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Published: February 8th 2012
The huge layout of Tikal
Couldn't even fit it all in a photo!Although we left Belize rather reluctantly, we were excited to move on to Guatemala which was rumoured to be beautiful with lots to see and do, and importantly, cheap!
Our first stop was the colossal ruins of Tikal, which is possibly the biggest and most famous site in Central America – you can easily spend at least 3 hours there visiting each of the many temples. One of the reasons the site is so famous is that a scene from Star Wars was shot on the steps of Temple 4, which is so high up it overlooks the treetops of the jungle below.
The ruins are widespread and awe-inspiring, and our guide did a wonderful job of transporting us back in time to when the Mayans were living and breathing in the same place. We also had the pleasurable company of some spider monkeys which seemed to be following us everywhere, and although we heard some howler monkeys, alas, no sightings. The whole experience was fantastic and really something not to be missed when travelling Guatemala.
We finished up after a few hours and headed off to Flores to spend the night, a small island town in the middle of a
lake. Very pretty but not much to do. The next morning we tried to leave but were stopped by an enormous procession of people streaming over the only bridge out. It turns out it was their holy day and all the people were there to represent the different districts with their patron saints, so there was a lot of singing, clapping and colourful banners. We were quite lucky to have run into the procession and see something so unique to the area.
From Flores we headed into Rio Dulce for another eco-lodge stay. We had this cool little double story cabin with our bedroom upstairs, and bathrooms and a living area downstairs – complete with hammocks! Chrissy was relatively happy with this one as the beds were draped with mosquito nets so she kept the bug spray capped. We headed straight for the pool but much to our chagrin it was freezing cold, so we did the only other rational option and propped up the bar instead. We proceeded to get VERY drunk that night with lots of drinking games and when the booze ran out, tried to break into the bar which has already closed to get some more.
Unfortunately, we failed and were forced to sober up and go to bed. Accordingly, we were not particularly disappointed when it rained the entire next day and ruined all options for activities. Instead, my new friend Rich and I played 7 straight hours of Asshole (card game) with various other players dropping in and out prior to dinner, and another hour afterwards for good measure. It was clearly a successful day.
We terminated our stay in Rio Dulce to begin the loooonnng drive to Antigua – 7 hours crammed in a minibus, yay us! It was well worth it…. Antigua is beautiful! It’s a charming little colonial town of cobblestone roads which is surrounded by volcanoes. We arrived just in time for sunset on our rooftop and as it was a clear day, we got some great photos of the sun setting behind the biggest volcano.
We only had two nights in Antigua before heading off for a couple of days so we made the most of it – ladies night at the MonoLoco! $1AUD = approx 8 Quetzals… our drinks were 4 Quetzales. So we got high on life on 50c drinks and when we finally got kicked
out of the club at 1am, we took the party to our rooftop (and got yelled at several times for making too much noise but whatever). Suffice to say, there were not too many activities happening the next day, apart from quick trips to the first Maccas we’d seen in a while – which happens to be the NICEST Maccas I have ever seen, they have a courtyard with a beautiful garden which you can sit in to eat your meal (see photo).
On Thursday, we packed up a daybag, dumped our stuff in a storage room and hit the chicken buses for our trip to Lake Atitlan. The buses are CRAZY. The USA literally sends down their old school buses which get their engine gutted and refitted with something that goes a lot FASTER, get new seats to hold more people, painted all different themes and put out for public use. Once you are on them, you are either packed in so tight you can’t move or you are holding on for dear life because they are speeding down the mountain roads like a bat out of hell, overtaking anything and everything at any time – YES EVEN
ON CORNERS – and screaming around hairpin corners in the middle of two lanes. We took FOUR of them.
At one point, Rich and I were looking at each other in terror as we’d go around corners because we’d hear this loud scraping noise which was actually the wheel s hitting the rim of the bus due to it leaning so far over. As you can imagine, I was WELL pleased to arrive in Panajachel and leave the buses far far behind. It was a great experience nonetheless but not one I am keen to repeat.
