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Serena Abbott
Serena Abbott

Serena Abbott

traveled in 21 countries Read more
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  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Panama City

    February 8, 2023 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Highlights:
    - Got our laundry done free at our hostel as they messed up our booking slightly, so saved at least £10!
    - We loved being in a big city again, our first since Mexico City
    - A successful shopping trip at the mall where we stocked up on clothes and essentials for our boat trip (including alcohol and lots of snacks!)
    - Seeing the Panama Canal - we didn't want to pay the ridiculous price for the viewing platform at Miraflores locks, so we went to the locks slightly further down and watched 3 huge boats go through the canal from a car park which was really cool
    - Walking around the old town, and then back to our hostel through a park by the ocean
    - Drinks on the rooftop bar 66 floors up the Marriott hotel with friends with views of the city - we splashed out and got a bottle of wine and some beers!

    Lowlights:
    - Being extremely tired from the overnight bus that got us into the city at 4am!
    - Wasting an hour and a half of our time at a terrible mall and supermarket, where we bought a grand total of 2 bananas!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels
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    Bocas del Toro

    February 5, 2023 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Highlights:
    - Chilling at the hostel Aqua Lounge playing games, sunbathing and jumping into the sea
    - Watching the sunset with aperol spritzes and a live band playing
    - Staying in a nice hotel room with a balcony and sea view - luxury! We watched Netflix and had snacks in bed which made a nice change
    - Getting a boat to a floating bar in the ocean, having drinks with friends and swimming in the sea
    - Getting a private day boat trip with friends to dolphin bay, some islands (where we saw a sloth from the boat - Bocas del Toro is where the scene of the sloth swimming in Planet Earth 2 was filmed!), a snorkeling spot where we saw some cool fish, and finally Zapatilla island which was beautiful and where we had drinks and swam in the sea
    - Playing cards with new and old friends at a hostel for a few hours before going to a bar
    - Visiting starfish beach, where we saw lots of... Starfish! Really cool to snorkel and see lots of them, and a beautiful beach too

    Lowlights:
    - Seeing dolphins and dolphin bay didn't feel very nice as there were loads of boats around and half chasing them - wouldn't have gone had we known and we asked to leave there early!

    Food and drinks:
    - Coconut daiquiris at Aqua Lounge
    - Burgers from a shack - delicious and cheap!
    - We went to a street taco van 3 times - fish tacos were so good!
    - Breakfast of Arepas (stuffed corn dough tortillas) from a Colombian restaurant to give us a taste of what's to come!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Puerto Viejo

    January 31, 2023 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Highlights:
    - Playa Negra - beautiful black sand beach
    - Having our own space in an Airbnb - our first one!
    - Cahuita national park was beautiful to walk through, free (which makes a change for Costa Rica), and we saw our first sloth! We also saw monkeys, spiders, and a raccoon.
    - Cycling to Playa Cocles and chilling out and swimming in the sea
    - Meeting friends for drinks a few times
    - Visiting the Jaguar Rescue Center and seeing rescued animals and and hearing about their work
    - Seeing 12 (!) sloths in one day, including one that walked across a path, and a mother and baby pair, as well as seeing
    howler monkeys, an iguana and a woodpecker

    Lowlights:
    - Renting bikes and Serena getting a puncture and Josh going over the handlebars (thankfully only cutting his leg!)

    Food and drink:
    - Carribbean chicken
    - Fancy brunch including chocolate cake to finish
    - Family dinner of moussaka at the hostel, cooked by a Greek man and it was delicious!
    - Pattys, which were a bit like Cornish pasties    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    La Fortuna

    January 26, 2023 in Costa Rica

    Highlights:
    - A nice, easy travel morning which involved a mini van, a boat across the lake with views of Arenal volcano, and another mini van
    - Swimming in the river and watching the locals do flips and tricks from the rope swing
    - Chilling in the hot springs with candles and drinks - a perfect way to spend the evening (although a raccoon stole someone in our group's bananas at the end - spooky to see eyes appear in the dark!)
    - Serena enjoyed a rest/travel admin day while Josh went to a waterfall with friends

    Lowlights:
    - Serena still has hurt ribs from surfing (which were made worse by ziplining, oops!)

