Ancient People, Language Barriers and Coffee Shops - Tikal and Flores

We woke up early. Unfathomably early. 3:30 in the morning early.
We got dressed, headed downstairs and had to let ourselves out of the hostel, feeling bad because we had no way of locking the door again once we were outside. We sat on the stoop outside the hostel waiting for the van to arrive to pick us up, not 100% positive the bus would arrive.

Eventually, however, it did. We got on board and I immediately fell back asleep, as was becoming the norm when it came to me and buses. About an hour later we arrived at Tikal and waited for the group to gather. What was to be a "small" group was actually about 30 people. We were met by our guide who started us off on our walk.

One of the largest Mayan civilizations, Tikal is wonderfully preserved/restored, if not a complete maze if you're left on your own. Our guide, who's name I unfortunately forget, was hilarious. He got his information across by relating it to current day events and made references to Indiana Jones as well as Star Wars.

We were able to climb one of the high pyramids and were given an amazing view

After the tour we were able to wander around a bit before having to meet the group back at the cafe. Meg and I relaxed in the main square of the ancient city before venturing back to meet the group. While sitting at the cafe we amused ourselves by watching an enormous colony of ants work their way along the ledge behind us, through a sewer grate and back up on the other side of the walkway and into a different flowerbed.

I came across this list detailing our time in Flores... 

Shower. Cool Beans. Wander (find bank). Shop (buy snacks for tomorrow's bus ride). Wander (back to the hostel, try to pay). Shop (Souveniers). Mojito (Hard work, all that wandering). Shop (more souveniers). Cool Beans (dinner and free wifi). Wander (one last look at Flores).

Yup... that pretty much sums up the rest of the day, with the exception of it not detailing the experience of attempting to pay the woman at the hostel for our room. The hostel, as I mentioned, was above a restaurant. The women who worked there were very friendly and accommodating, however they knew very little, if any, English.

We wanted to pay for the hostel but we were having difficulty knowing how much we had to pay since when I'd booked it there had been a deposit. The older lady  quoted us the normal rate, but because I'd paid the deposit I didn't think that was correct. Between my flipping through my phrase book frantically and her not wanting to upset us, it was eventually decided that we could pay when the younger woman was back in the building. So we went out to wander some more.

Such a small little city, but very welcoming. We walked around the perimeter and watched the lightning of an impending storm in the clouds before seeking shelter at Cool Beans for one more serving of their amazing nachos supreme. Imagine our surprise when we ran into Teoma, a girl we'd made friends with a couple days earlier in Lanquin. We caught up on our days apart, enjoyed some drinks and eventually headed back to the hostel to get our bags ready for the next day.

So long Guatemala, we're off to Belize!

"I know I'm happy to be on the road again, but now I'm worried my luggage will fall off..." - Lanquin to Flores

Our ride from Lanquin to Flores was LONG. Incredibly long.

We were up early, ate some amazing breakfast at the hostel restaurant, and picked up our bagged lunches that we'd asked for the number before. Curiously enough, mine was tagged with "Aranna". Even when I write my name out, it is still somehow confused. 

We argued with the bus drivers that showed up to pick up passengers (all going to different places) about what bus we were to get on. Again, not having printed vouchers was becoming an issue. He didn't believe we had paid, I showed him the confirmation on my iphone. Eventually, however, it was decided we would be on the already very full bus.

The trip started out fine, slowed down by a street market but generally seemed to be making decent time. However, soon enough things slowed down completely. 

The bus started making questionable sounds and after a bit more driving we stopped on a gravel road in the middle of a banana grove to investigate. First it was assumed our tire was flat, but that didn't seem to be the case. I took a guess that it was the axle and it turned out to be the case. Without any other parts available, the rope that was currently being used to hold our luggage on top of the bus was removed and used to secure the axle until we could get to a garage. 

Back on the road we drove for about an hour. Tired and exhausted, the hungover other travelers were grating on our nerves (well, mostly mine, as Meg has the divine ability to not have to hear them). We came to a garage and pulled in. Somehow they had a part to fix the bus with. It took about 2 hours but they fixed our bus and we were back on the road, luggage once again secured and making decent time. 

back on the road, thank god!

