We’d originally planned to get to Flores via Semuc Champey (roughly halfway overland) however, as we were nearing the end of our trip, spending more time in Atitlan than originally planned meant that we needed to go straight there. It’s amazing how three months disappears! Flores was another must-do for us, it’s the nearest big town to access the Mayan ruins of Tikal.
Guatemala is a large country, and Flores is up in the top corner, this meant either a 10+ hour shuttle or a flight. Our experience of Guatemalan shuttles so far has been that while they get you to your destination far more quickly than the local buses, they are not nearly as comfortable as any of the long distance buses we took in South America. The idea of a long (possibly overnight) trip on a minibus really didn’t appeal, so we decided to book our first flight since landing in Panama!
The flight wasn’t going to be a magic shortcut however, as we we still in Lake Atitlan, so the journey would start with a boat ride from Santa Cruz la Laguna, to a short (3 hour) shuttle from Panajachel that would take us directly to the airport in Guatemala city.
On the day everything went to plan. In fact, it went so well that we got to the airport before midday for an 18:30 flight. The airport at Guatemala city isn’t huge so we just had to find some seats and wait until check-in opened at 16:30. We’d brought sandwiches made with the last of the excellent bread, cheese, and hummus that we’d found in San Marcos and took advantage of the free WiFi to edit the blog. We had planned to check in, and dump our bags then grab an early dinner airside while we waited for the flight, however after we went through security we realised that we were in the domestic area consisting only of seating and a single, broken vending machine.
Luckily we always have some snacks on us, so we ate the last of our snacks before boarding. Soon enough we were touching down at Aeropuerto Mundo Maya Internacional. We’d booked a few nights at the Saragüate Eco hostal and the owner Ivan had come to collect us in his old Mercedes.
The hostel is nearly an hour’s drive from the airport and we chatted as we slowly made out way over. Ivan also called back to the hostel and had dinner arranged for us!
The hostel is a beautiful rambling place on the edge of lake Petén Itzá, we’d booked a private room that came complete with a bed hung from the ceiling, a novel idea to keep away from jungle bugs, but in reality it felt a bit like sleeping on a boat.
We’d booked this hostel because Nanna, our Danish friend, was staying there and had already been there for a couple of nights. She had waited for us to take a trip to Tikal together, and had two nights left before flying home to Denmark. By this point Kasper and Laura were already on their way home so Nanna was the last one remaining!
Saragüate is one of those rare hostels where it’s easy to meet people without it being a ‘party’ hostel. Each meal is served on a communal dining table in the centre of the hostel and the communal space just seems to encourage conversation. When we arrived Nanna had already made some friends so it was easy to join in conversations.
The next day we’d booked Tikal for the afternoon and sunset, leaving us free to have a relaxed morning. At one o’clock a minibus and guide arrived and ferried us to Tikal. Tikal is a Mayan city around an hour’s drive from the hostel and was the main purpose of our trip to this area. It’s one of the largest Mayan cities and, although it’s not as well known as Chichén Itzá in Mexico, it is supposed to be equally impressive.
Our tour turned out to be just the three of us, so we were led around Tikal learning about the history and the theories as to why it become completely abandoned hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived.
I’ll let the photos of Tikal do the talking, but the day was incredible. It was far larger and more impressive than we’d imagined. The temples emerging out of the forest, some completely restored and some only part uncovered or still completely covered in undergrowth, gave the whole place a mysterious atmosphere. There was hardly anyone else there and our guide gave us plenty of time to explore the main temples. The site was huge and it would have taken at least another full day to explore it all, and that’s just the buildings they have discovered in the undergrowth so far.
We had booked the sunset experience, so at the appropriate time we headed up to the top of one of the temples along with a few other tour groups. Our guides instructed us to be silent and we all sat quietly watching the sunset. It was an amazing view. We returned to the minibus in the fading light, spotting some large brightly glowing bugs flying around. We headed back to the hostel, where dinner was waiting for us.
The next day was Nanna’s last day before going home and she was moving to a hostel nearer the airport due to an early flight the following morning. We decided to accompany her and spend the day in Flores. We were also joined by Ida, a redheaded Swedish nurse around our age who was part way through a trip to Belize and Guatemala. Flores is a fairly standard town with it’s main tourist attraction being a small island which is full of pretty, old buildings and it’s where most of the backpackers stay. We crossed the road bridge to the island and, after getting Nanna checked in, we headed for the boats. There we saw the odd sight of the road closest to the lake completely underwater along with many waterside decks and piers. Lake Petén Itzá is currently at the end of a cycle which apparently lasts 40 years where the water levels on the lake rise far beyond their normal level. Apparently with it only happening every 40 years everyone just ignores it and builds next to the water regardless, leaving everything submerged for a few years when the water is high. It makes for a very odd sight.
Even with the high water we were able to find a boat to take us to ARCAS, an animal rescue centre further across the lake. The centre focuses on animal rescue and release back into the wild. There are always some animals that can’t be released as they are injured or too accustomed to humans, and here we were able to see them including a Puma, Jaguar, Jaguarundi, an Ocelet and a pair of Margays, one of which was missing a leg. Since these big cats are so elusive in the wild this was really the only opportunity we had to see them, and it felt less like a zoo when we were helping to fund the animal rescue work.
After taking the boat from the centre back to the main island Ida took us to Maple & Tocino where I enjoyed the most extravagant milkshake I’ve ever had which came with a doughnut on top. The last bus home was at six so we headed to a supermarket for a top-up of snacks and cash before saying goodbye to Nanna. We had a great time getting to know her, and hope that all three of the Danish crew come to visit us!
Ida and us got the bus back to the hostel but after our late lunch we were far too full to eat dinner. The bus ride was quite the experience, picking us up in the middle of a busy market and winding it’s way inches from the stalls. Once the sun set the atmospheric night lights came on, more like a club than a bus!
While we’d originally only booked two nights, but decided to extend as we were having such a great time. Our private ensuite room was already booked so we had to move into a four person dorm, our first real dorm on this trip. Luckily the only other person in the dorm was Ida, who was leaving early the next morning.
For our last day we decided to take it easy. We’re only a few days from going home and although we’ll have a few days at home before starting work I’m expecting that we’ll spend them overwhelmed with admin, maintenance and gardening, so we’re keen to keep the pace a little slower for our last week. The hostel has a couple of kayaks so we took them out early in the morning and paddled up the coast and back before it got too hot. We ended up paddling as far as the next town and admired all of the (often partially submerged) waterfront properties along the way. We spent most of the rest of the day relaxing in a hammock, however we took the kayaks out again at 4pm for a couple of hours and paddled until the sun went down. We first paddled towards the middle of the lake and then down it, the opposite way from the morning. This did mean that on the way back we had to paddle against a wind that had picked up making it a little harder, but I think we still paddled 10 or 11km over the day which isn’t too bad for a day off!
After sunset we went for a swim in the lake whilst it got dark, and spent the evening chatting to the other guests. We were pretty exhausted after the kayaking and, with an early departure the next morning to leave Guatemala, we decided to get an early night. Our dorm room turned out to only be booked for the two of us that night, so we had plenty of space and a good night’s rest.
It had been an amazing place to stay, really welcoming with family-style meals and helpful owners. It was nice to be out of the town and by the lake, the water was a welcome way to cool off from the humid jungle heat. Tikal was magical, so much more impressive than we’d expected and definitely worth the journey.