Blogs from El Remate, Petén Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean

We are now in Guatemala, where we have been for almost a week. We’re staying in a shack overlooking a huge lake in the town of El Remate. It’s quite basic, Wifi is limited to non-existent, in fact we had no power at all on our first day, but the truth is it’s actually quite nice to get back to basics. Yesterday we visited the ruins of Tikal. According to the Guatemalans Tikal was first inhabited by the Mayans in 900 BC. I’m pretty sure it was inhabited long before this but I don’t want to argue, some of these people carry guns. Between me and you though, and I could be wrong (though I rarely am about these things) I’m pretty sure Tikal was once a rebel base used during the intergalactic war with the ... read more

Geo: 17, -89.7No, it's not just an over-priced version of The Gap, it's actually a political science term! Do any search of it on the internet and once you filter through all the clothing ads, you'll find the origin of the derogatory term that's now somehow become a status symbol in the modern world of retail. There is much history behind the true meaning of the term, and Guatemala is considered one of the prime examples of a Banana Republic, a nation whose destiny was warped and distorted to benefit greedy imperialists. The idea seems ludicrous - how could a fruit company exporting Guatemalan bananas hold such power over a supposedly sovereign nation, manipulating not only Guatemala's economy, but also its government? As absurd as it may seem, the United Fruit Company did just that, boosting ... read more

Sorry we are a little behind... internet connections are taken for granted in the United States. Boy do we miss our 50mbps download speed!!! We will trying and make up the days today or tomorrow! We had a nice leisurely breakfast at the Casa Durante. It was a sort of black bean soup with tortillas and chicken in it. (Sounds like a great breakfast, no?) We were supposed to be picked up at 10a.m., but as usual, it was about 20 minutes later. (However, that is still relatively early for Guatemalan time.) There were other travelers on the bus already but we stopped to pick up more. In the end, there was a Spanish Couple, an Asian couple, new friends Pankaj and Laura, and two girls from Britain. Our first stop was a McDonald’s where the ... read more

Opposed to staying on the island of Flores I got off the bus, that had taken me on the mainly asphalt road from the Belizean border, at El Cruce where I shared a minivan with 2 Australian ladies to take us the last few kilometers to the town of El Remate. I was very lucky with my room at the Sunbreeze hotel where I was given the last available room at the back with lake views for just Q80. This lake, Lago Péten Itza is the second largest lake in Guatemala and very rich in wildlife. (such as crocodiles!) After dumping my bag and talking to the friendly owner Umberto I headed to the lake for a swim. Although the water is beautiful, christal clear water, the bodem of the lake is mostly grey clay, so ... read more

A Little Bit About Tikal The site on which the ancient city of Tikal stands was first settled by the Maya around 700 BC, and over the next 1600 years it grew to become the most dominant city in the Mayan world. At its peak it covered over 30 sq km and had a population of what is now estimated as 100,000 people. It started to collapse, along with most other lowland Maya civilisations around 900 AD. It was then 'rediscovered' in the 19th century and slowly excavated in stages, however there are still many many buildings here that have not been reclaimed from the jungle. At various times it was ruled by such colourfully named rulers as King Great Jaguar Paw, Lord Water, Moon Double Comb and Lord Chocolate (these are of course the names ... read more