It was refreshing to cross into Nicaragua. Buses are less than a dollar plus more unusual gringo tax pops up unexpectedly but given you need to cross borders you don't argue...nearly made that mistake crossing into Zimbabwe!

First stop has been Isla de Ometepe and duet of volcanoes within Lago Nicaragua. The larger volcano Concepcion is meant to be a perfect example of a cone volcano...would agree with half that statement as the top was always cloudy! Wanted to climb it but given the amount of cloud and rain decided against.

What i did do was jump on a motorbike for the day to explore the island and swallow the islands insect population! Was inspired by a British retired couple i met on the ferry who had travelled from Ushuaia, Chile on their GS650's...means you are never too late to explore the world...the wife only past her test 4 months before leaving! Riding on my Yumbo 200 was great fun and nice to have the wind through my hair! More than enough power given the road quality. Was great to ride through villages waving and smiling at the locals who responded positively...i was perfecting my royal wave! Highlights are seeing the volcanoes from numerous grey angles and the beautiful beaches on the lake...can see what a hot spot this is outside the rainy season! Given an off-roader i decided to take the bike on the beach for a little play in the sand and water. To end the ride I had a reminder of the downside to motorcycling...it rained cats and dogs and my jeans lapped it up...so to avoid more rain I flew through the countryside which meant rain slapping me in the face of my open visor...note to self get a closed visor for riding in London!

Arriving in Granada is like the Latin America I have seen before and loved. Bustling streets, market dwellers and old colonial architecture with no neon in sight!

First stop Cafe De Las Sonrisas where the staff are deaf and they also make beautiful hammocks...if only i could fit one into my bag! Next stop Doña Elba Cigars to roll my own fat cigar...although no elegant thighs to roll against just my own "oaks". Perfect smoking spot will be the beach next week in Utila. Then jumped into a taxi to Volcan Masaya for the afternoon/evening. The beauty of travelling...within a few hours you can see so many different and beautiful things!

Volcan Masaya was an amazing spectacle with all the sulphurous smoke billowing out. Believe to be the most active in Nicaragua...so was ready to run at any moment! The view across the valleys and lakes with the sun setting was remarkable. So nice to see a volcano without cloud! As a bonus we went to some solidified lava tunnels full of bats as it was getting dark...hmmm my favourite!

Like all hard working travellers you need rest days so i took a day out from my hectic schedule to sun bath (yup i am still working on it!) at Laguna De Apoyo. A volcanic lake with the clearest water in the country. So read, swam to bathing platform, read, swam about and read. Worth recharging the batteries as that night was carnival night with processions and marching bands all night!! Mini Notting Hill but without the Red Stripe. Love stumbling into local cultural events along the gringo trail!

Next stop Leon which was the scene of the recent revolution as well as the name for the original capital (about 30km away but covered in Volcanic Ash). Like Granada it is a nice colonial town but with not as good restoration and preservation as Granada and therefore less touristy.

Also my excitement for coming to Leon is my desire to see hot molten lava. Obviously not too close and this is what Volcan Telica offered...although not quite and good enough hence no photos. The climb up was in torrential rainfall and thunder showers that we had to turn back halfway. After a little respite we made it to the top. This ginormous crater had serious sulphur gas spewing out to the extent my throat and eyes were hurting...luckily decided not to stay too long. As the sun was setting the occasional glimpse of lava glowing could be seen...but my days of lava hunting are not over yet as Guatemala has decent active volcanoes to climb!

Leon is where you can do the world famous ash boarding...essentially sliding on a sledge down a 45' angle on Cerro Negro volcano using your feet as brakes (A French dude managed a world record 172km/h on a bike...ok on you tube it's a German Red Bull guy...you get the gist). The top is scorchio and the craters sulphurous with heat permeating through the top crust. Peering over the edge to the moon like landscape was nerve racking enough but turns to excitement as you fly down the volcano...as you can see i have half the ash on my face!! Still sneezing and finding black stuff!!

