The Macdonald files

Hi..thanks to all who have written comments..and sorry we couldnt write much whilst on the road..the net is too slow in many parts it was just too much agro to be bothering!We met my parents a day earlier than scheduled quite by chance..which was great..great to see them….they werent impressed with central American bus travel!!but they arrived with no problems! we stayed with them for a few days in Flores Guatamala..and visited Tikal mayan ruins which are in the jungle..saw monkeys in the trees..and climbed huge temples.Dad had us in fits of laughter at the pool he didnt like his grey chest hair..so mum in her wisdom said she`d use hair removing cream ….which she did…well what was revealed was weird bra shaped tan lines.. so funny! later on he complained of 5 o`clock shadow on his chest!! brits abroad eh!All he needs now is a medallion!We then travelled to San Ignacio in Belize..and took a trip to caves and waterfalls..this was a fantastic day..it was like a natural water slide..with conecting pools and a strong current that swept you down..such fun..seeing Grandma and Grandad sliding away then catching the kids as they went too.We met two guys from spain who were a lot of fun ..and help with the kids.We then took off for the coast and went to placencia a lovely peninsula of beach..and chilled out!!gorgeous…the kids found lots of starfish and coral..snorkelling was nice.Mum wasnt well with her tum…which made travelling to the mexican border hard..the next day the last stretch of 5hours till we got to playa del carmen Mexico..to our hotel and a doctor to sort mum out(all better in a couple of days).Well the hotel was fantastic…all inclusive and the food was amazing…marble floors massive beds..fridges filled with everydrink imaginable.. shower and seperate jacuzi bath..full airconditioning room service..towels folded into exotic shapes of animals!!And the kids had thier own ajoining room..which was lovely as weve all been in one room and sometimes all in one bed.I have never in my life been anywhere so posh…and I`ve a sneaky feeling I could get to like it!!swimming pools right on the shore of a fabulous caribbean beach…idylic!we spent a week eating.. drinking pina coladas..swimming in clear blue sea..and pools and generally relaxing.The kids loved having Grandad to play in the sea with them..Seth and Darcy loved jumping from the sandbanks into the high waves and getting pushed to the shore with them..fantastic fun the lifeguard kept blowing the whistle at them!!It was the same when we were kids it was my Dad doing the mad stunts in the swimming pool and getting the whistle blown!Saying bye to them was horrible and we felt on a real homesick downer all the way back to guatamala city..27 hours on buses spread over 3 days!!flora and Seth had picked up an ear infection(probably all that swimming)so it wasnt the most pleasant of journeys..we saw a doctor and they got sorted with antibiotics and are much better now thankfully..Seth throwing up all over the bus wasnt one of his finer moments..i am learning long bus journeys require towels not tissues….but wasnt quite as bad as when Darcy was sick in a restaurant in belize( a reaction to malaria tablets..not the food!) the plumbing in these places is bad and however hard I tried to poke the sick down the sink it wouldnt go!!!!I eventually had to tell the manager of my plight and asked him for a plunger!!!That wouldnt work..he had to unscrew the U bend in the sink and use the plunger and a bucket underneath to release my darling daughters stomach contents!!! it went all over the wall ..the guy was sweating and green..the walls were red..she had just drunk strawberryade!!it looked like the set of a cheap horror movie!!It was one of those please let me die now God moments!!Travelling with kids..its never dull.Well we made it to guatamala city and got our flight..it was a turbulant one with full scale thunder storm..was not impressed and very glad to get feet in LAX airport.We waited for a taxi and they wouldnt take 5 of us( we are definately back in pc western world..central America packs them in..it was quite a shock we couldnt get a taxi!)waited abouit half an hour and was talking to a guy who had been shooting a film in the very hotel we had stayed in the previous week..he was so lovely and offered to share two taxis..then he paid as his production company covers all his costs!!we are blessed..his programme is beauty and the geek!! I`ll have to check it out.Stayed at Niks house and had a sleep then off to santa monica mountains in the morning! we are in LA for 3 weeks and will be speaking about Honduras and hopefully generate some funds for the orphanage..and also singing and worshipping at a church here..and travelling to see some more of California.We will post photos pronto we have loads to weed through..trust all are well we heard UK has been having floods..sounds awfull..hope camp isnt a washout we miss camp( how can we say that whilst sunning ourselves in California…but its true!!)Trust camp has been a huge success and all is well with our friends and family.Love to you all miss you..Rachel Hamish Seth Darcy and FloraXXX