I caught a glimpse of god at the top of these temples, and her name was “heat stroke”
Itinerary:
Day 7 (Flores): Border cossing (long drive), orientation walk, and sunset happy hour
Day 8 (Flores): Tikal Ruins, swim break, and the worst dinner of the trip (so far)
Day 9 Preview: Border crossing (short trip) to San Ignacio & pottery collective
The Mexico-Guatemala border was fairly strict – we had to leave our bus, check in with our passports and immigration forms (which our tour leader JC graciously filled out for us, as they were in Spanish and the website for them was very finicky). Then we walked across the border with our luggage for Guatemala customs, which decided not to check our luggage (atypical). JC processed all our passports and the $6 USD entry fee, then we got on a new bus on the Guatemala side. My previous travels have been in the US and Europe, so this was my first time crossing such a restrictive border; there were also far fewer people on the road with us than I expected.
Then we continued our long drive to Flores, seeing lots of Guatemalan countryside and getting some history and culture lessons from JC, as he grew up there. Key takeaways: nearly 40% of Guatemalan residents are Maya, representing dozens of cultures and languages, while most others have mixed Spanish+Maya heritage; the Maya communities tend to be very cooperative and oriented around multi-generational family living. It was cool to get more context of the kind of communities my former colleagues and students have a partnership with.
We got into Flores fairly late, so we took a quick walk around the island, then went to a rooftop bar to watch the sunset. It’s clear that some of the places our guide “recommends” have some kind of relationship with G Adventures, and while they’ve been mostly great so far, Flores was a bit of a miss. Dinner was at Capitan Tortuga, which had the vibes of a Caribbean TGI Fridays, and a concerningly massive menu to match… (it was fine)
The next day, we set out at 5AM to get an early start at the Maya ruins of Tikal – a former megacity, with some of the largest temples they ever built. Unlike the Palenque ruins, this site is a national park, so there were flat paths and signage, making for an easy walk (aside from the heat!)
And although we didn’t get a jaguar sighting, there were tons of toucans, spider monkeys, frogs, and bugs. It made me wonder what visiting a U.S. forest for the first time must be like – sharing an environment with animals you’ve only ever heard of or seen in pictures. (Added more to my Jungle Pics album!)
Again, despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, I was hit with some *mild* heat exhaustion at the top of the largest temple (I think the 10-minute period of direct sun beat the Tulum ruins as the most heat and sweat of the trip…so far). Bus air conditioning, water, electrolytes, lunch, and a nap got me recovered by the time we got back to Flores. I immediately joined two of the Irish gals and old aussie guy for a swim in the warmest lake I’ve ever been in, which was great fun and so relaxing. The rest of our party came down to the hotel pool to check out the swim-up bar, so we joined them there for a margarita.
One small-group shopping and bar adventure later, we joined the rest of our group for dinner at another Hostel, which turned into a 2.5 hour exercise in restaurant patience and flexibility. 4 of our party, including both vegans and a vegetarian, didn’t get their food for 1.5 hours, like 45 minutes after the rest of us got ours, and had to remind the server multiple times that they were still missing. I know my expectations are based on American service standards, which are more customer-centered than the rest of the world, so having seasoned travelers give a more balanced perspective was helpful (and I wasn’t even one who had to wait that long). Oh and the food was pretty mid (it was “global mix” and had no Mexican or Guatemalan food).
As usual, too much to write, too little time! Long story short: I experienced being very out of place at a Guatemalan Discotech, got a lovely breakfast the next morning, and had an uneventful border crossing into Belize. The next post will include a bit about the pottery collective we visited for lunch today, and my plans for tomorrow, which will take me on a very long caving adventure with some folks from a different G Adventures group. Until then!
💜 Ada
Post 3/8 of Ada’s 2024 Latin American Journey (1100+ Photo Album)
- Mayan Adventure (14 Days)
- Local Living Ecuador (7 Days)
- Sandboarding & Sunsets (21 Days)
Leave a Reply