    Food and drink:
    - Delicious soda meal at Soda Viquez - both had casados which are the typical meal of meat or fish with rice, beans, plantain and a couple more random sides
    - Made a yummy stir fry in the best hostel kitchen so far
    - Tried guanabana and cas shakes which were both really nice    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels
    1
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    Monteverde

    January 24, 2023 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Highlights:
    - An easier than expected crossing (4 buses rather than 5, and not too long at immigration!)
    - Monteverde cloud forest hike was beautiful - saw birds, a tarantula, insects, and a capuchin monkey (although sadly no sloth!)
    - Ziplining through the forest - expensive but worth it, especially with the superman zipline where you feel like you're flying, and the Tarzan swing at the end which was incredibly scary but so fun
    - Watching the sunset from a spot on the hill

    Lowlights:
    - Having to wait an hour to get into the cloud forest as it was at capacity - although we killed the time watching hummingbirds at the feeders and grabbing a snack so not all bad!

    Food and drink:
    - Having to cook dinners to save some money, but we enjoyed the pasta and veggies!
    - Eating lunch at Sodas, which are family run restaurants which offer cheaper meals - really nice food and very filling
    - Serena was craving horchata from Mexico and found a packet mix at the supermarket - not as good as the real thing but still great
    - Traditional cake called tamal which was made from corn flour and coconut    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    San Juan del Sur

    January 21, 2023 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Highlights:
    - Staying at dreamsea surf camp and hanging out with the same people all week
    - Learning to surf (or at least stand up in the whitewash!)
    - Having yoga sessions with views of the top of the trees and the sounds of howler monkeys
    - Sunday Funday - a hostel 'pool' crawl which was fun and nice to bump into people we met before again
    - The perfect hangover cure of a 6:30am surf lesson
    - Watching the sunset from an infinity pool at another hostel
    - Sunset picnic on the beach with dreamsea
    - Seeing our first howler monkeys after many failed attempts!
    - Pool party at dreamsea
    - Getting some well needed haircuts!
    - Getting Josh's shoes fixed by a man in the park

    Lowlights:
    - The bumpy shuttles to the beach - could be painful!

    Food and drink:
    - Fish and chips similar to the UK
    - Breakfast and a three course dinner being included in our stay - luxury!
    - The best nachos we've ever had (pulled pork, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, cheese)
    - Incredible coconut mojitos    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels
    11

    Ometepe

    January 13, 2023 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Highlights:
    - Visiting El Pital - a place where they make chocolate and serve it in the cafe overlooking the lake
    - Chilling and playing monopoly deal at the hostel
    - Renting scooters for two days to see the island with Gabby and Will
    - Visiting Ojo de Agua, a place with pools to swim in in the jungle
    - Sunset kayak trip - kayaking through mangroves and seeing turtles and birds
    - Spending a few hours relaxing at Playa Mangos and swimming in the lake

    Lowlights:
    - Walking 30 minutes in the dark past barking guard and street dogs - never again!
    - Having to throw away snacks due to ants getting into them

    Food and drink:
    - Cacao smoothie bowls and iced chocolate at El Pital
    - Going to a curry restaurant 3 times - amazing food and a nice change!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Granada

    January 9, 2023 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Highlights:
    - Party in the jungle at Treehouse hostel
    - Seeing views of Granada and the park from the Cathedral bell tower
    - Walking down the pretty, colourful streets and down to the lake front
    - A chill day at Apoyo lake - a huge lake that has formed in the crater of a volcano. We chilled, played table tennis, went out on kayaks and played cards with friends we've travelled with from Leon

    Lowlights:
    - The journey to the jungle party was in a cattle truck standing in the back crammed with everyone going to the party from Granada - our most uncomfortable journey so far!
    - There's only so much rice and beans you can eat, and Nicaragua loves rice and beans!

    Food and drink:
    - Fresh lemonade at the Garden Café
    - Burgers from a food market which had fried plantain as the bread bun and pumpkin sauce - delicious!
    - Three free rum drinks at the hostel every night
    - Pancakes with banana and syrup for one breakfast at the hostel
    - Cooked a curry with friends from the hostel which made a nice change from eating out    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels
    12412

    Leon

    January 6, 2023 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Highlights:
    - Volcano boarding at Cerro Negro - Josh went 29kph and Serena 35kph. Josh also forgot to put his protective goggles on so it's lucky he didn't go any faster!
    - Party bus on the way back from volcano boarding
    - Wandering around the streets of Leon
    - Playing beer pong at the hostel
    - Going up on the roof of the cathedral to watch the sunset

