Blogs from Petén Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 14

(Day 790 on the road)Guatemala has recently been rated the worst democracy in Central America. Well done! Considering how stiff the competition here is and that other countries are doing their best to snatch the title, this is quite an achievement. To take this trophy home in this part of the world, you really have to excel in various categories: Biased elections, restricted personal and political rights, a weak separation between the three powers of the state, a state-influenced media, a couple of human rights abuses here and there, and generally a weak governance favouring corruption. After having been ripped off for the fare to Flores by the bus driver at the border in La Tecnica, we soon got our first taste of government corruption right at the immigration office in Bethel, when the friendly officer ... read more

Ashley reprimanded me because I forgot to say how, the night before last, the ground failed to rise up to meet his foot and he fell out of a restaurant. This scared me a lot but, fortunately, he did not hurt himself. We didn´t do much yesterday. We watched Central American fishes in their natural environment. There are lots of some kind of livebearer here, reminded us of the Amica. Also, some cichlides which we think are Nicaraguans. Not sure though. They are yellow but darker beneath. Some others also seen but not identified. Guarding fry. Acting very similar to the way the Central American cichlids act in our tanks. Today we went to Yaxcha. It´s a hard place to get to independently - the last 11 Km being down an unmade road where buses do ... read more

It is very difficult to describe just how wonderful Tikal is. It compares to Cichen Itza and to Palenque though it is as different from either of those as they are from each other. The diversity of Maya civilisation should not be so surprising as it did go on for the best part of a thousand years - and, of course, the culture persists. I don´t think it was ever a static thing and communications between the various centres were, I think, different from the kinds of communications we take for granted. Not better nor worse but different. Anyway, the monuments are monumental. They have dug up the big stuff. The very, very big stuff. It is possible to run from temple to temple, climbing the steep and rickety wooden staircases provided like it was some ... read more

TIKAL - BELIZE Los gings von Antigua. Endlich! So bin ich gegen Norden. Zuerst nach Guatemala City runter, das ich durchqueren musste, und prompt habe ich die falsche Hauptstasse aus der Stadt erwischt. Wie wenn ich das erste Mal dort gewesen wäre. Doch ich kam immer von der anderen Seite. Immer ist zwei Mal. Mir ist erst ein Licht aufgegangen als da immer mehr Tafel kamen wo El Salvador drauf stand. Sh*t! Das ist ja gegen Süden anstatt gegen Norden. Also rechts umkehrt und halt diese halbe Stunde wieder zurück. Einmal mehr musste ich sagen, dass ein Navi nicht schlecht wäre... Aber ich habe ja Zeit und hier kann man die Leute fragen. Die wisssen wo es lang geht und können somit auch Auskunft geben. Nicht so wie auf dem Lande... Man sagt rauf gegen Santa ... read more

If you're a fan of stone passageways, secret corridors, temple entrances hidden behind waterfalls, and counter-weighted floor plates that trigger traps and open doors ... go play tomb raider. But if you want to see real Mayan temples used by real Mayan folks for real purposes, then Tikal is one of the largest remaining Mayan sites today. Much of its remains are very much in their original state, some temples still only partially unearthed and covered in undergrowth. The draw card for Tikal was the advertised authenticity of a real Indiana Jones experience. So we were slightly disappointed when we arrived at Tikal early morning to be greeted by a nicely cut pathway with clear tourist signage. Okay, so it was a tad naïve to expect otherwise, given its Guatemala's number one tourist destination. But the ... read more