So, riding from the volcanic mountains of Antigua I exchanged the agreeably crisp days and chilly nights for the heat of the coast and, inevitably, mosquitoes. How I detest the bitey little buggers!
After more days off the bike I felt a bit rusty but, riding downhill, in one section of my 70 mile journey I recorded the fastest 40km/25 miles of the trip, taking just 1h14m. Don't be too impressed, gravity did the work, not me.
My home for the next week was La Candelaria, a small community 8km west of the tourist town of Monterrico. I had a homestay lined up, living with Hilda, a fisherman, his wife, Mierna, and three kids, Jose, Alejandra and Danilo.
What a change in pace it was to stay here. Time moves slowly; one of my great pleasures of the stay was to lie in the hammock, reading. Occasionally I felt a little guilt for my idle hammock stints as Mierna was constantly cooking, cleaning, collecting firewood for the stove and managing the kids. I did try to lend a hand at times with tasks such as the washing up and shifting firewood. I also unselfishly made sure my plate was always left clean ready to be washed and a couple of times walked all of 100m to buy beer to go with lunch. A heroic contribution.
Lots of fish consumed this week and, for once in this trip, I believe I've put on weight. 
Another great pleasure was evening visits to the beach for an hour of reading, journal writing or podcast listening before watching the sunset over the Pacific. The grey beaches were often deserted, my only company seabirds - squadrons of pelicans overhead, sandpipers skipping along the shoreline, always just out of reach of the waves and the occasional malevolent, marauding frigate bird far out at sea.
While I always endeavour to write an upbeat blog which frames my experiences as positively as possible I have to be honest about the teaching, it was really hard work! (though this class pictured was the exception, a dream to work with)
I suspected/feared my first day might pan out as it did, in typically unstructured Guatemalan fashion. I walked down to the school with Jorge, the project coordinator, to meet the teachers and work out a schedule. Hardly had we done this then I was introduced to a class and the teacher immediately said to me ''Te dejo a enseñar la clase de inglés.'' I'll leave you to teach an English lesson. No planning time, no period of acclimatisation, straight in at the deep end! 
I have had stints of teaching primary level English in other volunteering placements in Africa and while living in Japan but, even so, being thrust into the classroom so suddenly was challenging. At least for the first lesson the class teacher stayed in the room, in lessons two and three the class teachers were out the door before I could say ''My name is Daniel.'' And the battle began. Trying to deliver a lesson on the hoof, switching between delivering instructions in English and Spanish and being the behaviour manager of, at first, surprisingly restless classes was, let's say, demanding. 
At least the lessons were short, 30-40 minutes each (the variation in timings caused further confusion to me). And, for all the restlessness of the classes, there wasn't an ounce of malice in the students, just a lack of attention and, amongst a few, a lack of interest. 6 months out of the classroom, maybe I've just lost my touch. Maybe I never had it...
On Tuesday, after the classes, I asked the principal for the next days plan. She told me the teachers had a meeting, there were no classes and I was free. I'd barely turned away before a broad smile broke out across my face and I walked out muttering ''The reprieve, the reprieve.'' just about under my breath.
Jorge is aware of some of the issues and soon the school will move to new premises. Here the volunteering project will have its own dedicated English teaching room decorated with posters and pictures promoting the language. The change in environment should make a big difference to the atmosphere in which students learn English and hopefully improve their application and progress.
Also, I should add that, by the end if the week the students had gotten used to me and were more compliant and engaged. My reprimands in Spanish had improved too, the ''I'm an unpaid volunteer here to try and help you.'' line was one of the more effective ones.
For all its challenges, I'm glad I took the time to volunteer to teach. It's entirely within the spirit of the charity aspect of my trip, fundraising for OXFAM to help fund grassroots development projects. I ride away with a feeling of relief at finishing the job and satisfaction, hard-earned, at having got through the A curious dichotomy but ultimately rewarding. Also, deep down, I know that the biggest problem with my volunteering stint is that I've done it as a short term 'add-on' to my journey whereas to make a real difference I would have needed to stay longer making a bigger commitment to the project. 
On fundraising, last week I received an email from JustGiving informing me that my OXFAM page was in the top 5% top earners in 2016. Result! And it's down to you as I know many of the blog readers are also donators. However, I've still got a way to go to reach my target so why not make contribution to fight poverty? The address is at the top of the blog or simply click on the JustGiving button. 
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