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Wed 3rd April - Guatemala (Flores,
Tikal)
So how do we get to Guatemala from Belize? Easy. Catch the boat over to
Belize City and then hop on a bus going to Guatemala, cross the border
and go through immigration and customs and then you’re on your way to
Flores in the north of Guatemala.
Why Flores? It’s the closest
place to Tikal, Guatemala’s most significant of the ancient Mayan ruins.
Parque Nacional Tikal is huge, 550sq km, with only 15% of the ancient
city reclaimed from the lush surrounding rain forest. What makes Tikal
special compared to Chichen Itza in Mexico is that to get from one
structure to another you have to walk through the jungle canopy, amongst
spider and howler monkeys, numerous brightly coloured birds, including
toucans, and strange racoon/armadillo type animals which we can’t
remember the name of! We had a good guide with us, Caesar, who took us
through the site avoiding the rest of the tourists, of which there were
far fewer than in Mexico. Most of the temples you can still climb here,
to be greeted with stunning views over the top of the forest,
occasionally interrupted by another temple emerging through the
undergrowth. We even managed to witness and ancient Mayan ritual in the
main plaza, where they were seeking the Mayan god’s blessings on a new
area of farm land to ensure the vitality and success of the crops.
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(Travellers
notes: boat to Belize City from Caye Caulker B$20 each, bus to Flores
was B$30 ea, plus border crossing costs of about B$85, and took about 6
hours. Accommodation in Flores is pretty basic, but clean and cheap. We
stayed in Hospedaje Dona Goya for Q100 per night (about £8) with private
bathroom. Caution – when you get close to Santa Elena, before Flores,
the bus may stop at the airport and you may then be told that you have
to get on a separate minibus to take you to Flores. While this is true,
it is a ploy by a tour agency to get you to book trips, hotel accomm and
onward travel with them. While their service and transfer is free, it is
high pressure sales and you are likely to pay over the odds for onward
travel, as we found to our expense!!!)
Flores gets a bad rap from the
guidebooks, but we found it to be a really charming fishing village on
an island next to Santa Elena. We stayed in Flores for just a couple of
nights, relaxing and swimming in Lago de Peten Itza, watching the
stunning sunsets drinking Cuba Libres. We also met up with John and
Vanessa who we met on the way over from Belize. John’s a Scot who’s been
in Australia for 16 years and who, believe it or not, knows Martin Ewart
our ex-boss from the Bank! Small world.
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Tuk tuk, Flores main street
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Oh dear...
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going.....
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....going.....
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...gone......
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Next stop after a gruelling 10
hour overnight bus ride from Flores to Guatemala City and then a 2 hour
transfer, we arrived in Antigua, in the week of Semana Santa. This is
THE week to be in Antigua as they take Semana Santa (Easter) very
seriously here..............see next entry......
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