Dec. 2013 Guatemala

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December 26th 2013

Published: August 16th 2014

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alpharomeo

Fairy tale cloud forest in Guatemala

on Volcan Acatenango near Antigua. Amazing scenery and atmosphere

After diving at the Belize Barrier Reef Bonnie and I went to Guatemala. Guatemala turned out to be one of the greatest countries I saw. Better than I had anticipated, to be honest.

The trip started with getting drenched in the rain on the boat to Belize City. Also our bags got quite wet, what was a bit a problem as they didnt dry for 2-3 days...:-(

We arrived in Flores, Lago Peten province, in the evening. I was completely exhausted and had a bad headache. But we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant at the lakeshore. The next morning at 4 we got up again and went with a group to Tikal to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately just before sunrise there were clouds moving in. So we did not see the sun rise, but we heard the jungle waking up. Amazing. Tikal, the old maya city is one of the most amazing places I know.

After this day we went to Rio Dulce. There we had maybe the greatest daytrips of that trip. We went from El Castillo de San Felipe to Livingston with some stops on Lake Izabal to Livingston. A stop at a bird

Me, in Flores, Peten Itza

Dec 19th, after a long bus ride from Belize City to Flores, a beautiful city in Lago Peten Itza, Guatemala. We started early in the morning in Caye Caulker, arrived late at night in Flores. I had a terrible headache during the busride and was totally exhausted when we arrived. Strange enough, this photo is quite ok.

island, at a lagoon where the reflections looked like a mirror and another stop at El Cueva del Tigre. Bonnie's first glimpse into the underworld...:-) Livingston is a nice, but somewhat strange city, with no roads leading there. Its only accessible from the sea.

From Rio Dulce we went on to Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. Antigua still looks like the old colonial town it once was.

We wanted to climb the Volcano Acatenango (3976m) and it was one of the hardest hikes I ever did. I even cancelled somewhat along the way. Maybe at 3400m or something. Bonnie made it and climbed to the top. Unfortunately it was still in clouds, wet and windy.

Another trip we did was goung to Lago Atitlan, a beautiful lake with volcanoes surroounding the lake. We had a beautiful day there, actually it was christmas eve...:-)

Additional photos below

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Tikal, Templo I in the moonlight

Dec. 20th, early morning in Tikal, Guatemala. We wanted to watch the sunrise with a group in Tikal, and this stunning sight was to start with.

Tikal, Templo III in the moonlight

We went to Templo IV, the highest temple in Tikal to watch sunrise from there. Templo III was on the way, and looks awesome in the moonlight. But- clouds moving in.

Sight from Templo IV, Tikal

Sunrise was not really visible as it was hidden in clouds. The temples visible are Templo I, II and III. Tikal is one of the of the most amazing sights I know. The real amazing experience of that sunrise was the sound of the jungle waking up. Birds and especially the howler monkeys made eerie sounds.