Roque and I got up early in the morning and began our 6 hour trip from Belize city to Flores Guatemala. The transport was, well… sketchy, a beat up old van that thundered down these terrible dusty roads, not particularly comfortable but adventurous I guess. When we got to flores we were pleasantly surprised by how nice the city was… reminds me a lot of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas (for those of you who know it), just that without so many mountains and the fact that Flores is an Island. We had a fairly relaxed first day on the island and enjoyed a nice swim on the lake that surrounds it. Our hotel room was very basic, but then again we were only paying 11 USD a night for two people, so no complaints from us! One thing about Guatemala is that they don’t seem to have much love for Mexicans, which is understandable after all the heck they are given by immigration authorities in Mexico… but oh well, that’s a tune all Latin Americans know quite well. I don’t usually endorse or openly criticize products or services on this blog but for this I will make and exception, if you find your self in Guatemala AVOID San Juan tours, at AT ALL COSTS… They are con artists and horrible jerks, just stay away. They ripped us off so bad, it just makes me furious thinking about it… so you have been warned, hope you don’t make the same mistake we did. So for our second day Roque and I made our way to Tikal at 3.30 AM, and got there at about 5, just in time to see the sunrise over the pyramids. Being the nerds that we are we were of course delighted to be looking upon the same view that served as the backdrop for Yavin 4 in Star Wars a new hope… so that was nifty. Of course Star wars aside, Tikal is one of the most amazing places I have every seen. I will try to get some more pictures of it up soon… hopefully ill get those panoramic shots composited sometime this week. Anyway enjoy the photos and keep posted for the fourth and final post of this central american adventure!
Structure number five, towering over Tikal
I love the way the pyramids just kinda sneek up on you
Really cool birds nests sway in the wind
Narrow street in Flores
Sunset over Flores
Sunrise over Tikal... amazing
Some very cool orchids
Roque and I (red shirt) in front of the "Gran Jaguar"
You can really see the central mexican influence in this particular pyramid, right? (Archaeology is so sexy!)