To break up the journey to Honduras I took 3 bus journeys northwards through the mountains to Somoto and its canyon. Why do people selling food on buses have to be sooo fat? They can barely squeeze past and yet have to do the whole bus in seconds?!? Although they do bake some delicious treats at cheap cheap prices!! Bonus of these chicken buses are the classic 80's/90's music...my fave "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited.

The canyon is nice although water was a little low. Had a nice lazy river with a few jumps...chicken Palmer managed 6m drop whereas my guide 15m. Whilst crapping myself looking at muddy water below I kept asking myself "how do you know how deep it is???" Not only heights also had to contend with spiders on the rocks where my hands went for support!! What was meant to be relaxing was a little nerve racking!!

Upon leaving Panama and into Costa Rica you have to walk across an old railway bridge where you can see the river flowing beneath you...one of my more interesting border crossings!

Costa Rica itself is much like Panama except probably more yanks and more expensive...getting to London prices in some cases! I had to improve my South African accent as didn't want the locals to know I was English and thus take The piss about the footy!

The plan was to stick to the Caribbean coast where the water is warmer and better snorkelling plus although rainy season the sun god was beaming down on me...Pacific is good for surfing which is not in my sporting repertoire as i found out in Peru.

The coastline didn't disappoint and first stop was Manzanillo. A remote village with 2 restaurants, 3 supermarkets and endless palm tree lined beaches. The surrounding area is owned by Mr Del Monte and Mr Chiquita so not only are people in linen suits and Panama hats but also the fruit juices or jugos around here are awesome.

One of the beautiful things about travel are the unexpected things you see...i came here for beaches yet saw numerous howler monkeys eating fruit whilst walking through the jungle. One cheeky chappy threw his fruit stone at me landing 1m away hence i wondered what damage a falling pip could do...did you know 150 die per year from coconut falling...later that afternoon a coconut fell 5m away! After the monkeys came red frogs, baby crabs with one large claw and obviously ginormous spiders! This was all in one afternoon on an intrepid jungle trek in my (now dead) Havaianes.

The people around here are mainly of Caribbean descent so they speak english with a great accent known as "Caribbean English" (see what they did there!) and serve some delicious food...mostly freshly caught seafood. At Andy's restaurant whilst eating my whole red snapper i thought i was in the Matrix as i saw a white rabbit cross the road...after double taking was told i am not Keanu Reeves and that belongs to the neighbour! Not what you expect to see by the beach!

Travel in CR is easy and painless as distances are little compared to South America. One surprise were the manners of the local people who offered seats to the old and pregnant...perhaps a few Londoners could take tips from the locals here!!

Our bus and then boat landed us in Tortuquero National Park for the green sea turtles. An opportunity at night to see these large animals crawl up the beach, dig a hole and then in a trance like state lay 100+ eggs. After 1-2 hours head back to the sea and in 60 odd days baby turtles come out. The kind weather and nearly full moon meant a truly memorable moment seeing all this happen. (Sorry no photos as banned) I saw some nunchucks by the beach so assume Michelangelo was the father!!

After this we headed away from the beach west inland to see the volcanoes and cloud forests. Due to the cloud and rain it meant the vistas were not buena but still nice to see. The cloud forest of Monteverde although touristy does have a neat trick up its sleeve...the longest zip wire in Latin America at 1,590m. So with my superman harness on (that felt like i was falling out of) i flew over the cloud forest at great speed. Given that i didn't have enough adrenaline in my system i finished with a Tarzan swing where i had to throw myself off a ledge...lets just say words beginning with F and S were used a lot...a right potty mouth!!

The night walk was a great end to the cloud forest to see venomous spiders and snakes, numerous bugs of various descriptions and a raccoon type animal high in the trees. The trees and cloud makes it look enchanted and you can see where the inspiration comes from the likes Avatar etc.

