Another stamp in the passport, Guatemala. I have to say we were excited, the idea of cheaper prices and cooler temperatures in the mountains was really fueling us on. Exiting Belize - easy, entering Guatemala - easy. No problems, except one guy tried to get us pay an entry tax of forty quetzales but Justin asked for a receipt and said, "no receipt, no pay," and he waved us on. We were through both borders in less than an hour. Easy, but I'm sure we'll pay for it down the road. Yet again, even though the countryside is fairly similar on either side of the border the cultures couldn't be more different. Belizes' border was quiet but as soon as you crossed over to Guatemala there was music, food and chaos. Ahhh, much better - this is what we like.
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| entering Guatemala |
The roads were surprisingly good, a few areas of gravel but other than that we were able to make good time. The landscape consisted mainly of farmland and with that there were a lot of animals grazing in the ditches - horses, cows, goats, chickens and now a new one to add, pigs.
Our first stop was El Remate. A little village on the edge of the aqua blue lago de Peten Itza. We found a hotel that we didn't have to hide Anna and we settled in for the next four days. It was quiet, lush and beautifully landscaped.
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| Lago de Peten Itza |
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| Ceiba tree - the Mayan tree of life |
Our initial impressions of Guatemala were awesome - we instantly loved it. Then the owner of the hotel started telling us stories about the crime here and about the drug cartels. Turns out the department of El Peten has
some problems. He kind of put us on edge. So now all the new cars driving slowly by with blackened windows made us nervous. We started seeing things that weren't there. We even bought a cheap cell phone at his urging. As well, we kept seeing numerous military convoys at a higher concentration than we had been seeing in Mexico. Later we found out, there was a horrendous massacre very close to where we were staying. We had left the area a few days before it happened and have now learnt that the area is under a state of siege, giving the military complete control. We know that tourists are not targeted and our safety is not an issue. We know bad things happen everywhere but when you are all alone in another country this stuff can make you nervous. Our ignorance is bliss bubble, burst.
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| your friendly neighbourhood gun store |
Another thing we started to notice was how everyone had guns. Not just the military, police or the guards that are in front of every business but your average Jose. Even he's packing. We were at the grocery store and we saw a guy with a sidearm and three quick release clips in his belt. Now we are seeing them on people everywhere. But everyone here is so nice, maybe the saying is true, an armed society is a polite society - who knows?
All this crap aside, we have had no problems and never a reason to be nervous. The people we have met have been incredible. The people here are kind, warm and so friendly. They make you feel at home in their country. Everyone has time to talk and it genuinely seems wants to get to know you. We hate to even write about these negative aspects we've seen because we don't want to give a negative impression. This stuff does not define this country. Even with all the drug problems here we would still highly recommend a trip to Guatemala.
So now on to to the fun stuff...
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| drive around the lake |
We took a leisurely drive around the lake. It was very long, hot and bumpy but well worth the incredible views. We had a guy pass us and he bent our drivers side mirror against the side of the truck. There are no rules when driving here. For example, stop signs are just pretty red colored octagons on street corners that don't mean a thing.
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| the town of Flores, it was a ghost town - not tourist season |
We drove to the island town (theres a bridge) of Flores. Another colonial town full of charm and narrow streets. More friendly people that we were able to practice our spanish with. After roaming the streets for awhile we escaped to Burger King for the air conditioning, yet again the heat held us back.
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| Flores |
The highlight of the area is the ruins of Tikal. We have been to so many ruins in the last few months we weren't that excited about seeing more. Boy were we wrong, Tikal is the best of them all.
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| our guide Luis |
Tikal was amazing. We learnt all about Mayan history, culture and day to day life from our guide Luis. He talked about the Mayan calendar and how it works and about the great reset in 2012. We saw howler monkeys, snakes, cocomundis, lizards and a variety of birds and bugs, as he dragged us off the path and into the jungle.
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| disappearing into the jungle |
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| eating some strange fruit |
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| view over the canopy of the jungle |
You truly felt like you were in another world on these massive structures. The area is huge. If we wouldn't of had a guide we would of just walked in circles and gotten lost. In total we walked eight kilometers, Luis told us.
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| some of you will recognize this photo, from the movie star wars |
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| six inches behind us is a ledge that drops far far below |
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| Justin climbing to the top |
Our guide Luis was really funny. He kept calling socks - sex and he would say, "lets go find a shadow, so we can talk." He made Justin eat a termite (minty aftertaste) and made us eat all sorts of nuts and berries he found on the ground. We usually don't get guides (being cheap) but he made this a spectacular day.
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| this is the way the ruins looked before excavation |
We really enjoyed this area but as we've written many times before it was just too hot. So we hit the road for the mountains.......
