Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Petén Region » Flores
August 7th 2008

Published: August 7th 2008

Additional maps: The night route from Antigua to Flores

Buenas Dias from the tropical city of Flores, regional capital of El Peten in the North East of Guatemala!
I left Xela on a chicken bus around 8 in the morning and we arrived in Guat city just after midday. From there, a quick bus up to antigua, where I met up with my host family in order to drop a few things off with them so I have a bit less to carry around with me. It actually worked out that taking the chicken buses was faster, cheaper and more fun than using the coach company that I went to Xela with - we never broke down once!

The night bus to Flores

Afterwards, I chilled out in Antigua until 6:30pm, when I was met by a person from the agency that I'd booked my night bus with to get to Flores, who took me to where a minibus was waiting to take myself, and around 9 others to various bus stations to get to Flores depending on how much we paid. i went for a middle option of around $30 which gave me seat on a fairly good coach-style bus with (in theory) reclining

Lago de Peten Itza

seats and an on board toilet. Other alternatives were an economy option (i.e. a camioneta) for $25 or a luxury option at $40, though people that I spoke to who took this said that it wasn't really worth it.
I was dropped off with 5 others in a dingy bus station, where we would wait about 1hr and a half for our bus to leave at 10pm. After that, it would be an 8hr journey until we arrived in the small town of Santa Elena, of which the island of Flores is connected to by a 750m causeway.
The ride itselft wasn't too uncomfortable really. The only drawbacks were that my seat barely went back at all, but the charming lady in front of me could put her's all the way back, and did so for the entire trip. Luckily, I had an aisle seat and so sprawled out into there, which was alright. Also, thank God that I took my phone with me - I should point out that it doesn't work to make calls or texts (thanks for the advanced warning Vodafone!), but I can still listen to music! In the end, I spent most of the trip

Around Flores

dozing, with only really 3 hrs sleep at most I think. The chap next to me spoke no English, and at 1 in the morning, I really couldn't be arsed to speak spanish, but we came to a mutual agreement to lean back to back against each other, which proved to be quite comfy. Our only main delay was that we were stopped at about 4am at a military checkpoint for 20-30mins or so. Nothing serious happened and everyone got off the bus to stretch their legs for a wee bit. I went over a spoke to one of the soldiers who was writing on a piece of paper, asking him what was going on. All he said to me was that he was noting the number plate of the bus, but a couple of armed men had pulled the driver to one side and were speaking very rapidly in hushed tones to him. Nevertheless, we set off and continued the rest of the way uneventfully towards Santa Elena.

Arriving in Flores

The bus pulled into the Santa Elena bus terminal at around 5:40 am, and immediatly, as soon as I stepped off the bus,

The Caves of Actun Can

I was mobbed by taxi drivers, offering me the "best price" to get to Flores. I was actually up for walking it, since the distance was about 1km at most. However, two girls that I'd met at the bus station in Guat city said that they were going to get a taki and asked if I wanted to join them, meaning we'd all get a cheaper rate. I did so and we set off, dodging traffic and heading to flores. in the end, I'm glad I did so - no sooner had we set off than the heavens opened and torrential rain hit us! Flores is much closer to the carribbean and is much more low lying than either Antigua or Guatemala City. In Xela, it was so cold at night that I was wearing a fleece, but here, the temp is, at it's lowest, 25 degrees, with the maximum up in the 30's. We pulled up at a hostel (Hostel Los Amigos) in the centre of Flores, that one of the girls knew of and was going to stay there. This was a big suprise to me, mainly because I'd met the owner of the hostel, Matthias, a few

The Caves of Actun Can

days earlier in Xela at the Hot Springs. I spoke to him later on in a bar that night too, where we spoke about what we were doing in Guat, where we were heading next (the usual traveller questions) etc. When I said I was coming to Flores, he told me that he owned a hostel there, called Los Amigos, and said that I should stay. To be fair, he'd drunk a fair bit, and I thought he was joking, but when we arrived and I saw the place, I thought, I might as well give it a shot. We were met at the door by a bleary eyed chap who was sleeping on a soda in the entrance hall. The girl who wanted to stay there wanted a room straight away, and there was a spare Dorm bed which she took. I was more awake by now (I mean come on, 6am? That's when the all-nighter's at house parties get breakfast) and so myself and the other girl, who was going off to work on a volunteer project with endangered animals, ARCOS, at 8:30am, decided to go and get breakfast. I was able to leave my bag in a

Los Peches

Home of a a parakeet and 4am breakfasts!

locker at the hostel, which was really handy too.

