I read an illustration recently about holding a glass. You can hold a glass for a minute and it's fine. You can hold a glass for an hour and your arm starts to ache. Holding the glass for even longer and you're probably going to get cramp. The glass represents the stresses and struggles of daily life. The moral of the story is - you have to remember to take a break by putting the glass down.

Do you ever have the time to lie in bed for a few minutes before getting up to think about the day ahead? The average day can drag and yet, be over in a flash. Do you fall into bed at night and wonder where the hours went and how it all just seemed a blur?

Working from home means my day can start a lot slower. I say I'm a morning person, but then I don't function until I've had two cups of coffee and watched some comedy and / or sitcoms. Then I have a leisurely breakfast. That's how I wake up happy. If I was commuting to an office, it would be completely different (from previous experience). I'd rush my coffee, skip breakfast and there would be no happy TV kick starting my day. I literally used to roll out of bed "work focused", which was good, but then I never gave myself any quiet time. And believe me, it catches up with you as the years tick by!

I stumbled across this article "10 Things You Should Do Every Day Before 10AM" and was pleased to see some of the things I do (while I can) included in there.

Sit and experience the quiet - I love my thinking and planning time.

Being grateful and smiling enables you to build your resilience to challenges and put any drama into perspective.

Hydrating and stretching. That first morning stretch is divine.

Cleaning up as you go along. I'm a strong believer in tidy desk / office / kitchen = tidy mind. I can't move forward if I know I need to do some tidying up first.

After a lovely Sunday carvery, we spent the afternoon relaxing in the dunes above Crantock beach.

When you're starving hungry in Central America, there's no better dish than rice and beans with chicken in a tasty sauce, coleslaw, plantain and tortillas. Simple, wholesome food. This was just the ticket in La Fortuna when we stopped at a typical "Truckers" roadside bar opposite our hotel.

I tried two local dishes in Granada. The first was Nacatamal, which is a dough prepared with ground corn and butter. This is then filled up with a big piece of pork still on the bone, rice, sliced potatoes, tomatoes, onion and pepper. The mixture is packed in plantain tree leaves (not edible) and tightened with a small thread that makes it look like a tiny pillow. It's boiled for 5 hours and cooks inside the leaves. I have to say this wasn't my favourite. The dough was a little on the thick side and tasted bland.

The second dish was pronounced like a throated "Bowel" - sounds really appetising doesn't it, but it was so tasty. However, I can't find it on the web. The nearest I get is Vigoron which originated from Granada. This dish is a plate covered with part of a plantain tree leaf with yucca, chicharrón (pork rind) and a salad made out of cabbage and tomato placed on top. The dish we had was similar, but included carrot and onion in the salad and the meat was "melt in your mouth" beef, not pork rind.

After trying local dishes in Granada, it was time for a hot dog, fries and a coke!

As well as tortillas, burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, tacos and enchiladas, there was also fast food like Maccy Ds, Wendys and Dominos.

Here are some more dishes and food items taken on my trip:

When I wasn't enjoying a glass bottled coca cola every few days, I was indulging in a banana milkshake instead - another love of mine. Seriously, one of the best things about Central America is the freshly squeezed fruit juices, smoothies and milkshakes you can buy everywhere - and such an array of mysterious, tropical fruits on offer with names I'd never ever heard of!

Talking of drinks, don't expect to get a decent cup of tea unless you bring your own teabags, but even then, getting just a cup of hot water to dunk the tea bag in and then asking for milk is a mission - as one girl on our tour found out. Cafe con lecha (coffee with milk) doesn't seem to be the done thing either, unless you're at a proper coffee house.

In 15 years of travel, this was my first trip where I didn't get sick. If I felt myself going that way, it was usually because I hadn't drunk enough water that day, so I made sure to drink a couple of bottles asap and rehydrate with some ready salted crisps. This is easy to do in hot and humid climates because perspiring so much reminds you that you need to replace the salt and fluid.

I also swear by coca cola; every few days I have a glass when travelling. There's a raging debate about whether it's actually beneficial for stomach troubles, but I always find it helps settle everything down.

I got up-to-date with all of my vaccinations about a month before the tour, which meant I didn't get ill from any of those. If anything, it was the Malerone that caused me many side effects. I got a mouthful of ulcers, skin rash, swollen ankles and feet, and terrible sunburn even when using Factor 30. I think this anti-malarial makes your skin very tender and vulnerable.

Sledding down the World's most active cinder cone volcano... and your footwear takes a bashing!

BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT

It was interesting to see how well I'd packed for this trip - or how well I hadn't.

Here are some tips to get it right based on my latest experience:

A power bar is essential if you want to remain "plugged in", so you can social media your travels, or blog as you go, or both.

Best items in my ruck sack - quick drying micro fibre travel towel and my Kindle.

Always pack - toilet roll, hand sanitizer and wet wipes.

Should have packed - definitely more than 3 t-shirts (luckily we got a free tee from the Bigfoot Hostel and Volcano Boarding guys and I managed to buy one in Costa Rica, not too expensive), a sleeping sheet to protect against any dubious sheets, a padlock (don't ask me why I didn't, considering I'm so security conscious), battery operated toothbrush (not essential but I like my teeth to be super clean), hairbrush (didn't realise how much I would miss the feel of bristles against my scalp, once I'd washed all of the volcano dust out, even though I have short hair) and deodorant spray to mask smelly boots, shoes and flip flops.

Would have liked - my roommate's Samsung Galaxy Zoom K mobile phone and camera in one. It took ace pics!
Also a GoPro with a head / helmet mount would have been awesome.

I'm naughty because I hate wearing slimy suncream - but using Nivea's factor 30 ruined my white kaftan, leaving yellow edges on the sleeves, neck line and hem - and it didn't even stop me from getting burnt! Disaster all round. I googled to see if there was any chance I could rescue my lovely kaftan and it said to try neat washing up liquid. After applying the liquid and washing at 40, I can confirm it's working, but there's still a way to go. I'm going to try more neat washing up liquid (maybe leave to soak overnight?) and try washing at 60 next. Sadly Vanish, the thing I always turn to in "stain crisis", isn't any good because the suncream is oil based.

I did 2 or 3 laundry sessions whilst travelling, average price 6 USD. I hadn't planned to, but it was necessary with the hot and humid weather. You soaked your clothes in a few minutes whilst walking to breakfast! I doubled up with my roommate on 1 occasion to save money, but the other time/s, I was putting in my whole back pack's worth - about 14 items.

I didn't have an electric toothbrush for a month, but my floss and Tepe brushes saved me.

I took a water bottle with me, but I ended up refilling a plastic water bottle I'd bought at the start of the tour.

And selfie sticks just make me laugh! A good thing to have for those group shots, but otherwise an annoying lump to carry. Mind you, my trekking pole was irritating. It dragged me up Concepcion volcano on Ometepe Island, but after that, I really didn't use it again. It was slightly too long for my big ruck sack, so I managed to get it in by not pulling the drawstring completely shut at the bottom, but it still ripped the lining in two places.