Heading West towards the Nicaraguan border decided to hire a 4x4 for 2 days...the words "Road Trip" always gets me pumped sometimes also dreaming how this trip could have an enormous road trip!!.This enabled us to have one day exploring the volcano of Rincon De La Vieja NP where we saw mud pools bubbling from the ground with a strong smell of sulphur...meant i could fart like crazy without blushing!! To end the day we chilled by the hot springs and covered ourselves in mud to take at least 5 years off my age! Which in traveller talk means i am now 23...going around saying i am 34 isn't a great chat up line so i always downsize to 28...makes we look less like a sad old git that i really am!! Next day we dipped our toes in the Pacific which was warmer than expected. Issue being the area Playa Coco and surrounding beaches are very touristy with Hilton etc having resorts there plus the usual drag of rubbish restaurants and tie-dye souvenir trinkets.

My friend has left back to the shores of London so travelling solo now for the last 6 weeks...can you believe it is nearly over!!

Having stepped off the boat from the San Blas islands and the indigenous Kuna people I was finally on mainland Central America with a heavy emphasis on America. With the Golden Arches and TGI Fridays on every corner arriving into Panama City felt like I was stepping into the USA. This was not helped by the Police, who's motto is "Proteger y Servir", motor vehicles being Ford and Camaro's. Given it used to be a sovereign state to the USA like Gibralter is to UK it is not surprising that people, language and lifestyle is heavily American influenced. Malls are 1km long. Even the beds had a "don't fall out" warning...never saw anything like that in South America!

Panama City also brings another guest on PalmerTours...a friend from my past life working at GE. Panama City is a nice city. Staying in the old town meant the buildings and plaza's had loads of character and a good night life scene. The nearby fish market offering great cerviche. The new town is mainly high rise buildings with little character so only viewed this part from afar.

Obviously the main pull for the city is the nearby canal which is celebrating its centenary this year...missed it by 2 weeks! Took the Panama Canal train up to Colon to look at the Gatun Locks. The train journey was neat with its observation carriage through the jungle and canal...only an hour so shows that Panama is not that tall! Being 3m away from these tankers as they pass through the locks was pretty cool. They are creating bigger locks to triple capacity...the gates were huge!! As a reference a large tanker went through and it cost c.$350k and they on average currently have 40 boats daily!

First stop was Boquete sitting in the valley of Volcano Baru...a cloud forest town experiencing a boom thanks to its popularity on the gringo retirement trail...it's easy for yanks to get citizenship in Panama. They own the coffee farms as retirement investments. It's again like walking into a mini US town as everyone speaks with an American twang...plus have restaurants like Big Daddy! We did a short trail to spot the famous Quetzal bird...famous in Mayan culture. Then finished with an interesting coffee plantation tour where we roasted our own coffee...got to take home a bag on my own roasted coffee!!

Final stop being Bocas Del Toro. Didn't know what to expect and although some lovely beaches and scenery it felt like the Costa Del Sol but for yanks...like a beach town where the likes of Barry and Liz serve English food with the big draw being they serve it with HP sauce!! The island has its own English paper and girls hand out "coupons" (yank accent for full effect) for cheap drinks! Something that I have not seen for ages on the trail...a place full of American tourists.

Now although this feels like a yank bashing session I would like to clarify that I love the big ol US of A and the American people. Would happily live there if it wasn't for their stupid 2 week a year holiday culture!! My issue is that I come to Central America and all I hear are American accents from all angles. I am sure the Costa Del Sol is exactly the same with the Brits and that is why I don't go there!

Aside from this Bocas has some great qualities...we did a nice boat trip to the islands and cays. Started with seeing "Flipper" and his buddies mating with the local bottle nosed female dolphins...must of seen 30 all together. Next stop Cayos Zapatillas sand island with decent reef around it although the visibility wasn't amazing. Post lunch was Cayos Coral which had some of the most colourful coral I have seen in the world. Have to admit although Bocas is good the San Blas is much better in terms of scenery, people, snorkelling and experience.