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Published: December 16th 2009
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Taking a break from the rigors of Organic Chem and the balmy, slightly sub-tropical, breezes of December in Chicago, I decided to check out some of Central America this winter break; that is before meeting up with my family in Cancun for the traditional Bernard Christmas of lights on a palm tree and chips and salsa happy hour feasts. Leaving on the 2:00 a.m. red eye I had no other option but to head to a holiday/post finals party before hand because half in the bag and late is the only way to go through security. I plowed my way onto the plane, flopped onto my seat and was out cold before take off. Switching planes in Guatemala City I was shuffled from my gate to the next and was off the ground in less than twenty minutes. (While this may seem like a good idea, it included being forced past one immigration checkpoint being told that the second city would take care of it. There wasn't an immigration check point at the second city. That made me illegal. That has consequences you can read about at the end of the blog.) This was not the scheduled amount of time for
my lay over, but as you come to expect with these trips, plans change. Somehow my bags actually made it to Flores, which was a very pleasant surprise.
I found my buddy TJ at the hostel, woke him up at the bright hour of 9:00 a.m. and we headed to the bar; it seemed a cause for celebration. We spent the day just checking out the city of Flores. It is a small island in the middle of a huge freshwater lake surrounded by jungles. The roads are small and cobblestone, the buildings are bright pastels, and it has the laid back pace one would expect of an island in the jungle. We paid a local kid to take us out on his boat, nick named "Titanic" because of the water that would seep in and need to be bucketed out. He took us to something the locals called a zoo, though really was just a puma, some monkeys, a few crocs and a bunch of pig. In the end it was more just TJ and I hanging out, chewing the fat and doing some day drinking. However, we did get our shenanigans (is that how one spells shenanigans?)
down to a controllable level and booked a trip to the Mayan ruins of Tikal for the next morning.
Tikal contains some of the best and largest Mayan ruins, built from 800 BC to 800 AD, including the largest existing pyramid from the Mayan world. (However, I believe I’ve heard other ruins boast that distinction as well.) They span several hundred square kilometers with thousands of buildings and it composes the largest national park in Central America. To see the site we decided to sign up with a tour group in order to get a better understanding of what we were actually seeing, and it was well worth it. The ruins themselves were amazing; absolutely enormous pyramids with the steepest sides I’ve ever seen and temples in various states of repair, disrepair, and excavation giving the site a living feeling. And, while the ruins themselves were phenomenal, what I found most striking was the extensive wildlife we saw while walking amongst the ruins. There were crocodiles, lizards of all sorts, beautiful birds, particularly toucans, tarantulas, ants the size of my pinkie finger, but most interesting were the monkeys. The spider monkeys provided wonderful acrobatics, swinging between branches. At the
end of the day, while TJ and I were leaving the park, we had several monkeys fly across the trail, jumping between trees, some with several second long free falls. It was amazing; they looked like a little monkey Superman as they flew. The howler monkeys were amazing as well; the amount of noise made by such a small creature was phenomenal. Their calls resounded throughout the ruins; at the top of the temples, 60 meters up and well above the canopy, you could here them calling out marking their territory. And, there really were not many people at the site; in comparison to Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat it is a fraction of a percent. However, I would rate the experience of seeing the ruins at Tikal up there with those two behemoths of the “pre-civilized” world. Spending an hour atop the pyramids in the grand plaza, listening to the monkeys and just soaking in the ruins around me was one of best, most memorable experiences from seeing any of these ancient cultural sites.
One funny anecdote… TJ had a tarantula in his mouth. No joke, see the picture. They were pretty easy to find and we had
more than one guide/worker pull them out of their holes and show them to us. However, at one point someone on the tour asked about whether you could eat them. The guide took it to the next level by asking if someone wanted to try one. Some Brit next to TJ volunteered him and with everyone urging him to do it TJ submitted to peer pressure. He opened his mouth, eyes wide as only TJ can, and in went the tarantula. He did not actually eat it, but it did touch his lips and that is more than I ever cared to do… poor spider, being forced on TJ lips, must have been traumatizing.
Later that evening we couldn’t decide what to do. We had heard great things about Semuc Champey, a rainforest freshwater backpacker haven that is supposedly amazing. However, it was seven hours south when our goal was to head northeast. After discussing the option over several rounds, we finally decided to wing it and go. Unfortunately, our lacksadaisical approach didn’t work and the buses were full, and most of the tour operators were closed. So, we decided to stay with the Mexican and Spanish friends we’ve
made, Rodrigo and Pablo, and head across the border into Belize. Now, as I mentioned previously, only having a twenty-minute connection in Guatemala City the airline staff made me rush from plane to plane, directing me away from immigration saying I would go through in Flores. Of course, Flores was a one-horse town type of airport and had no immigration desk to speak of. So, I never went through immigration on my way into the country. Not having an entry stamp causes problems when you need an exit stamp. Or, as the guard said, “Es un gran problema.” Coming from a border guard that translates to “You need to give me some dollars to get yourself out of here, bud.” And, after taking me into a back room and saying the “fine” was $25, everything worked itself out. No harm, no foul, and I now have my first bribe story!
Anyway, we made it to Belize and are now sitting on Caye Caulker soaking in the beaches and local reefs. While Guatemala was only a few days, it wet my appetite and I need to come back soon!
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Erin
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YAY!
Sounds like a blast, boys! I cant believe TJ put that nasty thing anywhere near his face, let alone his BOCA! Ew!! Ky, glad you survived the bribery and only had to fork out $25. Awesome! Keep taking pictures so I can live vicariously through you from the library! Can't wait to see you two when you get back! xoxo E