11 hours later we arrived in Flores, a small town that is something of an island, although it is connected to the main land by a road. The town itself is comprised of 3 different towns, but we stayed in Flores proper. 

Once again, we were happy that we had booked our accommodation ahead of time, as it seemed to be difficult to find somewhere to stay. We opted to stay at the Hospedaje Yaxha, a small guesthouse situated above a restaurant. The people running it were expecting us, and though they didn't speak any English were happy to try to communicate with us. 

Tired and starving we showered and went for a walk around town in the hopes of finding somewhere open that we could get a drink and some food. We managed to find both at Cool Beans Cafe. The free wifi, cheap beers and amazing nachos were enough to entice us in. 

It wasn't a late night, however, as we were off to Tikal in the morning... and had a 4am wake up call to contend with. 

The Things You Do When Your Bus is Broken Down

1. Play memory on your phone. Start with Flags and the play Fruits and Veggies
2. Eat the bagged lunch the hostel provided for you.
3. Discover the life story of the 8 year old on the bus.
4. Play 20 questions with aforementioned 8 year old.
5. Compare the photos on your iphone with 8 year old.
6. Have aforementioned 8 year old point out that your phone consists of 3 things: your cat(s), food you've eaten and yourself
7. Play "Cupcake Factory" with 8 year old.
8. Use your limited car knowledge to place bets as to why you're broken down.
9. Explore banana grove in search of secluded spot to pee
10. Once up and moving, try to ignore your fear that your luggage will once again be lost because the rope that was once holding it to the top of the bus is now wrapped around the axle. 

Candlelight Cave Tours, Massive Bruises, Vertical Climbs to Amazing Views - Semuc Champey and Lanquin Caves

We woke up early and ate breakfast at the restaurant at El Retiro before getting ready to join the group going to the caves and Semuc Champey. As was becoming the norm, given the vagueness of our Bamba tickets, there was a bit of confusion regarding what our included tour actually included. It was determined that we could go to both the caves and the crystalline pools. Fantastic!

The bus arrived and picked us up. And when I say "bus" I should specify that it was actually a pick up truck with a caged back not unlike what you would find to haul livestock around. And into the back like livestock we went.

We arrived at the entrance to the caves and walked a bit to get to a spot to leave our stuff. We were told to wear proper footwear, since flip flops weren't enough. Those that did only have flip flops had the option to have them tied on their feet so they could walk through the caves semi-protected. Thankfully, we'd purchased those Croc-off shoes a couple days before and they came in handy!

Before venturing through the caves we had the opportunity to swing from the rope swing into the rushing water. Not about to turn down a mildly dangerous event, I got in line and waited. Meg, given the fact that she can't hear, opted to hang back a bit and observe before making her decision to swing. The idea was the guy minding the swing would yell "JUMP" as the person on it reached the correct spot... however, when unable to hear Meg just had to somewhat count off until it was time to launch herself into the air. 

I went first - and survived. The current in the water was extremely fast and the minute I hit the water I was being swept away. Off to the side I swam, climbed out and took my camera from Meg so that she could go. She lined up, got to the swing and went for it... did a pretty good job of leaving the swing at an appropriate time, but landed slightly off kilter and broke the surface of the water with her thigh. She made it out of the water (thank goodness!) despite the minor injury (which would turn into one of the most horrible looking bruises I've ever seen as the week went on.) 

After the whole group had had a chance to swing (if they wanted) we trekked up the hill a little bit to the entrance of the cave. We were all given candles to light the way. The caves were full of water, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow. We had a few guides leading the way. 

Highlights of the cave were climbing UP a waterfall, while getting pounded by water, being at the front of the group (I always end up there.. I hate getting stuck behind people) and the guide asking me if I was afraid of jumping (Of course not) and him directing me to scale a wall in the caves and jump into the darkness (there was a deep pool below) and on the way back shooting through a rushing water hole into the darkness below. 

