1. The Whole of Guatemala

Everything I did in Guatemala was amazing. Being in the jungle is an experience like no other. I can never get enough of being surrounded by trees and nature and just walking until my little legs can’t take me any further. Guatemala is such a vibrant country, the colours, the food, the smells, the people.. all of it. It is by far the number one place I have been to (so far!).

I started my trip in Antigua, and on my first day I climbed a volcano to roast marshmallows from the heat coming from below! What a way to start a backpacking trip! For the next 2 days I explored the city and took in all the colours of the markets that I could.

The best part of Guatemala for me was staying at Hostel Utopia, a 45 minute drive into the jungle near Semuc Champey. Located on a cocoa farm, there was no wifi or electricity. I took a chocolate making course one day, where I picked my own cocoa plant, roasted the beans, made tea from the skins and made my own dark chocolate from the beans! Chocoholic heaven!

The next day I went on a cave tour. This was a guided tour through the ancient caves and we spent our time navigating our way through with one candle each. If your candle went out.. you were fucked! The water was so high at times that you had to hold the candle in your mouth so you could swim. It was absolutely brilliant! We stopped at the rope swing afterwards and launched ourselves into the river.

Thats when we made our way to hike up to the viewpoint. Semuc Champey needs to be admired from above to really take in its beauty. It was a difficult hike up but oh boy was it worth it. As soon as you’re at the top, you immediately want to be at the bottom jumping into those pools to cool off!

2. Snorkling in Belize

This was a very poorly planned out trip, looking back, but oh boy was it eventful! I’ll be writing a whole post on this particular event so keep your eyes peeled! Here is a summary of events for now:

I was waiting for my travel buddy to arrive in Caye Caulker, when I got asked if we wanted to join a boat trip in like.. 30 minutes. Liz walks around the corner just in time, dumps her bags and we are off on god knows what kind of adventure!

The boat was more of a wooden canoe that anything else, and certainly did not look like an official tour boat. There were about 10 of us on this tiny thing, not including our captain and his wife. Before we even set off, the captain stops off to pick up some ‘supplies’ for the journey.. any guesses as to what they were? 😉

We drove out to sea and I have to say, snorkling with sharks, sting rays and such was amazing. I never thought I would get so close to any kind of shark! Not long after we got in the water it starts to pour down with rain. We were in a tiny little boat in the middle of the sea in a STORM.

As we drive to our next spot, we notice the captains wife swigging rum from the bottle and proceeds to roll a spliff using a lottery ticket for roach! This was the craziest experience EVER! I couldn’t believe it. We stopped for a short while on the way back to do some line fishing and I am more than proud to say I caught more fish than all the boys put together! We managed to catch enough to feed us all for dinner, and paid a restaurant to clean and BBQ our fish for us.

DE-LICIOUS.

3. Camping on Volcano Telica

This just so happened to be my very first camping trip EVER. I had no idea what to expect. Myself and Liz were now in Nicaragua and had heard that there was an overnight camping trip you could book.. so we went for it! The sweat that followed you can only imagine. A 3 hour mostly vertical hike in the midday sun almost killed us both off, but our guide was patient with us and never got annoyed at us constantly needing a breather! 

‘If there was ever a time I felt like Bilbo Baggins it would be now!’ 

Standing and leaning over the crater of a volcano does things to your stomach, I promise. We made it just in time for sunset and the views were so overwhelming I cried a little.  Our guide built a fire using a machette, and set us up for the night in our tent. Thats when we realised we would have to walk into the pitch black if we needed the loo!! I’ve never felt so vulnerable with my pants around my ankles, squatting in the dark and hearing coyotes in the distance!!!

At 4am I was awoken iso rudely and abruptly by a horse neighing right next to my ear! They were panicking at the lightening storm and galloping around our tent in a frenzy. Liz had to hold my hand to calm me down, my heart was beating so fast! I thought.. ‘this is how it ends, I’m going to be trampled by wild horses on a fucking volcano i n Nicaragua!’ 

Thankfully that did not happen and we woke up only a couple hours later to climb back up to the crater to watch the sunrise. Going down the volcano was not nearly as difficult as getting up there. This is definitely one experience I will never forget!

