Three days after the Panama Canal we reached Guatemala. I was feeling tired after a cold and a sleepless night. I accidentally stepped on someone’s toe at the meeting point for the excursion I was doing and got my head chewed off by my victim despite my abject apology! This is the trouble with long sea voyages – people’s tempers can get easily frayed.

I had signed up for a trip to a coffee plantation. I like seeing how commodities are grown – and having visited rubber, sugar and tea plantations I thought it made sense to give coffee a whirl – I always have an eye on possible use in a future book!

The road trip to the plantation was pleasant – glorious sunlight and interesting scenery – with a stunning volcano en route. Our guide was enthusiastic and well informed. Unlike the guides in some of the other groups – one of whom apparently dived down and hid on the floor when the bus went through a police checkpoint!

The plantation was up in the hills so benefited from some cooling breezes – it was very hot down at sea level. I enjoyed seeing the red berries on the coffee bushes, watching the pickers at work – not an easy job at all. The rich volcanic soil makes Guatemala well suited to growing coffee – particularly as the volcanoes often erupt.I got to squeeze a few berries and taste the ‘juice’ – sap I suppose – around the kernel. It was super sweet and is apparently used in making the Kahlua coffee liqueur. The place did feel a bit phoney – more geared to receiving tourists than to the serious business of intensive production. I ended up buying a bag of coffee beans and a woven peggy purse – useful for carrying my phone and key card. But it was a pleasant change from being stuck on the ship!