We Got A Job!!

Most of you know that one of the focal points of this trip was to volunteer, and we found an amazing sounding charity called Quetzaltrekkers where you work as a tour guide to support street kids in the local area. We were planning on doing this in Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) in Guatemala, but were hugely unimpressed with the way they were run and they conjured up a load of bizarre reasons why it wouldn't work with the dog.

Fast forward 2 months and we've arrived in León, Nicaragua where their sister (albeit an estranged one) organisation runs. This was a polar opposite experience - they actually have a couple of directors running the place (as opposed to just the loudest volunteer voice) and are so much more organised. They even have a resident dog, Luna, which shot a big hole in the previous arguments that the guests might not like the dog.

León is a gorgeous city with lovely colonial buildings and a political hotbed (the recent revolution started here), although probably the hottest and most humid place we've ever visited. Against a complete contrast to Xela, which got down to single figures and was just a bit of a grimey town which didn't have a lot going on. To top it off food is dirt cheap ($1.25 for a set menu) and beer is under a buck in the many bars too :)

We definitely feel like we dodged a bullet in Guatemala and have a really good feeling about things here, so we applied to be tour guides and we got the job!!

It's a bit scary to be going back into the working world, although our office will be the tops of volcanoes and our days off will probably be spent at the beach 20 minutes away.

On top of the heat the wet season has just started here and there are some torrential deluges, although normally only for a hour or two at the most. Due to this and not being able to find somewhere decent to camp (we haven't seen a proper campsite since we entered Nicaragua) we've even found a room to rent. Even that is lovely, with individual rooms spaced out under a big atrium roof with an open kitchen, barbecue and lots of outdoor space for Maya.

We start work on the 21st May so have a little bit of time for exploring the surrounding areas beforehand.Read more