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In 2013, our plane was diverted, and we had to land in El Salvador. We were transferred to a hotel for the night and told NOT to leave the grounds. Just two years later, it was declared the most dangerous country in the world. But, in a remarkable turnaround, by 2024, El Salvador’s President Bukele declared the country to be the safest in the Western Hemisphere. We had decided to visit during our 2026 tour of Central America. We were travelling independently, basically mak

It is easy to feel daunted when thinking about travelling independently in a foreign country. Add in a tight budget, and a completely different culture to one you are used to, and it is even easier to give up and not go at all. When telling people that we were heading to Guatemala, the immediate assumption was that it would be on some sort of organised tour. Explaining that the trip would be organised by ourselves, the immediate reaction was one of surprise, followed by a hea

The tiny Blue Jeans Frog There are few better ways to arrive at your destination than by speedboat through a network of canals in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. In fact, other than a small plane, it is the ONLY way to arrive as roads don’t reach here. It is too remote. Get a bus or take your hire car to La Pavona docks and catch a boat from there, or do as we did, organise a pick-up from your hotel in San José and let them take you door-to-door. Our boat dr

The setting sun cast burnt-orange rays that reflected off the mirror-like surface left on the sand as the sea withdrew. Staring in silence at one of nature‘s daily miracles, a group of horse riders came trotting by, silhouettes that cast a faint shadow onto the sand. This was exactly what we needed after eight weeks of independent travel through Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Tired, we had unexpectedly landed in a little slice of heaven on Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast.

Putting my hand in my pocket, I already knew what I would find. Nothing. My wallet was gone

The sun beats down on Plaza del Santo, the small, hot, and dusty, central square of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Anyone standing in the square for even a few minutes will notice a steady stream of hikers arrive, take off their backpacks, lean their walking poles against a wall, and marvel at the buildings around them. They have arrived at one of the most important, and famous, landmarks on the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela. On one side of the square sits a Parado

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” - Proverb I laid out the contents of my rucksack on the bed and gave everything a proper once-over. The goal was simple: try to keep it under 9kg. Any more than that and the weight pressing down through the spine and hips would soon turn into aching joints, sore shoulders, or worse, blisters. The rule of thumb was clear enough: around 10% of body weight. For me, that gave a ceiling of roughly 8.8kg. Time to work. There is something od

I wait expectantly in the dark. I know they are coming, they always come. The first glimpse is the little dot of light, gently bobbing in the distance, following the path down from the crest of the hill. It gets bigger as they approach, occasionally sweeping the path, making sure they don’t miss the yellow arrows pointing the way to Santiago. They won’t of course, here it is one single, winding path. They can’t go wrong, but best to check, just in case. The sun rises on my ri