Panajachel (Pah-nah-ha-chel) is a basic little town on the shores of Lake Atitlan which is a big stunning freshwater lake surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. They had heaps of markets stalls filled with handmade Mayan crafts and I nearly cried that I couldn’t buy any of it. I only JUST managed to stop myself from buying a big hand-quilted blanket as it was really just too big and heavy for me to carry for another month.
We stayed there for a night before heading off on a boat tour around the lake and some of its other communities. We visit Santa Cruz which has
a statue called the Marimba which you have to pay 2Q to visit and then pay a further 10Q to take a photo – apparently all the townsfolk come up to the Marimba to pay homage and to pray to him for whatever it is they may need. We went in there expecting a big holy shrine and some amazing statue – instead we find cheap party lights, crappy plastic decorations and this ugly wooden statue of a fat man with a real smoking cigar stuck in its mouth. It was really absurd to see something which the people all consider to be quite holy placed in such a tacky setting. I didn’t bother taking a photo as I didn’t want to pay and figured I could copy someone else’s.
We then visited a little town full of hippies and spent a majority of the afternoon lazing around in a tent full of cushions where we had our lunch. Our tour leader Chris and I found a kitten which we couldn’t resist playing with and Chris had it jumping all over the place with his shoelaces…too cute!
After that, it was off to San Juan for our homestay with a
On top of Temple IV
Where Star Wars was shot Mayan family. We were advised to bring them gifts for allowing us to stay there so we stopped at a small market to pick up beans, rice, and some small presents for the children. We were then paired up with our families, so Christine and I were sent off with two small boys, who took us giggling and whispering through the streets to a traditional Mayan clothing store which fronted their house. Directly through the store was our bedroom for the night, with two beds and even a TV (despite the family not having one otherwise). Beyond that was the main living room which included a stove as their kitchen (no fridge) a dining table, 2 sinks and a few plastic stools. Behind a curtain was a tiny annex which held their barely separated toilet and shower, and another door led to a second bedroom which the entire family would all sleep in due to us being there taking up a whole room.
We were introduced to various members of the family and from what we could gather, Sofia (the mother) had 2 sons and 3 daughters, 2 of which no longer lived at home. Christine and I were kicking
ourselves for not knowing more Spanish as we were really struggling to communicate and often resorted to drawing pictures with the pens and paper we’d brought for the kids. Still, we did ok in the end and had a really great time interacting with the family. Sofia had us helping make tortillas for dinner – which is actually much harder than you would think! – and then she sat down and showed us some traditional weaving which is REALLY interesting to me, I’d love to learn how to do it as they make beautiful cloths and scarves from scratch – literally growing the cotton, spinning it into string and dying it various colours from natural resources like avocado seeds and leaves. She showed us a selection of her work and I opted to buy a pretty blue and white scarf as a special keepsake of the visit. Her husband came home later and we had quite a long “chat” (lots of drawing) with him in the end, discussing the native animals and flora of the area. It turned out he teaches at the local agricultural school and was very knowledgeable about the area. I tried to explain to him that
my father was a turf farmer but he couldn’t quite understand the concept of selling grass for a living, they just don’t do that over here haha.
Unfortunately, I slept quite badly that night due to a lot of noise from the street although the bed was quite comfortable, and then we were up early to make the long trip back to Antigua. Although the rest of the family were still sleeping, Sofia came to bid us farewell and took a photo with me which you should be able to see somewhere on this page.
We had breakfast at a beautiful lakeside hotel before climbing into our (thankfully) private transport for the ride back to Antigua. It was our last night with the group so it was a big one again. Chrissy and I left the next day for our hostel but it was a sad departure, our group was so amazing and got along so well together that we have been quite spoiled by having them first off the bat. Coincidentally, two of the guys are also going to Rio for Carnaval and they have arranged accommodation nearby to where I am staying so I am very excited
to see them again on Feb 17
th when I fly in to Brazil.
We now had 6 days to kill in Antigua before our next tour started. Part 2 coming soon!
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