Hotel Tikal Inn Tikal National Park

Spent the day at tikal ruinas, which are one of the more spectacular ruins of the mayan people set in dense thick jungle. Though tikal isnt as detailed as say palenque or copan, the sheer height of these ruins is the star attraction. You may think that a 65m ruin isnt so high, but after climbing the steep stairs; often almost at a vertical with the cliff face; you quickly change your mind. Im not one usually scared of heights, but when I was on top of number V and there was only 50cm of unsta...

My departure for Tikal was scheduled for 4 AM, so it was with little pleasure - although a lot of anticipation - that I got up at 3.30. The previous afternoon there had been no water, and after returning from some drinks at Reilly's together with Elian at 10.30 PM - 1½ after my self-imposed curfew - I did not feel much like showering. Nor did I that morning, so I did not feel all that fresh! Luckily, the driver knocked on the door a little to 4 AM and I did not have to endure waiting in a des...

Updating via the phone, so I will be brief. Thank you all for your emails, which we have been receiving via the blog. Wed night finished in the usual manner: sitting on the dock by Tom's Hotel, watching shooting stars. We left the island on the 8.30am boat Thurs morning - we'd all been woken during the night by the mother of all tropical downpours, so were thankful that our crossing back to the mainland was dry and calm. Got soaked loading the bags back into the van, though. Lunch in San Igna...

We arrived and stayed our first night in Flores, a cute laid-back town on an island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza. Flores acts as a base for many Tikal travelers. The next day we took a shuttle to Tikal, the most famous of Mayan ruins, and checked into the Tikal Inn. A little pricey for our budget but the only way we could manage to see the sunset at the ruins. Unfortunately, it was overcast and the sunset was less than superb; but sitting on the top of the highest temple, overlooking the ...

weather- huge change from Tapachula (very hot) to Los Encuentros (cool enough that we needed blankets). total mileage- 177.9 miles A very full day. We had lunch at a very nice coffee shop-- Cafe Sunusco. We picked up our laundry (192 pesos) and headed for the border crossing. There, it was complete chaos-- as we drove in, about six men surrounded the car, all simultaneously yelling in rapid Spanish. One offered to drive with us and we let him in- he and two others stayed with us for the entir...

The Tikal ruins are an incredible sight! The first occupants of Tikal arrived around 900 BC and for the next several hundreds of years the village started to grow and prosper. In time, Tikal became a superpower of the Mayan region, along with El Mirador and Nakbe. The ruins have 5 enormous temples and thousands of other structures. Approximately, 75% of the ruins have yet to be discovered and remain unearthed. The ruins are surrounded by the Parque Nacional Tikal, which is a protected area of...

I have spent the past two days doing nothing but reading in the hammock and eatting real fruit! After I met up with Florie we spent two days relaxing and exploring the jungle. For the first time since I left home I feel that I am recharging. Unfortunetly, the insane humidity and heat seems to keep zapping my energy. This afternoon we went for a canopy tour of the Jungle...the only problem was that it was during a massive rainfall. We got to walk on wooden bridges through the jungle at tree to...

I left Xela at 2:30 PM Friday afternoon and traveled to Guatemala City. Due to construction on the twisty Carretera Interamericana (highway), the normally 5 hour bus drive took about 6.5 hours. I was assigned a seat next to a older Guatemalan women who was traveling with her mother. I eventually switched seats with the grandmother so that the two could travel together. I then found myself sitting next to Matt, an American traveling through Central America before signing his life and money awa...