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Published: December 30th 2008
animal at Tikal
I forget the name, but its related to the hamster. It was the size of a rabbit.My day started early Friday morning, with a 5 am wakeup to try and race Fabien for the shower. I got there first and soaked in the warm water. You never know when you'll get a hot shower in Central America! I'm not such a princess that I need hot water....but it sure is more pleasant!
The shuttle arrived right at 6am, and Charlotte, Fabien and I climbed in. We picked up an Italian named Michael, before hitting the road. It was a short trip to the Honduras/Guatemalan border, and the crossing was easy. Other than the officials and money changers, no one else seemed to be there. Even the money changers sounded sleepy as they hounded us to switch our lempiras for quetzals.
The others lay down and slept as our driver wound through the hills towards Guatemala city. I think that we had the fastest driver ever - he seemed obsessive about passing, even more so than the other vehicles that I've been in. Not a single truck or motorcycle passed us, and he put the pedal to the metal and passed everything ahead of us.
The roads were mostly good, with washed out areas or
big potholes in some areas. There were some tight corners, which the driver dealt with by accelerating into them, and then accelerating more once the road straightened!
I had been suspicious about this shuttle, which supposedly was to take me all the way to Flores (near Tikal) after dropping off Charlotte and Fabien in Antigua. We had specifically asked the agency, but had been assured I wouldn't be transfered. So I was mad, but not entirely suprised, when the shuttle came to a stop around 8 am and the driver announced that Michael and I would catch a bus from the terminal there.
I was mad because I'd paid $40 for the shuttle, and I could have just caught a chicken bus to the border and to the same town, for quite a bit less. Even including the bus ride to Flores, I would have paid about $20 or so. Michael bought a coffee, but barely had time to drink it before the bus arrived.
Slightly better than a chicken bus, the bus we were transfered to was dilapidated and full. In fact, when we got on, only one seat remained - a lone seat mounted like
a throne over the engine cover, with just a few inches to spare between the seat and the driver's manual shift. A family had their kids move, and I sat in a seat at the front near a window, thinking that Michael would take the other.
Strangly, the drivers assistants (the guys who take the money, herd people on to the bus, etc) wouldn't let him sit there, mumbling incoherencies about the shift stick. So Michael perched on the engine mount (which was actually closer to the shifter...), while one of the assistant's backpacks occupied the last seat.
The driver finally motioned him into the seat with a thrust of his thumb and a grunt at his assistants, about 30 minutes into the trip. Sitting by the window is usually something that I enjoy, but on this trip, the assistants were rude and pushy - stepping on my feet and pushing against me as they leaned out the window to shout "Flores!!" to the folks waiting for busses.
After an hour or so, I gave up my seat to a young mom who came on with her young son. He'd started crying, and she was trying to
hold him while standing on the moving bus. I took a seat on the engine mount, which Michael had recently abandoned. I soon found out just how hot it was there!
It was hot to the point that it was neccessary to shift position every few minutes, as the heat on my bum became intolerable. Not much air from the windows reached my position, and there were so many bags and other bits of cargo that it was hard to find a place for my feet. I stayed there almost an hour, until Michael got off and I took his seat.
I was glad for the seat, but it was only marginally better - it was still suffocatingly hot, and the assistants took every possible opportunity to step on my feet or poke me with their elbows (or so it seemed!). I missed Micheal's company too, although we'd not really been able to chat over the noise of the bus, it had been nice to have someone to share my misery! Towards the end of the trip, I was able to move into an empty seat for the last hour of the 5 or 6 hour trip, and
that was a great relief.
In Flores, I found a rickshaw (memories of India!!) and asked the driver to take me to the busses and shuttles. We had a conversation in Spanish and he was very friendly. I was pleased - it was my first sustained conversation in spanish with someone who knew no english. I found him easy to understand, and was able to answer, for the most part, in complete sentences!
We did have a misunderstanding though, and after a brief detour across a bridge to a hotel area, he dropped me off at the market and assured me that the busses and shuttles left from there.
I walked through the busy but orderly (especially compared to the market at Santa Ana in El Salvador!) market and found the shuttle area about 200 metres in. There was a shuttle just filling for El Remate, which is about half way between Flores and the ruins at Tikal.
I grabbed a seat, and waited for the shuttle to leave. The shuttle was a large van, with three seats in the front (driver plus 2) and then 3 rows of bench seats with a swing down seat
Climbing
the steps were steep and slippery from the rain into the aisle for overflow. There was also a padded area just behind the drivers row, that people could perch on. That meant seats for roughly 12 people - a few more if the padded area was used. So, how many people were in the van?
I got the second to last seat, sitting in the row behind the driver in a flip down seat next to a drowsy man whose head kept sagging in my direction. A few more people got in, and I figured that we were set to leave. Nope. People kept on crowding in, more and more, until the padded area ahead of my was full, and people crouched on the floor and sat on each other. Although 2 people got off a bit down the road, several more got on after the market, and so there was between 18 and 24 people in that van!! 5 people in the drivers row, and 6 in my row, plus another 9 in the rows behind me. We were so crowded that at one point one rude guy grabbed my knees, trying to spread my legs apart so he could have some more room....he got yelled at
top of the tallest temple
It was very steep, and we climbed a ladder to get to the top 😊
The drivers assistant didn't fit in, so he hung out the door, one arm looped through the open window of the front passenger door, the other through the window of the sliding door, and his chin on the roof of the van. I guess you make more money, when there's volume 😊
I was dropped off in El Remate and after paying my 20 Quetzals ($2.20 ish) I walked the 1km to Mon Ami hostel. Run by a french guy, it was overflowing with french speaking backpackers, which really messed with me as I kept trying to speak spanish when I meant to speak french!
