We woke up at 5:00am on December 5th to catch the shuttle to Tikal. Tikal is a massive ancient Mayan ruin comprised of dozens of buildings. The area accessible to tourists is around 20 square kilometers. People lived there for hundreds of years before the collapse of the Mayan civilizations. The shuttle got us to Tikal as the park opened at 6:00am. After considering and eventually declining to join a tour group, Jessi, Reevsy and I set off into the park.
At 6:30am the park was nearly empty. Our first stop was Temple IV, the tallest temple in Tikal and second tallest in the Mayan world. We walked for about 30 minutes through the park, checking out the smaller ruins along the way. Some have been fully excavated and restored, others are just out-of-place hills, covered with dirt and trees, poking up from the ground. We climbed the wooden stairs to the top of Temple IV and arrived at the top to see basically nothing. The morning fog was covering what was supposed to be an excellent view. We sat for a little while to see if the fog would clear then gave up, deciding we would come back late in the day.
We made our way to “The Lost World”, an area of the site with the oldest and most architecturally distinct buildings. We climbed to the top of another temple and ate a breakfast of refried beans, hot sauce and chips while the fog began to clear. By the time breakfast was finished we could see the jungle all around us with temples peeking over the canopy.
As the day progressed we continued to explore the site. The jungle has been cleared around restored temples and paths have been made between them (some paths are built along ancient Mayan roads) but everything else has been left. A trip to Tikal doubles as a day walking along paths through the jungle.
While the views from the tops of the large temples were incredible, they have essentially no interiors. The temples really aren’t much more than you can see from the outside. The most “hand-on” parts of Tikal are the housing complexes, which have rooms to explore, walls to climb, and other little hidden features to find. I channeled my inner 12 year old (not buried very deep) wondering around these spaces. It was a little strange being able to move around the ruins so freely, I cannot imagine being given so much freedom in a Roman or Greek ruin.
I even managed to find an ancient Mayan cultural artifact.
The two other highlights were the large, cleared central area and the view from Temple IV when Jessi and I returned later in the day.
Jessi, Reevsy, and I had more or less failed to pack lunch for our day trip. On the way in we bought some granola bars and cookies from a shop which barely kept us fueled throughout the day. By the time the return bus arrived at 2:00pm we were ready for a meal. Not wanting to splurge for food on site or at the hostel, we asked the driver to drop us off in town and for a decent restaurant. We got the cheap, set meal of tortillas and simple toppings, I added a banana smoothie. After a long day the food was delicious and the banana smoothie was incredible. We wandered around town looking for food for our travel day then walked back to the hostel.
The next day we got the colectivo (14 seat bus/van) to Flores. The Guatemalans did an excellent job of filling the vehicle, at one point we were easily pushing 30 people. Children go on laps and people stand where there is space. In Flores I split off from Jessi and Reevsy, who were taking another bus to Rio Dulce. Getting off the bus I was mobbed by Tuk Tuk drivers offering a ride, after a brief negotiation (I am still getting used to that) I found myself a cheap ride to my hostel.
The town usually referred to as Flores is actually 3 different towns which presumably grew into one another. Like 99% of tourists I was staying in the actual town of Flores, a small island on the lake connected to the mainland by a bridge. The island rises steeply to a peek at the center, with a cathedral at the top. The houses are colourful and the view of the lake is beautiful.
I was staying at Los Amigos hostel, a popular “party hostel”. After a very busy couple of weeks having memorable, unique experiences I was looking for a bit of downtime and a not too crazy night out in town. I got myself the cheapest bed available (one of 6 mattresses on the ground in an non air-conditioned but breezy room) I set off into to town to explore and find lunch.
I made a lap around the boardwalk by the water which ended when I found the path had been submerged by the lake. I walked along the makeshift path of planks and bricks until I couldn’t go any further.
In town I wandered around until I found a place to eat that looked cheap and not aimed too directly at tourists. While I was waiting for my meal I realized I had spent almost all my cash. In my mostly comprehensible Spanish I apologized to the staff and tried to explain I was going to get money, then ran out to find an ATM. I returned to find my very good burrito waiting for me.
Back at the hostel at set myself up in the common space to catch up on my writing. After about 30 minutes I was shocked to see one of my former Engineering classmates, Reid, walking up to me and calling my name. We hadn’t really known one another in school but were happy to catch up on what we had been doing post grad. He invited me to come out to a rope swing on the lake later that afternoon. I met the people he had been sitting with and eventually Reid, a Dutch man named Rick, and I headed out for the rope swing.
Down by the waterfront we approached a group of lancha (small motor boat) drivers and asked how much a round trip to the rope swing would cost. One man offered around Q120 each. We had been told by friends at the hostel it would cost Q60 so we walked away to find a different ride, maybe we just gone to the wrong place. Another member of the group ran after us and offered Q80 each, which I countered with Q60, we settled on Q75. I had completely forgotten about bargaining, most small transportation providers start with a massively inflated offer and expect you to counter. I guess the walking away tactic worked, even if it wasn’t intentional.
The rope swing was a pay to enter space with 2 rope swings, hammocks, beer, and a beautiful view of the lake. We had a fun evening, swung on the ropes, relaxed and watched the sunset. At one point a boat full of drunk tourists arrived and the place got busy. Eventually our lancha arrived (a few minutes early, very unusual for Guatemala) and we returned to the hostel.
The three of us went out to find dinner at a taco place we had heard about. We found a taco place, I don’t believe it was the right one. Throughout the meal we got progressively more drunk and argued about the morality of traveling, and specifically bargaining, in places like Guatemala as wealthy residents of first world countries, along with whether or not cows and sheep would survive if all the humans disappeared. We didn’t come to any conclusions but it was a lively dinner.
We returned again to our hostel hoping to keep the good times rolling but found that many of Reid’s friends had early buses to catch and that the hostel wasn’t particularly full. We chatted in the common room until it closed and the remaining people were asked to move to the hostel’s “backroom”. The backroom wasn’t particularly lively and after a game of Foosball we head out into town. We found a similar situation in town, not very full, not very lively. Knowing I had a early-ish morning the next day I gave up and went to bed. In the end I didn’t really get what I wanted out of the night, although I feel like if I had gone in with different expectations I would have had a good time. At least the rope swing and dinner were a lot of fun.
I woke up at 6:30am the next day to catch a bus to Rio Dulce. It is a 4 hour trip and I needed to be there by 1:00pm but I had decided to skip the tourist shuttle and use the regular bus system. I wanted to give myself lots of time to navigate with my terrible Spanish and general lack of knowledge. In the end it was very easy, my tuk-tuk driver asked me where I was headed and dropped me off next to the bus. The bus driver probably charged me too much money, once again I forgot about bargaining and even if I had remembered I had no clue how much it was supposed to cost. The bus was old and not air-conditioned but the open windows were enough. Part way through the trip a man stood up and spent probably 15 full minutes trying to sell nutrient pills to the passengers, I think he had some success. I spent the trip listening to podcasts and looking out the window. All in all it wasn’t a bad ride and I arrived in Rio Dulce early.
Declan Easton 