When I decided to go on a trip, being a new mum and having a family meant I couldn’t travel the same ways as I used to. I used to stay in a shared dormitory or on some stranger’s couch, hitchhiking or getting lost.
My husband Ryan was not OK with this type of travel and maybe I was too old to be travelling that way anyway. So I decided to do my first organized tour with G Adventures. This tour was 10 days through Guatemala, Belize and Mexico.
The start of the tour was a welcome talk with the group of travellers, comprisied of mostly Canadians and Brits. The average age was 30 to 40 years old and our tour guide, Alonso, ensured we had all the information we needed for our trip.
We started in Antigua in Guatemala, which is high in the mountains and a nice 25C. I explored the mountainous town by ATV. The beautiful cobbled street town was a short visit as we headed off to Rio Dulce, a large lake in Guatemala.
G Adventures likes to incorporate local elements where they can and here we got to visit, by boat, a woman-led cooperative that provides cooking classes and food.
Although it was a beautiful lake area covered with mangroves and nature, we were basically staying in the jungle. The humidity was horrid in late September.
As an Australian, I should be used to it. But I’m used to the Yukon weather! I forgot you could just sweat by being outside doing nothing. Thankfully, there was a swimming pool with a bar.
After Rio Dulce we travelled into Belize. It is the most random thing to travel so far and then be in an English-speaking country. Also the same prices as Canada! San Ignacio is famous for its caves, so we went cave tubing, taking a big flotation device through the caves. It was incredible.
However, like most of the tour, we were off again, travelling the bumpy roads to our next destination–Caye Caulker.
If I thought all of our destinations had been hot prior to travelling to this Caribbean island, I was wrong. It was dreadfully hot and humid. However, to be away from the heat was to go on a catamaran and visit the second largest reef, Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
The boat trip was outstanding. We saw–and snorkelled with–manatees, dolphins, nurse sharks, sea turtles and so many fish. But it was our last stop before a long journey to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico.
Like Caye Caulker it was hot – and expensive. So to avoid the heat I headed off on another catamaran journey to Cozumel. Here I snorkelled with stingrays and starfish. It was incredibly beautiful and fun.
But it was the last day of the tour and a goodbye to the group, then off to spend the next two days travelling back to Whitehorse. I highly recommend the tours as it takes away the burden of organizing everything. Alonso was so helpful, organizing extra activities and ensuring we had the best time we could.
