Blogs from Flores, Petén Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 31

The pictures from my visit to the famous maya site Tikal I have mainly colored in sepia. I think this represents best the mood I found the place in during the foggy days of the monsoon season. Imagine how the sun three hours after dawn just manages to burn away enough humidity from the night that some rays of light can touch the tree tops through the clouds. In the distance a group of howler monkeys can be heard traveling by. A startled Toucan swings away through the green. Wandering between the mighty roots of the jungle I dicover the mighty stone fortresses with their steep stairs rising to the jungle roof. Some of them are still thickly owergrown, the rainy air smells from the humid ground, the fresh cut wood of some recently choped mahogany ... read more

Booked a day trip in advance through our guesthouse to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. Woke up at the ungodly hour of 4am to catch the flight to Flores. Our guide Carlos was very entertaining, and it was a sight to see him and his pals fleece the Americans in our bus for sunrise tours & jungle canopy trips. It's Sunday & the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week). There were lots of local families and tourists alike enjoying the ruins - a very festive air. The ruins were truly magnificent. The guidebook says that the Maya settled Tikal around 700 BC, and it became one of the dominant ceremonial centres in the region until it was abandoned around AD 900 & engulfed by the jungle. No one quite knows why. There are 5 massive temples, ... read more

We're back, and it is day 3 of the father and son expedition through the ancient land of the Mayans. We said our farewell to the Rio Dulce and saddled up for another exciting bus ride across the country. On this occasion, we were not the only gringos along for the ride. There was one other couple by the names of Sue and Biff Johnson (a classic name). Poor Biff and Sue didn't know what was in store when they decided to travel across Guatemala by bus. The sweat soaked, long sleeve shirt and look across Biff's face was priceless. These greyhound style buses are all on their last leg. Most of the overhead compartments are broken and hanging open, a number of the windows are cracked or shattered, passengers fill up the center aisle, and ... read more

Well first sorry for the long delay, its tough dragging ourselve to a hot internet cafes when typing 10 lines take me about half an hour.But in the spirit of Sharing is Caring I will suffer along. Well we left Rio Dulce for a day to head 3 hours North for a bit of culture taking in the Mayan ruins of Tikal. The Chicken bus was a cultural exprense in itself. No need to pack "pad kos" because at one of the many bus stops people get on and sell food, anything from sliced green mangos covered in chilli sauce to a warm maize pulp wrapped in a bannana leaf. That morning I settled for a warm chicken piñata (small pie) with what I could only imagine was a oven roasted tomato and red pepper salsa, ... read more

I arrived yesterday in Flores, Guatemala with Travis. We spent the afternoon walking around the small island while acclimating ourselves to the new environment. The beer is cheap (about 1 US). The streets are kept very clean (even through the allyways) and all of the buildings are painted in a variety of colors. We are staying at one of the best hotels in Flores called hospedaje "Dona Goya." Our room has a beautiful view of the surrounding lake from our balcony. The primary transpotation here is the little three wheel buggie that easily zips around the streets stirring up white dirt. The currency is called "Quetzales" and 1 US = 8 Q's. Today my plan is to study up on my Spanish and re-organize my pack. Tomorrow we are going to Tikal. Until then I apologize ... read more