Mention that you’re going to Honduras and you’ll receive a tirade of warnings: it’s not safe, never go out alone, don’t trust anyone. We took extra precautions here but the main evidence of any security issue was the abundance of armed guards protecting everything from ATMs to the local Chinese restaurant. They were more active opening doors for people than firing their rifles, thankfully.

Many travellers come to Honduras for its Caribbean Coast, but we did not explore this area. For us, the ruins of Copan were the highlight. Having not seen any significant pre-Colombian ruins since Peru, we were very excited by our first experience of the ancient Mayan civilisation – see photo gallery.

On arrival into El Salvador, we were immediately struck by the difference between the two countries. The border officials were the friendliest we’ve met on the trip and the high level of security was not apparent. This immediately put us at ease.

Fi was shocked to discover that whilst she was happily completing 12 years of primary and secondary education, El Salvador was engaged in a brutal civil war. We learnt more about the history of this conflict and efforts to rebuild as we travelled through the north of the country, visiting towns deeply affected by the fighting – see more details in our photo gallery.

The face of one former guerrilla rebel, Sanchez Ceren, was plastered all over the place during our visit as he was standing for the presidential election. Whilst it seemed clear he had the majority vote, we were advised to leave the country before the final run-off election – there was a possibility things could get out of hand if, somehow, he lost. We followed the advice, crossed into Guatemala and stayed tuned for the outcome. Ceren won by a narrow margin – his 10 point lead in the first round election was reduced and he obtained only 50.11% of the votes. His competitor has appealed for a vote-by-vote recount, but it expected that Ceren will be sworn in as president on June 1. It will be the first time a former guerrilla rebel has become president in El Salvador.

The rest of our story is told in the photos and captions below. These and another 24 photo are on our online gallery here.

Church in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras.

Monday’s headlines had pedestrians captivated: wanted dead or alive, the 10 most dangerous Hondurians.

Ruins of the Mayan city of Copán, Honduras. It was home to one of the most important Mayan civilisations, reaching its peak from AD 250-900.

The Hieroglyphic Stairway is Copán’s most famous monument. Each step records the dynastic history of Copán in several thousand glyphs. Amazing!

Copán is also famous for its stone stelae, mostly commissioned by the ruler 18 Rabbit (AD 695-738). They recorded important events and dedications.

This is considered the best example of Copán’s intricate style of sculpture. The figure is Copán’s 13th ruler, 18 Rabbit.

The site’s excellent museum houses a full-scale replica of Rosalila Temple. The original temple was found completely intact under another of Copán’s structures in 1991. When a new ruler was named, workers held “burials” for existing structures, then built a new temple above the previous ruler’s, creating a mountain of nested temples. It is one of the best preserved of all Mayan structures but today you can only get a glimpse of the real thing via an underground tunnel.

A view of Lago Suchitlán from Suchitoto, El Salvador

Suchitoto is considered the cultural capital of El Salvador. We stayed at a convent that has been converted into a centre for the arts by the incredible Sister Peggy. She opened and runs the centre to heal the horrible scars left on the community by poverty, violence, war, and familial collapse. Local youth are invited to participate in free classes and workshops taught by volunteers on a huge range of topics, artistic mediums and technologies.

The best pupusa chef in Suchitoto. Pupusas are deliciously thick corn tortillas.

Views from the road in El Salvador – Volcán de San Vicente.

Images of Archbishop Romero are everywhere. On 24 March 1980 he was assassinated whilst celebrating mass. He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture in El Salvador. One day prior he had delivered a sermon asking Salvadorian soldiers to stop carrying out the government’s repression and human rights violations. His murder ignited an armed insurrection that turned into a 12 year long civil war.

Raphel was our guide in El Mozote. He had worked for the army and then the guerrillas during the war.

On December 11, 1981, the army executed over 750 local residents in El Mozote. Today this memorial pays homage to the massacre. Only in 2011 did the government visit and apologise for the tragedy.

The Garden of the Innocents depicts the town as it was before the massacre. 131 of the bodies found were children.

Evidence of the upcoming elections was everywhere – it looked as though a former guerilla was going to win office.

Choco bananas, twenty-five cents each.

Taking a break in the plaza at Santa Ana, we started chatting to these Year 8 girls. They requested a photo so we took our sunglasses off and were deafened by the screams. Why? Blue eyes of course!

Our motorbikes are severely under-utilised.