FLORES & TIKAL

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There are shuttle services from Semuc Champey to Flores (20 Dollars) but being on a pretty tight budget I decided to go by public transport in an effort to save a bit – a decision I regretted later. It all started with a 5am bus from in front of the hostel back to Coban, followed by a decent walk between stations, a five hour trip up to Sayaxche in a super-cramped mini-bus, a boat across the Rio de la Pasion, another cramped mini bus up to Santa Elena and finished off with a ‘tuk tuk’ (small three-wheeled taxi) across the bridge to a hostel in Flores. The only consolation was that it did all end up costing less than the shuttle, although for the sake of my sanity it was probably worth spending the extra. On a side note, it did annoy me to see large number of locals throwing their rubbish out of the bus windows, despite many roadside signs asking people to “Respect the Countryside”. It seems that this message isn’t quite getting across just yet!



Flores was another very cute little town situated on a wee island in the Lago de Peten Itza and connected to the mainland at Santa Elena by a 500m causeway. Despite their proximity, Santa Elena and Flores were like two different worlds, the former being quite ugly and uninspiring and the latter very charming and scenic with its classy restaurants and views of the lake that surrounds it.



As far as I could tell, there’s really only one reason why people come to Flores and that’s as a base to visit the nearby famous Mayan ruins at Tikal. I went with a group from the hostel with San Juan Travel ($8.50 Return) leaving early morning (around 9am) and returning on one of the last buses to leave the site (around 4pm if I remember correctly). On the way there the co-driver was excellent in sharing with us some of his knowledge of the ruins and gave us a useful overview of its history and various stats – including the interesting fact that actually only about 20% of the city is uncovered and visible while the other 80% still lies under the jungle. It’s also a place that’s been used a handful of times by Hollywood, first in the original Star Wars films and most recently by Mel Gibson for Apocolypo… star-studded!



There was something quite magical about Tikal. Strolling around the huge site we got a real appreciation of just how large and spread out the city was. The statistic that 80% of the ruins is still covered seemed more believable after passing mound after mound where it’s clear there’s something's still hidden underneath. Unlike Copan in Honduras, where all the structures are in plain view and in the open, Tikal is deep in the jungle and for the most part the structures are only visible when you’re right at them. Going from temple to temple involved passing beneath the rainforest canopy whilst wondering what awaits at the next clearing. Apparently in its heyday the whole site (30 sq km) was clear of any trees and instead was completely open – a sight very hard to imagine standing on top of one of the taller temples like Temple IV or Temple V. The view from Temple V was particularly impressive with the Great Plaza to the north and Temples I and II sticking out from the jungle.



We spent the best part of the day at the ruins and there were still a couple of things left to see. As with Copan, I left wondering how such a vast and important city collapsed so quickly and be forgotten so easily.



I reckon the photos are here ya’ll (pages 4&5):



http://www.flickr.com/photos/14643121@N05/



Smell ya laterz

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