    Lowlights:
    - Spending ages trying to find an ATM that worked!
    - Too hot at over 30 degrees

    Food and drink:
    - Tasty chicken coconut curry
    - Free hostel breakfast (although we're getting a bit tired of scrambled egg with rice and beans!)
    - Some good smoothies and fresh juices
    - A 'fancy' dinner at Sua Mediterranean restaurant - lasagne for Josh and grilled chicken for Serena
    - Flor de Caña seltzers - very popular in Nicaragua!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Utila

    January 2, 2023 in Honduras ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Highlights:
    - Completing our PADI open water diver qualification!
    - Hanging out with friends eating and playing games while the rain passed
    - Seeing cool things while diving including lots of tropical fish, an eel, a sea cucumber, a massive hermit crab
    - Winning the pub quiz and making some money instead of spending it for once!!
    - Going on floats at our dive centre to watch the sunset on New year's eve, then drinks with friends and watching fireworks from the beach
    - Chilling at the beach and hotel pool after completing our diving

    Lowlights:
    - It rained non-stop for 3 days!
    - Freezing doing diving sessions in the pool with the rain - Serena's lips went blue several times!

    Food and drink:
    - Baleadas, baleadas and more baleadas - cheap, filling and tasty (tortilla with beans, cheese and your choice of filling such as egg, meat, avocado)
    - A whole key lime pie from a bakery which we tucked into with a fork over a few days
    - Fresh fish and barbecued food
    - Cheap beers and cocktails!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Christmas Day in Utila

    December 25, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Feliz Navidad from Utila, Honduras!

    We arrived on Christmas Eve morning to Utila island and did a few jobs like checking into our diving school, then met with our friends for cocktails and a beach party.

    Christmas day started with a swim at the beach - the weather started cloudy but turned into beautiful blue skies and we spent the day having drinks, a cheeseboard, secret santa and games, then a meal overlooking the sea and more drinks! We had an amazing time but wish we could be in two places at once and miss our families and friends at home. Sending lots of love and Christmas wishes! 🎅♥️    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    El Tunco

    December 23, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Highlights:
    - The best sunsets of the trip so far on the beach
    - Having a surf lesson where we both managed to stand up a few times
    - Seeing whales breaching from the beach on the horizon
    - Randomly bumping into a friend from earlier in the trip and catching up over dinner

    Lowlights:
    - More expensive than where we've been so far, the budget is not looking good!

    Food and drinks:
    - We cheated and had some 'western' food - burgers and smoothie bowls, all yummy
    - More pupusas! All with cheese and a variety of flavours such as chicken, spinach, fish, shrimp, pork, beans. We also tried some sweet ones which were great - chocolate with banana or strawberries.
    - Lots of barbecued meat with rice and salad
    - Cheap beers!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Santa Ana

    December 19, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Highlights:
    - Taking a chicken bus along the 'flower route' to see a small town that had a food market and meeting friends from earlier in our travels
    - Watching the world cup final at the hostel then watching the trophy celebrations in the centre on the big screen
    - Listening to bands playing Christmas music in the square

    Lowlights:
    - Not being able to hike the Santa Ana volcano - we couldn't do both the world cup and the hike, and Serena hadn't recovered yet from the Acatenango volcano!

    Food and drinks;
    - Savoury pies!! We had chicken and chicken and mushroom
    - Our first (of many) pupusas - stuffed tortillas, these were with cheese and beans
    - A plate of meat and a fresh pineapple juice at the food market
    - Horchata - this one was made with a type of ground seed called morro and tasted a bit like chestnuts - delicious!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Antigua

    December 16, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Highlights:
    - Seeing Antigua FC football match at the stadium
    - Really nice hostel with a pool, and being able to have some chill time
    - Josh went for beers after the Acatenango hike with new friends (Serena stayed in bed recovering!!)
    - Wandering around Antigua streets and having a nice lunch
    - Sunset drinks with friends from Caye Caulker

    Lowlights:
    - Our shuttle leaving Antigua being 3 hours late, then taking 7 hours rather than 5!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Acatenango

    December 14, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Highlights:
    - Managing to make it to basecamp!
    - Seeing the explosions from the volcano
    - The views above the clouds at basecamp
    - Hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows on the fire
    - Pancakes for breakfast and the hike down to the end
    - Ordering McDonald's to the hotel after finishing and getting some much needed calories!