I was the only occupant of the dorm that night, and the loft area that housed the dorm was peaceful. It is a large area, under a palapa roof (palm fronds) and there were 4 queen beds and a single bed, partitioned by bed sheet curtains. I chose one in the far end, looking out through an open side. I made some arrangements for a trip to the Tikal ruins the next day (saturday), with a shuttle that would arrive at 5:30 am. After a quick meal and a chat with
some arriving tourists, I went to bed early, tired from the long bus trip, and with a second early morning facing me the following day. I was probably asleep by 7pm!
I woke at 5am, and braided my hair, and then headed down to wait for the shuttle. I was the only one awake, and it was very dark. A toad hopped across the path, and when I reached the dining area a few bats flew out!
The shuttle was on time, and after picking up a few others were were on our way, arriving at the gate as the park opened at 6am. I bought tea, some water and a rain poncho, as the rain wasn't letting up and the clouds were threatening an all out storm.
Our group of 19 was led by a great and funny guy named Luiz. He called to the monkey from the path, hooting just like they did, so that we could see them more easily. We did have to be careful as they try to pee on people who pass below them! He explained Mayan culture, and the history of the ruins, and also pointed out many interesting plants
and animals! He coaxed a tarantula from her lair with a twig, and pointed out monkeys, birds and insects. He crumbled leaves from an allspice plant for us to smell, and showed us the pitch of a ecalyptus tree, with its menthol smell. We spent 5 hours hiking around, climbing the ruins and learning about the area and culture. The rain stopped after the first hour or so, and it slowly brightened until we were in full sunshine by 10 or so.
The temples were hard to climb, with steep, narrow steps and slippery stones. In some places, there were ladders or stairs to climb, and I was again glad that I'm in good shape! At the end of the tour, we stopped by a pond and he called an alligator over by slapping the water!
Ater the tour was over I had lunch at the hostel, chatting with a lovely Canadian named Megan, who had recently started traveling in an unlikely way - its not my story to tell, so I won't, but I'm happy that she is on her adventure! I may see her again in Belize.
I lazed around, and read most of the
afternoon, before having dinner with an Irish couple and going to bed by about nine. I shared "my" dorm with 6 travellers from France, and everyone woke up early - them off to the ruins, and me to wait for a bus to the border.
I waited for a bus for 45 minutes, from about 5:30 until just after 6am, and then gave up, walking the kilometer to the crossroad and catching a shuttle to Ixlu where I chatted (yay! in spanish!) with a young man who wore a Coca-cola shirt and told me he drove trucks for the company. Coincidentally, a Pepsi truck drove by shortly after, and we together we laughingly "boo'd" them as it drove by. From Ixlu, I caught a mini shuttle, similar to the one I had taken to El Remate, to the Belizian border.
The shuttle was full when I got in - most of the seats were taken - although not full by Central American standards. Along the way, a large woman got in, along with her two large sacks of lemons. Each sack was as tall as my waist, so there were probably 2 or 3 hundred lemons. The van
was soon sweetly citrousy. Not long after, more passengers were added, until the seats and drop down seats were full and the assistant crouched on the running board. One new passenger was likely heading to a restaurant or stall of some kind. She had two bins of dead chickens on her lap, discreetly covered by a dish cloth, but with the feet and featherless legs drooping out from the cover. I was glad for the smell of the lemons.....
The border crossing was fairly painless, although once on the Belize side I got mixed up with the money changers and got a bit screwed changing some money. Oh well, such is life! In Belize, English is the official language, although Spanish and a Creole form of English are widely spoken. I caught a cab to the bus station, where I had 10 minutes to spare before the next one left for Belize City. A bathroom trip ($1 Belize, which is 50 cents US$) and 3 tacos (same price as the bathroom!) later, I was happily aboard the bus and we headed off.
The trip was about 3 or so hours, and I had a pleasant conversation with a
family behind me. The little girl, about 6 or so, was dressed in a very pretty white dress, and was a singer in a mariachi band. The three of them were off to the capital, Belmopan, for church - a 2 hour bus ride in each direction!
I also had a very strange conversation with a local who sat ahead of me, about 45 minutes from Belize City. He couln't believe that I was unwilling to tell him my phone number, email address or other info, especially since he was professing his love for me. I thought he was weird right off the bat, and had told him a fake name. He never did get Helen's (mine!) email address.... 😊
On the bus I met two nice girls, one from Toronto and one from North Carolina, who were also headed for Caye (pronounced 'key') Caulker. We shared a cab to the water taxi terminal and ended up at the same hotel!
More on Caye Caulker in my next blog!!
Eileen
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Roberta
non-member comment
Hey Eileen, I really enjoy reading the intricate details of your trip. Although you made a comment about people not actually reading the whole way through, I do because your descriptions of the smells, what someone was wearing, insects in your scungy water, etc really bring the scenes to life for those of us who are currently drenched from the rain, slush, and waist-deep snow.