Flores (or, bizarro Guatemala)

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The change was immediately noticeable as we crossed the bridge onto the island of Flores.



It was as if you could smell tourists.



The cobbled streets were clean, the buildings bright, and there were white people everywhere.



We hadn´t been traveling long but the contrast was stark - this was not the Guatemala we had seen so far.



After settling into a cheap dorm-style hostel, we got gourmet coffee and frozen lemonade made from purified water (!), then went for a swim in Lago de Petén Itzá, grabbed a couple of beers and watched the sunset from the rooftop hammocks of our hostel (the cacophony of birds squawking and diving around the treetops was intense).



After that, we went and splurged on dinner on the pier - pasta with tuna, veggie shish kabobs, bread and cuba libres - we were stuffed.



There was a cheesy jazz band, lights reflected in the water, and the soft breeze caused our candle to flicker.



We laughed about it being far more honeymoon than the rugged work vacation we had expected.



As a result, we were quite motivated to move on the next morning - after a decadent breakfast with a quick rainstorm thrown in.



We called a guy about studying/volunteering in a little village 30 minutes away and he sent a car for us.



Twenty-four hours after arriving in this odd, little, parallel dimension - we were gone!

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Photos

Sun showers
It POURED while we were writing our last blog. The computers all had to be covered with plastic bags as the internet cafe had no windows. It was severe and beautiful.

Lago de Petén Itzá
Surprisingly, very clean & swim-able

Rooftop Moonrise
Watching the sunset from the roof of our hostel