Flores Island and the Mayan Ruins of Tikal
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
34
141
Trip End
Ongoing
Flores,
Guatemala
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Thursday February 22nd to Sunday February 25
After a couple days of wet and wild fun in Lanquin and Semuc Champey, we continued our journey northeast to Flores and Tikal. We took a shuttle to Coban with our new friends Marc, Andre and Aaron (sport fishing guides from Alaska) and Rob from Holland. From there, we transferred to a direct bus to Santa Elena. From Santa Elena, we shared a van with a group of fun Israelis for the 5 minute journey across the lake to Flores. Total cost: 85 quetzales per person (about $11.50 US). Total time: too long. We left at 8:30 am and arrived at the hostel in Flores around 5pm.
When we arrived at the Los Amigos Hostel in Flores, we found out that all rooms and beds were taken
Another view of Temple 1
. Aaron brilliantly inquired about hammock space, and lucky us they had a few! Rob, Andre, and Marc took the last 3 hammacks. The owner setup two cots in the open air Ping-Pong room for Frank and I. And Aaron opted for the deal of the weekend. For those daring souls willing to spend the night on a couch that even Goodwill wouldn´t sell, it was free. The only catch is that the couch is right next to the locked front door. So you have to answer the door all night long for anyone that shows up. The extra bonus is that you get a free beer for your trouble! Not a bad deal.Frank and I had fun sleeping on the cots because the Ping-Pong room had been converted temporarily into a puppy nursery for their newborns. Most of the puppies had already been sold, but two cuties remained. Frank named them Maya and Tikal. Maya was a tiny but fiesty female, full of energy and always tormenting Tikal. Tikal was a larger and stocky male, sweet as pie and very gentle and cuddly. They were a lot of fun to sleep with.
The next night we moved into private quarters at the hostel, a second floor open air cabana. Even though it was in the middle of the small village of Flores, it had a treehouse feel to it. The cots the first night were a whopping 15 Quetzales ($2 US) per person
Another view of the Grand Plaza
. The private room was 60 Quetzales ($8 US) for both of us per night. What a splurge!Flores is small village (population 2000) in the northern jungle region of Guatemala called El Peten. Flores itself is on an island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza It is connected to the mainland by a small 500 meter causeway. Santa Elena is the larger village (population 25,000) on the other side of the causeway, on the mainland. Flores is partly residential and partly touristic. There are several hotels and restuarants, many on the water or with lake views. It's a pretty little village, and small enough that you can walk every street within an hour. Santa Elena is more of the locals village, much larger and more commercial. Lots of market activity and the hubs for the buses are located there.
On Friday, Frank and I just wandered around Flores and Santa Elena. We went to the market and I bought my usual favorites - a pineapple and a watermelon (total price - about 10 Quetzales or $1.30 US). Frank was starting to feel really hot because he had not had a haircut in over two months so at the first barber shop he sat down and got his head shaved for 10Q. What a difference.
Meanwhile, our buddies Aaron, Andre, Marc and Rob headed to Tikal
Giant mask carving
. Andre, Marc and Rob rented tents and camped in a campground close to the ruins. Always adventurous, Aaron took the daring route. They all went to the park around 3pm to view the sunset from the top of one of the tall ruins. At closing time, Andre and Marc and Rob exited the park and went to their nearby campground. Aaron on the other hand, stayed in the park. He snuck off trail into the dense jungle and strung up his hammock to some trees. He spent the night in the middle of the dense tropical jungle, amidst howler monkeys, spiders, jaguars, and numerous other loud creatures that howled throughout the night. Oh, and also with a few thousand mosquitos. On Saturday, Frank and I caught a 5am shuttle from Flores to Tikal. (round trip shuttle + admission = 100Q per person - about $13 US per person). We arrived around 6am, when the park opened. Which is a great time to arrive because the jungle still has a misty fog all over and no tourists. The animals and birds were still active and loud. We spotted a few cool animals and lots of macaws and spider monkeys. It felt like we had the park to ourselves.
Tikal is a massive grouping of ruins set amidst a dense jungle. The Maya settled here around 700 BC and by 250 AD was a very populated and important city, culturally and commercially
Los Amigos - Common Areas
. In peak times (6th century), it sprawled 30 kilometers and a population of 100,000 residents. It began to fall from power around 900 AD, during the mysterious collapse of the entire Mayan empire. (How the researchers know this stuff still stumps me!). We were entertained by our guidebook's description of one area that it claimed was the former "offices for the administrative and legal staff". And over here, folks, is the coffee room that the Mayan administrative staff used to gossip about their coworkers and discuss the latest reality shows! And over here, the Lawyers bickered in front of the judges over who got the larger plot of maize! Gimme a break!Frank climbed up a few of the tall ruins, while I watched from the safe ground below (as usual!). After a couple hours, we found our way to the largest grouping of ruins, the Grand Plaza. There we ran into Andre, Marc, Rob and Aaron and got to hear their great stories of their adventures the night before! In Tikal, the morning mist-fog fades around 9 and by 10am the sun is blazingly hot. By 11am, we felt we had covered almost all of the park and were hot and sweaty and ready to return to the hostel for a cold beer. We killed time at the gift shop and caught the first return shuttle back at noon. All in all, we left exhausted and a bit underwhelmed. I think we had our expectations set too high, and it disappointed us a bit
Los Amigos - front door
. It is a nice setting in the jungle, but Palenque in Mexico is prettier. And the buildings in Tikal all looked the same - tall skinny structures with a couple low-rise "acropolises" in between. Maybe we missed something... The rest of the day we did laundry, napped, ate, and enjoyed happy hour with our buddies. Our hostel served some of the best food we ever ate in Guatemala. And they had a great happy hour. If you are ever in Flores, I highly recommend the Los Amigos Hostel. The owners are very friendly and they have a great book exchange. The BBQ chicken is amazing. It also gets quiet around 9ish, so you can get a good nights sleep.
The next day, Sunday, we all decided to head out. Rob caught an early morning bus to Caye Caulker in Belize. Aaron, Marc, and Andre headed south towards the Rio Dulce section of Guatemala. Frank and I sat in the hostel for a couple hours, not sure where to go! We couldn't decided between heading south towards Poptun in Guatemala, or east towards Belize. Many travellers had warned us that Belize was expensive. At the hostel, one traveller told us that Poptun was mostly agriculture, that the jungle had been raized for farming. So we decided we would give Belize a try. Another traveller recommended a town called San Ignacio (aka Cayo) just over the border in Belize
Los Amigos - Our Cots in the Ping Pong Room
. So, Belize it was!Frank and I stopped by an Internet Cafe on the way out to make a few (late) updates to this blog and to drop a few emails to family to let them know we were not lost in the jungle somewhere. Then we caught a tuk-tuk across the causeway to the bus station in Santa Elena. We had no idea what the bus schedule was, but we totally lucked out. As soon as we pulled in the bus station, an attendant ran out and asked where we were headed. We told him the Belize border, and he immediately grabbed our bags and ran towards a bus. Just our luck - there was a direct bus leaving in 3 minutes! And only 25 Quetzales per person (about $3.50 US). With a few minutes to spare, I ran into the station and bought us a couple ice cream cones to go. Then the bus pulled out in front and the attendent came running in looking for me! Off we went to Belize!
Cheers!
Kay
