people in the world -those that like coconut and those that don't. And I don't trust those that don't. I was clearly too enthralled and utterly terrified that my ice cream would melt so didn't manage to get photographic evidence but fear not, if I do anything with my life it will be to hunt down that ice cream again.