We made our way back out of the cave after about an hour and a bit of adventuring. Not ready to end the adventure we were given tubes and shown the path to the spot to climb aboard before floating downstream. 

Meg and I floated downstream, getting completely different views from the water than from on the shore.

After we got off the tubes the group gathered again and walked to the entrance to Semuc Champey. We had lunch (hosted to us by a tiny park-side stall) and then headed into the park. The walk to the crystalline pools wasn't too long and soon we were greeted with a gorgeous view.

The water was warm and absolutely gorgeous. Limestone pools like stairs along the river, there were little waterfalls and islands to explore. Not long after we'd been in the water I discovered something that was somewhat familiar to me - the nibbly little teeth of Dr. Fish!

We swam around, enjoyed the water and generally just relaxed for a while. Then it was time for our hike. What!? Hike!? Again?

The guide lead the group up the side of the mountain, about a kilometer straight up along a pathway (with stairs etc built in, thank god) that was far more exhausting than even the hardest parts of the trek through the jungle in Thailand or up the volcano two days prior. As always, I walked too fast and wore myself out. Each time we thought we were there we turned a corner to see even more vertical climb to go. It only took about half an hour but it was the most excruciating half hour I've experienced in a long time.

The end result, however, was completely worth it:

We all took turns staring over the platform that had been built to allow us to get a look at the pools from above. Snapped some photos (which really don't accurately show the heights to which we'd climbed) and then started our descent. 

Which required us to go UP first. What!? Why more up!? 

I was tired of up. 

However, eventually the path started to go in a downward fashion. Back to my billy-goat tendencies, I was making my way down the hill at a fast pace while Meg was left behind. Granted, her leg was pretty sore from the swing incident earlier. 

We made it down, injury free, and back onto the bus, er truck, and back to the hostel. Showers all around, warm and dry clothes and a massive dinner (this time Meg and I shared a buffet dinner) and a few drinks before bed. 

Off to Flores in the morning!

The Long and Winding Road - Antigua to Lanquin

After the volcano trek we showered at the hostel (cold showers, I might add - not exactly what I was hoping for after working up a sweat and then cooling off in the chilly mountain air), walked to the square and found a bite to eat. Went back to the hostel, crawled into bed and woke up the next morning ready to make our way to Lanquin.

Our first foray into what would be a few separate days of travel throughout Central America, we climbed aboard the 15 person passenger van and made ourselves comfortable. The back seat was already taken by two couples from the UK that were heading in the same direction as we were. They asked where we were staying and we told them that we were staying at El Retiro, one of the hostels that had been recommended to us by the folks at Bamba.

We drove through a rainbow

down the hill into Lanquin

The drive wasn't all that exciting. About 8 hours all together we made a few stops along the way for food and washroom breaks. The last hour of the trip was the most confusing - we turned off a paved road to venture down a long bumpy dirt road.

The grounds at El Retiro

Lanquin is a small town. There are only about 4 hostels, not really any hotels to speak of, and not too much to do. More than anything, it is used as a starting point to Semuc Champey, a natural "monument" consisting of limestone pools along the river that are crystal clear as well as a nearby cave system and spots where you can tube down the river.

We were happy to have made our reservations at the lodge before leaving as we found out that everything in town was booked up otherwise. The resort was gorgeous - small cabins that had 2 main floor rooms and 2 loft rooms above. We opted for the lofts, since they were less expensive. A super simple room with just a bed and a light, with the thatched roof above us. No door to speak of, the entrance was closed off by essentially a towel.

The grounds were gorgeous. Nestled along the river, there was a large bar/restaurant that did a huge buffet dinner every night for 50Q (about $6.50). Meg and I both signed up and couldn't wait for dinner. We each had a shower and headed down to hang out on the hammocks that were hanging for all to use.

As should be obvious from all my travels, when one of the hostel workers showed up with a puppy, I was immediately in love. We played with the dog while waiting for dinner to be served.

Once it got dark and we were full of food, we headed to bed - the next morning we were off to Semuc Champey as well as the Lanquin Caves.