WORLD CHALLENGE BLOG REPORT Here are a few entries and pictures from our explorers on their adventures in Central America this summer... JUNE 28, READING, UK 6am departure. JUNE 30, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO We arrived in Mexico City last night, everyone is well and pleasantly surprised by our great hostel! Shattered from being up for 21 hours, so we had an early night. Day 1 has gone well so far, heading to our first set of Mayan ruins tomorrow. JULY 1, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO Day 3 has been another fantastic day. The group continued acclimatising with a trek to the ruins of Teotihuacan which, after many steps, had wonderful views. Plenty of pink faces and a few tan lines but another superb day. Getting ready for some tacos tonight! A long bus journey awaits us tomorrow as we head to the start of our trek but all are in high spirits and our Spanish is improving each day (poco). JULY 7, OAXACA, MEXICO Just a quick update on our way through Oaxaca to San Cristobal and eventually our project. The team have fought the elements to complete a tough trek through the Sierra Norte reserve. Driving rain accompanied us on our way through the Mexican countryside but this has done little to dampen our spirits as the team pulled together to complete the four day trek. Alongside the wet weather, the team dealt with walking at just under 3000m altitude (finally, an excuse to be out of breath on a walk). We have spent today in the local markets of Oaxaca before an 11 hour coach journey tonight. We are all particularly excited about the project phase and hope to be able to update a little more in the next week. All the team are healthy although very tired from the past week’s excursions! JULY 17, PALENQUE, MEXICO Despite our last update that it might be several weeks until the next update, we have found a little patch of wi-fi to give you a quick update! We are now in Palenque after a week long project in the tiny village of San Antonio Buenavista. The project was all the we could have hoped for and the impact that the team had on the community was measured by the tears shed by the locals as we left. Building, painting and community work was just some of the activities that made a difference there. Today we are off to the Tikal ruins and then make our boat trip across the border to Guatemala tomorrow. If time and internet strength allows we will send further pictures and details from this amazing project but if not youll have to wait until later. The team are all very healthy and in good spirits. July 18, Palenque, Mexico Another great day spent climbing the ruins of Palenque and visiting waterfalls. The views were spectacular and the swim afterwards was definitely needed. Having wished for warmer climates throughout the trip so far, the group had a bit of a shock with the high humidity and temperatures soaring to the mid 30s. A few pink shoulders, but all in very happy and excited at the prospect of heading into Guatemala tomorrow morning. JULY 20, SAN BENITO, GUATEMALA Our visit to the Tikal ruins yesterday afternoon/evening for the sunset tour was one of our most memorable so far. Our guide, Samuel, was born in the jungle and gave us a great history lesson on the Mayan culture and buildings, as well as a rather hands on experience of the jungle wild life! We saw monkeys, indigenous Guatemalan birds, lizards, foxes, fireflies and most importantly a rather large spider....! Samuel coaxed a wild Tarantula out of its nest and gave us the opportunity to have it on our arms and in some cases faces!! It was surprisingly friendly, though fast moving, which worried a few people. We then climbed over 70 feet to the top of the largest Pyramid in Tikal to watch the sunset, where we could see for over 50 miles across jungle, an amazing end to a great day. Today we have been to a local market and explored the Actun Can caves in Santa Elena, which was both slippery and scary! Tomorrow we say goodbye to the wonderful Flores and head to Dangrigia in Belize in order to prep for the next trekking phases in the Cockscomb Basin. JULY 26, CAYE CAULKER, BELIZE Hope you are well, we are writing to you from the fabulous island of Caye Caulker in Belize, quite literally paradise... However we have had to earn it, the last time we spoke we had just been on the idyllic island of Flores in Guatemala, from there we left and then crossed into Belize had a little jaunt to the coast in the little town of Dangriga. Alongside some time on the beach the main job was to buy food for the second trek, which began in the jungle of Cockscomb Basin on Wednesday. It might be a little strong to call the jungle trek a life changing experience, but the heat, humidity and mosquitos were something to behold and the team were tested fully in extreme temperatures and thunderstorms. The highlight was a 10 hour trek to the outlier summit made worth it by the views and sense of achievement. No one could claim to have not been challenged, or even a little scared, we even encountered a snake in the middle of the trail. But we survived and hugely enjoyed it, although tents reminiscent of a sauna may have been a little too much! A bouncy journey through Belize city followed and we arrived on the Caye for some well deserved rest and relaxation. Last night we celebrated Kunmis birthday with lobsters and snapper fish at a beachside restaurant and we look forward to celebrating Annies birthday on Monday. Today we have spent an amazing day snorkelling amongst the most incredible fish you can ever hope to see; sharks, stingrays, turtles and even a manatee. The group had a wonderful day on the boat and it was a fitting final phase to a superb trip.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:47:53 +0000
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