Breakfast at "Los Peches" and around Flores

We found a place right on the waterfront by the causeway, called "Los Peches" whuich served breakfast from 4am - Godsend! We bought pancakes, that came with honey and jam and were sorely needed. Also there, we met a peruvian girl who was going to set off on the same project that the other girl was. Whilst we chatted and ate breakfast, we were entertained by a small, green parakeet called Paquito, that was whistling round the bar - it turns out that he was also quite fond of honey covered pancakes!
After breakfast we wandered round for a bit before the two girls had to leave to catch their lift and we said goodbye.
Although Flores is the capital of the Peten region, it is remarkably laid back and you can happily walk around the Island in 30 minutes. I spent some time looking for hostels to stay in but finally decided to stay in Los Amigos, with it being the cheapest choice around. Prices staret at Q30 for a bed in a dorm of 10 people; Q40 for

Columbian rebel biscuits

If you don't get the joke, don't hurt yourself over it!

a bed in a smaller dorm with a private bathroom and hot water between 6 people. Alternativly, you can go for the double bed option at aroun Q70 but you still have to use the cold water showers and sinks. At the time of writing, the rate is something about $1 = Q7.35, or to use the GBP: 1Q = 6p. I elected to go for a Q40 bed; lockers are included in the rooms to keep your things safe and you can carry the key with you all the time.

Chilling in Flores

Because Flores is so laid back, there really isn't much to do, but I met up with a chap who I knew vaguely from Antigua, and we found a resteraunt with a pool table and killed some time there. In the afternoon, we headed to some caves on the outskirts of Santa Elena called "Grutas Actun Can" where, according to mayan leghend, an enormous snake lived. Suprisingly, there were no big-ol' snakes, but it was kind of interesting to wander around. To be fair though, the Q20 entrance fee was a tad much for what we saw but, you know, whatever floats

Lago de Peten Itza

your boat. Back in Flores, we got a really good meal of a local sqeciality called "Blanco". It's a fish that lives in the lake surrounding Flores (Lago de Peten Itza) and is priced according to the size that you order. For Q100, you get a fairly substantial fish, but that was only a medium - sizes increase to large, XL, Huage and Grande! To drink, I finally tried a Licuardo: an chilled milkshake-like drink that is mixed with a fruit juice of your choice - I can recommend the pineapple.
After dinner, I headed back to the hostel, only to discover that there's been a mix-up with the bookings - mainly that some chap who'd moved out had decided to come back and was refusing to move. He then had the nerve to say to me that "it's only fair - first come; first served" and since he'd been there since 1pm the bed was his - I decided not to point out to him that I'd arrived at 5am but, after having only a few hours sleep in 24hrs, I didn't care about all the politics, but just wanted a bed. The management, who handled the issue fairly

Our Pool bar

well, said that they didn't have any more beds free that night, but the chap who'd met us in the mornign, and worked there, said that he'd kip on the sofa, and I could take his room. When I say room, I actually mean jungle penthouse! After climbing some stairs past the other rooms, and up a ladder or two, my room for the night was a wooden structure, with a large mattress on the floor, ad a mosquito net, though I was told that this was mainly to keep the bats from hanging above the bed! I also had access to the flat roof above, so had a bit of a wander up there, and got some nice photos of Flores at night and sunrise the next morning.

The next day, I met up with a couple, Manos and Emily, from Reading who'd only just arrived, and having been in the same situation yesterday, I offered to show them around. One of the main activities to do in Flores, is to explore the lake and you can either hire a boatman (complete with boat) or you can do as we did, and get a couple of canoes. We

Muggins here

Seriously enjoying my Pineapple Licuado though

spent a fair amount of time out there, exploring the near side of the lake and a few islands and the good thing as well is that the weather held up. We stopped off at some points and went for a swim - the water was so warm it's unbelievable. Whilst we were heading back though, we were caught in a flash rainstorm that only lasted for 5 minutes or so, but meant we had to slow down and bail the canoes out!
In the afternoon, I went off to have a go at something called the "Ixpanpajul Sky way" which is basically a series of suspension bridges and paths running through the rainforest for about 3km or so. I managed to book onto an evening tour at around 5 pm and it got dark very fast in the forest, but with a torch you'd be fine. One of the starngest things about the walk is that you hear so many weird noises. The strangest for me was like some unearthly bellowing, which I could only think of it similarly to something from Jurassic Park! Also, as the darkness fell, my torch was picking out thousands of pinpricks of light

Fish and Chips Guatemalan style

Pesacedo Blanco - caught fresh from the lake, and absolutly delicious

on the floor and in the trees. I went up close to one and found out that they're actually the eyes of spiders in the jungle. Most scurry away, but others just sit there as you walk past, lighting up the night like diamonds.
Back at the hostel, after being given a refund for my room from last night, I booked into one of the cheaper Q30 dorms. My reason for this being that you're paying extra for the hot water, but in this kind of heat and humidity, a cold shower is exactly what you need!

My next place to visit are the Mayan ruins of Tikal, but I hope to stop off en route in a small village called "El remate" on the Eastern shore of the lake. Adios until then!

Additional photos below

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