    Lowlights:
    - The whole hike up! We couldn't catch our breath the whole way up, it was so difficult and mentally draining!
    - Serena getting bad altitude sickness on the sunrise hike and having to go back to basecamp    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Lake Atitlan

    December 11, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Highlights:
    - Learning lots more Spanish!
    - Watching the sun rise from the Indian Nose hike
    - Seeing the main square, Christmas lights and basketball game with our host family
    - Playing cards with the girls in our family
    - Meeting friends from previous stops on the trip for drinks and catch ups
    - Seeing a Mayan ritual
    - Doing a cooking class making atole and tostadas at the Spanish school
    - Seeing a religious procession with our host family - more fireworks than I've seen or heard in my life combined!
    - Visiting other towns around the lake including San Juan and San Marcos

    Lowlights:
    - Spending a whole day travelling and being very tired meeting our host family!
    - Watching England lose in the world cup
    - Serena got slight altitude sickness on the Indian Nose hike    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Semuc Champey

    December 4, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Highlights:
    - Semuc Champey mirador and swimming in the pools
    - Volleyball in the pool at the hostel
    - Tubing down the river
    - Caves in the dark holding a candle (although felt a bit ropey and tricky climbing the ladders in the cave so also a slight lowlight!)

    Lowlights:
    - Very long, windy, bumpy journeys!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Flores

    December 1, 2022 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Highlights:
    - Tikal half day trip - best ruins so far, and some wildlife too
    - Drinks at Los Amigos, including beer pong and giant jenga
    - Staying at Zapote Tree Inn across the lake from Flores
    - Watching sunset and sunrise
    - Seeing the beginnings of Mayan excavations
    - Birdwatching in the jungle, and following the sounds of howler monkeys (no sightings though!)

    Food and drinks:
    - Waffles, fried chicken and milkshakes from Maple y Tocina
    - Late night quesadillas
    - Banana bread from Cool Beans cafe
    - Tamale and fish from the lake at Zapote    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    San Ignacio

    November 27, 2022 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Highlights:
    - ATM caves tour - expensive but one of the best tours we've done. We swam in the cave and went through gaps, clambered over rocks and saw stalactites, stalagmites, formations, bats, Mayan artefacts including pottery, bones and skeletons and learnt all about the different rituals
    - Cahul ruins
    - Green Iguana Sanctuary visit where we saw different aged iguanas and also saw a toucan in the trees

    Lowlights:
    - Our shuttle being 2 hours late to pick us up
    - Serena falling down the last step of a Mayan ruin and hurting her elbow!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Caye Caulker

    November 25, 2022 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Highlights:
    - Lovely guest house accommodation
    - Swimming in the Split and jumping off the diving board
    - Hanging out with a group of friends all week
    - Kayaks at sunset
    - Boat party
    - Snorkelling tour where we saw turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays, eagle rays and a variety of fish
    - Cocktails at Sip n Dip in the sea
    - Riding bikes around the island
    - Chilling at Iguana Reef Beach for the day
    - Drinks at the sports bar

    Lowlights:
    - Some rainy weather which kept us inside

    Food and drinks:
    - Lobster!
    - Stewed beef and stewed chicken with rice and beans
    - Barbecued chicken and fish (red snapper and barracuda)
    - Rum punch!
    - Fry jacks - fried dough filled with breakfast items - perfect for a hangover!
    - Homemade key lime pie
    - Coconut and Carribbean curries    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Chetumal

    November 19, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Only stayed in Chetumal to be able to get the ferry to Belize easily the next day - there is not much there! We met some nice people (Lucy, Hannah, Gabrielle and Will) who were also going to Belize, and had some really good fish tacos! Sad that our time in Mexico has come to an end, but excited about heading to a new country.Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Bacalar

    November 18, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Highlights:
    - Really nice place we stayed at, owner very friendly!
    - A day swimming in the lake from a private area that only cost £5 for both of us for the whole day - lovely water, sitting area, and swings
    - Boat trip was really fun, had some beers and tequilas and made swimming stops at various points of the lagoon such as bird island, los rapidos, pirate channel, and saw cenotes from the boat
    - Had fruit snacks in the water and had a go at paddle boarding

    Food and drink:
    - Ate lots of tacos as we were nearing the end of the Mexico part of our trip!
    - More marquesitas
    - An amazing vegan chocolate milkshake at Mango y Chile
    - Pozale (type of soup)
    - Coconut empanadas
    - A burrito and burrito bowl at Mi Burrito food truck    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Tulum

    November 15, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Highlights:
    - Rented bikes from the hostel and cycled to the beach (Playa Paraiso) and chilled and swam in the sea
    - Went to Tulum ruins for the last hour and a half it was open. Beautiful views of the sea with the ruins, and saw lizards, iguanas and a couple of coatis!
    - Going to Coba and cycling through the ruins there - cool to go through the jungle and we saw a small snake and some monkeys!
    - Cycling to another cenote at Coba - this was a dark cave with a 5m and 10m diving board. Josh did the 10m, Serena only managed the 5m one but still scary!

