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Published: January 21st 2012
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Tikal
Ruins at Tikal At the time of writing my last blog post I was shattered from an overnight bus journey between Tulum and Palenque, in the Chiapas area of Mexico. 12 hours, interrupted regularly by military checkpoints and questioning (Chiapas is known for its drug trafficking) had not put me in the best of spirits and I was not exactly relishing a night sleeping out with the spiders and cockroaches in our jungle hut.
However a few beers and a (relatively) good night’s sleep soon put me in a better mood and the next day we had a real trip highlight – Palenque ruins. We had been told that these were a must-see and that they put the much more famous Chichen Itza to shame, and this was no exaggeration. Set in the middle of the jungle and still in a remarkable condition, they made the previous day’s journey seem more than worthwhile.
Sleeping in the jungle is a interesting experience, made even more atmospheric by the constant roar of nearby howler monkeys. It’s the same sound that was used in Jurassic Park for the T-Rex and makes for a spooky experience as the jungle roars around you through the night.
I was starting to get used to this outdoors life until a mini-disaster struck the next day. Stupidly I left my bag open overnight and a small scorpion entered, only to sting me as a rummaged through the bag the next morning. I was initially terrified but was informed by the local campsite owner that I would only feel the effects of a mild bee sting. Cue a nine hour bus ride to Flores, Guatemala watching my finger and waiting for it to fall off. Oh yeah, and I later found out that the scorpion made that journey with me.
We had a difficult time at the border when the Mexican border police wrongly stated that we needed to pay a departure tax. Thankfully I had US dollars on me to save the situation but, needless to say, I arrived in Flores needing a good drink.
Guatemala is fascinating and makes Mexico look tame.Flores is a beautiful city by a lake and we got there in time for a festival that was going on for a few weeks. Guatemalan firework displays are something else entirely- kind of like ours back home but with the small difference that the
fireworks are strapped to a person and aimed at crowd members. If that doesn’t kill you then the roads probably will – they tend to drive with no real regard for safety or pedestrians. I have already seen at least ten overturned cars in a week here.
Other than that the other thing Guatemalan people love is guns – they’re everywhere. Banks I can kind of understand, but when the local sweet shop is guarded with an assault rifle I think we might be going a bit too far. The police here are also interesting: John and I were searched the other day and I came close to losing my camera – a kind of legal mugging if you like. Guatemala has its problems, and I can tell from a short time here that many of them are far more serious than the above, but my week and half here has been incredible.
We chilled for a couple of days in Flores, visiting the king of all Mayan sites Tikal (a huge site, only partially excavated in the jungle – you could spend days there) and spending a day alongside friendly locals at the beach before moving to Lanquin and the natural rock pools/ canyons of Semuc Champey. The scenery and colours here were amazing and we stayed in Lanquin, a small village set alone in the mountains. Unfortunately Guatemala can only remain so green with a lot of rain; it’s the dry season here and yet we were soaked consistently for a week.
I had now left John as he met family in Belize and was traveling with Amber and Rob, a couple from Australia who had decided to travel the world five years ago and had spent time in Europe, the US and Canada before coming here. We all moved to Antigua, a tourist hotspot and stunning city situated between four very active volcanos. Today we climbed Pacaya, the smallest of the four and the reached the base of the crater. Due to it erupting just last year, we could not go any further and therefore sat near the hot rocks toasting marshmallows. The view was incredible and I finally got the chance to work on the sun-tan, before finishing a good morning with a tasty Guatemalan lunch in a local restaurant.
The plan now is to try and update this more regularly, in order to avoid mammoth entries like this one. I hope to move west into Lake Atitlan in the next week, a perfect base to learn some Spanish. At the moment I have mastered the art of ordering drinks and food, but feel a better grasp of the language would be extremely beneficial.
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