Blogs from Petén Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 11

Suzanne here... Few people come to Guatemala without visiting the main tourist attraction of Tikal. However, for a while it seemed that we'd do exactly that. A State of Emergency was declared in the area after a massacre by a Mexican drug cartel. The UK Government were advising against visiting the area, and anyway we've tried to avoid being massacred on this trip. When we got close enough that we had to make the decision Peten was still under emergency measures. However the Government were no longer advising against going and the police and military presence had been dramatically increased. We're not foolhardy and we don't take our safety lightly but we decided that actually, with the extra measures in place, it was probably a safer time than ever to see the area. For a chance ... read more

Tikal was the crowning achievement for Hannable! We literally conquered a near impossible task of planning, monetary maintenance, and corresponding synchronicities, all coinciding to offer us an adventure of a lifetime! We began our journey from the depths of Mexico at the site, Palenque, in Chiapas. We weren't sure if we would have the resources necessary to continue down into Guatemala, but we made a decision and stuck to it unwaveringly. The journey to Tikal itself was breathtaking to say the least as it involved a four-hour bus ride to a one-hour river ride to another four-hour bus ride to Flores, where we bunked in Guatemala. Flores was a beautiful island located within a massive lake about a two-hours drive from Tikal. Tikal, according to our research and to local word-of-mouth, was the apex of 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

It was an easy two-hour drive from Santa Elena to Finca Ixtobel in Poptun. It's a funky place very similar to Barton Creek Outpost except that it's been around longer. They use a combination of local and "volunteer" labor to run the place and it seems to run quite smoothly. The bills are tabulated and paid on an honor system and that too seems to work out pretty well. I appreciated that I didn't need to carry around my wallet while I statyed there because everything went on my tab. It only cost about $3 per night to camp which is a very good deal for what you get. The bathrooms and showers were very nice and they even had hot water which I do not need in this land of mucho calor. The camping area ... read more

After surviving the harrowing drive back to pavement from Barton Creek Outpost, I spent my last night in Belize in a campground near San Ignacio. Once again, I was their only guest. This has become a recurring theme on this trip. I fear that this relative isolation will cost me even more of the marbles that I need to keep going. It was a 30 minute drive to the border that took two hours to cross. I think I got through the money-changing, immigration, customs, and fumigation business pretty smoothly this time but I'm pretty sure I got ripped on the toll bridge due to being confused about how much the new money was worth. I hate borders. I made good time in spite of the border nonsense. The road into the Guatemalan interior turned out ... read more