    Lowlights:
    - Having to get a taxi back from Coba as the bus didn't turn up - but we clubbed together with others waiting so it wasn't too bad!

    Food and drinks:
    - Burgers from Bella Ciao (our first not very traditional meal in Mexico!) - tasted amazing and the mojito and homemade lemonade were great too
    - Burritos at Burrito Amor - Serena had pork and pineapple in a coconut tortilla and Josh had chicken. We went back for breakfast burritos the next day because they were so good!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Valladolid

    November 12, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Highlights:
    - Chichen Itza, despite it being touristy!
    - Salsa lessons and tequila at the hostel
    - Light show on the convent building
    - Chocolate museum - they had a cabinet for hot chocolate jugs like my beloved Hotel Chocolat velvetiser!
    - Hiring bikes to go to the cenotes - first was Oxman with a rope swing which we had to ourselves for a while, second was Saamal with a platform to jump off

    Lowlights:
    - Early mornings to beat the crowds at Chichen Itza and the cenotes!

    Food and drink:
    - Marquesitas - like a rolled waffle ice cream cone filled with things like Nutella, caramel, fruit and cheese (cheese and chocolate is the classic option and was surprisingly tasty!)
    - Lunch at Yakunaj Cocina Mexicana which was the fanciest meal so far! I had fish and Josh had a burrito
    - Lunch at Luna Pach where we had egg quesadillas and horchata - yum!    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Merida

    November 10, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Highlights:
    - First highlight was finding out we could get a free bus from the airport instead of an expensive taxi - result!
    - Drinks with people from the hostel at La Fundacion Mezcal
    - Nice hostel - pool and hammocks were really nice to chill at, and a free breakfast
    - Free cooking class at the hostel making empanadas
    - Free live music show at the cultural centre

    Lowlights:
    - Having to quit the walking tour a few minutes in as it was way too hot!

    Food and drink:
    - Homemade lemonade and a cacao and coconut frappe - first cafe stop of the trip!
    - Chaya (mexican spinach) juices, either by itself or with like or pineapple - new favourite soft drink!
    - Traditional Yucatan food at La Chaya Maya - Mucbil Pollo for Serena (a type of tamale) and tacos with various Yucatan food for Josh
    - Lunch at Museo de Gastronomie Yucatan - sopa de Lima, Yucatan taco tastings and cochinita pibil
    - Tried lots of ice cream flavours - kiwi, mandarin, strawberry with lime, dark chocolate, guanabana and mamey    Read more

  • Serena and Josh's Travels

    Oaxaca

    November 7, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Highlights:
    - See food and drink section!
    - Josh joined the wrong food tour when Serena was ill - supposed to be a cooking class and was instead a street food tour which suited him more!
    - Josh met people from his food tour for drinks on a rooftop terrace
    - Joined in on some dancing in the square and some ladies helped us with the moves!

    Lowlights:
    - Serena being ill, likely altitude sickness, and missing the cooking class

    Food and drink:
    - Tlayudas (a bit like a pizza cooked over charcoal filled with beans, meat and stringy cheese)
    - Josh's accidental street food tour:
    - grasshoppers
    - stewed pork
    - hot chocolate
    - mezcal
    - intestine
    - tamales
    - ant and squash blossom quesadillas
    - memelas
    - The tour also included the following food and drink which Serena ate the next day with Josh as the tour guide!
    - pozontle (a ceremonial corn and cacao cold drink)
    - green juice
    - tuna (the cactus flower not the fish!) and passion fruit sorbet
    - 4 types of mole with tortilla
    - Dinner at La Terraza del Copal (Serena pork coloradito mole, Josh chicken black mole)
    - Drinks at a rooftop bar (mezcalita and mezcal mojito - even in a cocktail we're still not keen on mezcal!)    Read more

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