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Published: August 25th 2008
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Hi Chicos and welcome to another update by David - this time the focus will be on our time spent in Guatemala. Our first destination in Guatemala was the town of Livingston, a wonderful quaint port town situated on the mouth of the Rio Dulce River at the gulf of Honduras.
Our journey commenced with a sense of urgency as soon as we disembarked from the ferry (from Roatan) at La Ceiba in Honduras - we had a long day ahead of us and the chances of making it to Livingston in one day were slim so we pretended we were contestants in "The Amazing Race" determined to beat all other gringos on our same route. Our starting move was to dive into the first clapped out 'collectivo' taxi (shared with strangers) we saw and get to the nearby Hedman Alice bus company for the next departing bus - this proved to be a decisive move as we managed to get to the front of the queue ahead of other passengers from the ferry, many of whom did not manage to purchase tickets for the earlier bus.
The Hedman Alice bus drove us (in comfort) the approximately two and
a half hour journey to San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras situated in the north west corner of the country. We were dropped off at the main bus terminal and then made our way through the Saturday noon hustle and bustle until we found the Impala bus company and jumped aboard a 23 seater shuttle that was touted as a 'directo' to Puerto Cortes (supposedly meaning that it would travel there directly). The reality of course was that the 23 seater was eventually filled with about 32 people after trawling the streets looking for additional passengers. One of the 32 passengers was actually our bags - not wanting to risk them on the roof we paid for an extra seat right next to us. We arrived at Puerto Cortes (Honduras's main port city situated on the Caribbean coast north of San Pedro Sula) at around 15h00. Realising that we were running out of time (we still had to make it across the border and get the last ferry to Livingston at 17h00) we negotiated a special deal with a very friendly taxi driver to take us directly to the border at Corinto where we arrived at around
Casa Rosada
Taken from the end of the jetty on the Rio Dulce. 15h45.
We dispensed with the exit formalities at the Honduran side of the border and walked a short distance to the shuttle that would drive us through the Guatemalan side and to the ferry. But, alas, after doing so well to get to that point by 16h00 we were told that the shuttle was only leaving in an hour's time which meant that we would miss the ferry and have to stay the night holed up in some border town 'hotel'. At this stage Liesel and I were staring at the finish line and thanks to some solid negotiating by Liesel and we soon hired out the entire shuttle just for ourselves and were driven with enthusiasm across the border and to the ferry port where we arrived at 16h50 just in time for the last ferry! From there it was a 40 minute water taxi ride and at last we made it to Livingston, quite an achievement in one day! My first Gallo Beer went down like an icy cold homesick mole.
We loved Livingston which is a small port town with a good mix of Garifuna, Maya, and Ladino people together with a solid dose of
tourists (mainly from Europe). The town has a very positive and happy atmosphere and we just loved strolling up and down the small streets taking in the sights and getting a good feel for how people live and enjoy everyday life. There were also a number of very good restaurants and bars all adding to the vibrant and textured feel of the place. We stayed at a wonderful and inexpensive spot called Casa Rosada owned and run by Javier and Sandra, where we enjoyed delicious dinners, cappuccinos, treats like peanut brittle, swimming in the cool and clean Rio Dulce off the small jetty, reading on the cool covered verandah and taking in beautiful sunsets. In keeping with our adventurous spirit we also opted to do a kayaking trip one day which although not exhilarating gave us an opportunity to explore some of the large lagoons off the Rio Dulce. In our enthusiasm to get going we lost the rest of the group and were lost for a period of time until eventually we found the exit to the lagoon and made our way to the rendezvous point.
After three nights in Livingston, we bade farewell and took a water
taxi up the Rio Dulce en route to our next destination, Flores, from where we would visit the spectacular ancient Mayan city of Tikal.
Flores is a small and charming old colonial town in a region of Guatemala called Petén and is situated on an island in the lake Petén Itzá and connected to the mainland, and specifically to the town of Santa Elena, by a bridge. Flores is also well known for its tightly packed red-roofed colonial buildings recognizable on many postcards for sale in the numerous souvenir stores dotted around.
We chose to stay in Flores because, as mentioned earlier, it is a mere hour's drive to the amazing Mayan ruins of Tikal. As it turns out though, Liesel and I both thoroughly enjoyed Flores itself and our three nights spent there wondering around the narrow cobblestone streets, taking in the warm and friendly atmosphere and sampling some of the many good restaurants and cafes.
The undisputed highlight of our visit to Guatemala was our trip to Tikal. Tikal is situated in beautiful lush lowland jungle in the Tikal National Park (a world heritage site) and is the largest of any of the ancient ruined
Jungle View
A magnificent view of the ancient city (Temple V) emerges from the jungle. cities of the Mayan civilization. I will never be able to do justice to the rich history of Tikal and for those of you who are interested I suggest that you look further on the web. What I can tell you is that Liesel and I were entirely fascinated by what we experienced during our day spent listening to our knowledgeable guide, absorbing the magnificent sites of the soaring temples and acropolises, climbing the imposing structures, picturing what life would have been like for the Mayan people, and generally soaking up the sun and enjoying the shade as we walked from site to site.
We ended our day with a late afternoon lunch in a covered boma talking excitedly about our experience. What really struck us apart from the magnificence of the park and historical monuments themselves, was the pride taken in maintaining the park in an understated and pristine condition making it a real gem to be proud of. After a six day whirlwind tour of Guatemala we headed off to Belize for some more adventures, sun, sea and good times but that is the subject of another instalment. Adiós for now amigos.
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