I decided it’s time to expand my supply of photographs beyond Bermuda and Southern Africa. So, on Saturday I’m heading down to Guatemala for a week. I’m hoping to visit El Mirador. It’s a Mayan city still overgrown by jungle. You can trek there, which takes two days both ways. I don’t have time for that but have discovered it’s possible to get a helicopter in, overnight in a hammock and then take a helicopter back out. I’ve found a website that offers this service, but haven’t managed to get in touch with them. So, I’m turning up with nothing booked and hoping I can sort one when I arrive. If not, there’s another site called Tikal I can visit. There’s actually hotels right next to the temples there, so that won’t be a bad alternative, just not as adventurous.

For the second half of the trip I’ll be visiting Guatemala’s former capital, Antigua. It’s an old Spanish colonial city nestled amongst three volcanoes. My plan is to climb one of them, the easiest one.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get a load of photos done to upload prior to leaving so this will likely be my last post until I get back on May 26th. Then, I should have lots of photos and stories for you.

Today’s Photo: Redhill, Cape Town

On my last trip to Capetown I was lucky enough to stay with my travel buddy’s family. They have a cleaner, Grace, come in once a week and always drive her back home. She lives in this small township called Redhill. It’s in a strikingly beautiful location with vineyards in the valley below. It makes for a startling contrast.

I took a gap-year before heading to University, and got to head down to Bolivia and Peru. That’s where I became a bit of a travel addict and discovered I quite liked taking pictures, and wasn’t too bad at it either. I had a little Olympus point and shoot. I can’t remember the model but it was pretty robust. It survived walking a puma through the Bolivian jungle, 4-treks in Bolivia and Peru, and even sand dune boarding (also known as falling over a lot).

Driving across the Ayuni Salt Flats is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done in my life. Miles upon miles of whiteness, minimal landmarks, and no signs of civilization. When we were there, a thin film of water over the salt turned the entire place into one giant mirror. It was like driving in the clouds.

This shot is taken from on top of our jeep. In the picture, you can see one of the girls making her way on to the roof and in the one ahead, you can see the luggage rack is already loaded with people. It was an exhilarating ride, but the salt water splashing up turned all of our clothes into crusty messes.

We looked around for ages for this giant hoof-print. It was only when we were leaving that we realised we were actually inside the hoof-print.

When I got this close I started getting a little nervous. I’ve used a wide angle lens so it looks like I was further from the rushing water than I was. The water level here was level with the rock I was standing on. It definitely made me concentrate on where I was putting my feet and my camera.