4. Scuba Diving in Dahab

On a spontaneous trip to Egypt I decided to get away from the city for a while and head to a little place called Dahab, a 20 minute drive away from Sharm El Sheikh. I was very much in need of some TLC and decided to take a 5 day scuba diving course to occupy myself while I was there.

On my very first dive I saw so many different fish and animals that i was instantly hooked! I saw unicorn fish, an octopus and I FOUND NEMO! You can stop looking now guys! Being under the water, your hearing is muffled, you cant speak (obviously) and you’re encompassed by this tranquil underwater life. I’ve never felt so calm in my life as I did while I was diving 18m below the surface, in awe of all the marine life and vibrant corals surrounding me. *cue Enya*

The course consisted of a few compulsory video tutorials and lessons, written homework and studying. If you don’t understand how air pressure affects your body as you dive deeper into the sea then you are very much at risk of bursting your ear drums, your lungs or drowning. Learn the stuff and remember it as you’re in the water and everything will be fine!

I did a total of 5 dives, and each one was more exciting than the last. I never wanted to get out of the water despite knowing I was running low on oxygen in my tank. I finished my 5 day course and am now a Certified Open Water Scuba Diver! Next is to get my license to dive down to 30m!

5. A Complete Nile Cruise

Back in 2012, my dad decided to take us on a family cruise down the Nile. I wasn’t all that excited in all honesty as I had spent every summer up until that point in Egypt and didn’t think there was all that much to see. How wrong I was!

We started off in Cairo, flew down to Luxor where we explored the temples and took a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the mountains. From there we continued south to Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan. The contrast between the busy, polluted streets of Cairo, to the clean and tranquil countryside in the south was unbelievable! I couldn’t believe I was in the same country! We took a trip out into the desert to a bedouin camp, rode camels and even had a go at beach buggies across the sand dunes.

People kept crocodiles as pets, there were no cars.. only horse and cart, and the landscape was just beautiful. Such a simple and quieter life compared to the big cities I was used to. THIS was the real Egypt.

We ended the holiday in an all inclusive resort in Hurghada to recharge and relax by the pool. I had no idea that Egypt has so much to offer and I would recommend anyone planning a trip to not just go to Sharm El Sheikh for a week.. but to leave the tourist resorts and head south so see some of the most wonderful scenery and the friendliest people. Or get yourself on a cruise and have it all mapped out for you and just take it all in!

6. Climbing Mountains in Norway

My first trip to Norway was back in November 2016 with my best friend Olivia. We staying in a little Air B&B in Trondheim and came ready with our thick jumpers and hiking boots! Our first day we packed our lunches and got a bus up to Bymarka Mountain.

The snow was so deep that I remember our socks getting soggy before we were even half way up! It was so worth it though. Climbing up the mountain and finding a completely frozen over lake, forrest trails and icicles. Of course I went to jump on the ice being the reckless wild child that I am! Always have to take the risk for the adrenaline rush!

The view from the top of the mountain was stunning. You could see all the way to the Fjords, the whole of Trondheim and more. A picnic is so much better when you’ve earnt it and can sit at the top of a mountain with a stunning view like that!!

My second trip to Norway was in January 2018 to visit some travel buddies I had met in Cambodia. My muse Mia took me up Mount Floyen during my stay and again the views were absolutely stunning. Those misty mountains took my breath away and I would give anything to be able to go up there every day! The moment we got to the top and I had taken photos, it began to snow, almost like I was in a movie.

Hot chocolate and waffles are definitely a winner after climbing a mountain in the snow! <3

7. Monkeys in South East Asia

This remained the case with monkeys I met in Cambodia and Vietnam. So many tourists however, were not taking these warning seriously and a whole lot of stuff got stolen. Water bottles, cameras, tobacco, books, drinks, food, sunglasses.. you name it! I even witnessed a guy pick up a monkey to pet it, and then try to PUNCH IT as it was getting a little rough with him!!! Guys! Don’t punch the monkeys!! And DON’T pick them up despite how cute they might look! They are still wild animals and unless you want to spend the rest of your trip getting shots at the doctors I recommend you admire these creatures from a distance.

Some of these cheeky munchkins made for GREAT photo opportunities! You could tell the personality of the monkey just from its eyes, whether they were caged, or wild and mischievous.