Tikal and Flores, Guatemala

Just about the only reason anyone visits the small island town of Flores in the central north of Guatemala is to see Tikal, possibly the best example of surviving Mayan ruins anywhere. Some crazy people actually do it as a day trip from Guatemala City or Antigua, catching an overnight bus to Flores, then jumping directly on the shuttle to Tikal, returning to Flores to catch the overnight bus back from whence they came from. Madness. I was certainly not going to be doing that. From memory I was in Flores for three or four nights, probably a day too long as I was a bit disappointed with the food offerings in town.

* Tikal is an impressive sight and a huge site. It is in the middle of the jungle.... hot, humid, steamy but thankfully largely shaded. Within about 10 minutes of walking, I had lost my way walking, somehow. The maps are rather average but there are sufficient markings to always know roughly where you are once you come to a landmark. I managed to see every set of ruins except one, which is more than most people. By far the most impressive view is that from Temple IV where you can look over the jungle canopy atop the temple and see all the other temples in the distance. Hopefully you don't get a bunch of annoying old French people and an inconsiderate guide that chose to talk loudly at the top of the temple so nobody could enjoy the serenity. Contemplated pushing them all off the edge and re-enacting the toppling of sacrificed heads down the steep steps but that would probably created unwanted paper work.

One of the great sounds of the jungle is the howler monkey. It makes a noise not dissimilar to a lion/tiger that would scare the pants off of you if you couldn't see it and didn't know what the hell it was. Never got to see them though. Saw a few other monkeys though. Plenty of them in the park vicinity.

Getting there - Every shop in town seems to be a tour agency. Tourists are pushed towards doing the sunrise tour (which is just a shuttle service to Tikal) to arrive for sunrise unsurprisingly at an additional cost of around Q60. The problem is that this shuttle does not arrive in time for sunrise. There is the possibility of doing an extra early tour at 3am for a further additional cost that does in fact arrive for sunrise. I opted for neither. I departed at 8am which meant I spent a little more time in the heat of the day but it was nothing too unbearable. Just take plenty of water and something to eat. A standard shuttle service should cost no more than Q60 return.

* Only a handful of tourists make it the two minutes across the lake to the nearby village of San Miguel. From here it is a 15 minute walk to the west and beyond the village limits to wooden lookout built in a tree at the top of the hill with great views of Flores. Continue another 10-15 minutes along the path around the peninsula and take the road to the left to Playita, a small picnic ground with a 'beach' and pier where you can go swimming. It's a pleasant place to hang out for a few hours. There is a small entrance fee.

The food in Flores was for the most part was overpriced and over-rated. Didn't have anything memorable. There is a couple stands at the point of the island where locals sell tostada and cakes in the evening. Super cheap. Q5 for three tostadas. Bargain.

A cloudy misty morning over the lake

Flores from the Tree House

An abandoned car in the middle of Flores....which can be circumnavigated in only 15 minutes

The booze cruise boat....

San Miguel

Playita

TIKAL

View from Temple IV

Hippies & Volcanoes, San Pedro La Lago, Guatemala

A place where hippies come to die.... or at least attempt to circumnavigate the large lake on foot in around ten days fuelling themselves solely on a bag of mushrooms and weed. Others may inadvertently come here to get incredibly drunk with their loose change, to "find" themselves (falls into the spiritual enlightenment basket of bizarreness if you ask me) or perhaps make 

stuff out of aluminium cans and wire.

I found it an unusual but intriguing mix of people. The first tourist I saw was a young girl (a hippie I suppose) who was on the water-taxi with from the main town around Lago de Atitlan to the village of San Pedro, whom had the most sincere and content smile on her face that made me wonder what on earth was on the other side of the lake that could make someone appear so happy (without the influence of drugs!). I'm not sure I worked out exactly what it was either.

San Pedro is split into two.....gringoville at the lake's edge and the local precinct at the top of the hill. The vast majority of accommodation and bars and restaurants and cafes are in gringoville unsurprisingly. The town has a funny layout, with narrow paths and alleyways joining gringoville together. It can be a bit confusing upon arrival when you are trying to find your accommodation. 

The whole area is quite beautiful. Volcanoes at the perimeter of the lake, the Indian Nose and many little villages lining the lake's shore that can be easy reached by water-taxi. It is advised that you don't walk around the lake due to safety concerns - this appears to only be an issue at night but who knows.

Other than doing a lot of sweet FA, I did manage to squeeze into my busy schedule the follow:

* Walk to San Juan from San Pedro for a long lunch - it is all of 30 minutes maximum but it is a world away in terms of tourist numbers. It really has been largely untouched by tourism, that is, hotels, cafes and bars etc. That being said there is a phenomenal little cafe, Cafe El Artesano, run by a Swiss guy that has four, perhaps five, tables in a large garden setting behind some high walls covered in murals. He basically specialises in serving cheeses in various guises which seemed an unusual step from having spent a few years working in Melbourne at a number of Italian restaurants. His most well known dish is the cheese platter which comes with a mountain of bread and nuts and other little bits and pieces to help seamlessly move you through the wide selection of cheeses. It is only open for lunch and reservations are highly recommended. He has some nice wines on offer - half a litre of the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc hit the spot for me. 

* The Clover - is supposedly an Irish bar/restaurant but I can't figure out for the life of me exactly why. It offers a couple Irish things on the menu. I believe the owner may be Irish too but that was the extent of the Irishness for me. It is by no means a pub, just an open cafe with a bar. The staff are reasonably friendly and they do a Steak Saturday that I missed out on as it was too busy. People rave about the Tom Yung soup (? - different to Tom Yum) which is massive but tastes nothing like anything I have had before, a poor Asian soup if you ask me. Soy sauce mainly.

* Buddha Bar - is a big American style pub with a free pool table (and comp on one night) and dart board. Meet some nice people in there. Has reasonable food, but not outstanding. Can't quite understand why people rave so much about it. Non-Guatemalan food in Guatemala is sub-standard, and that's not the fault of Guatemalans either, it's the foreigners whom move there and think they know food.

* Pepian chicken - available all over the country and something you must try. It is essentially a Guatemalan curry with somewhat similar spices to that of Indian food. Extremely tasty and a little spicy.

* A surprising number of Israeli people here which means that you can find a disproportionately high number of Israeli cafes or restaurants serving pretty decent food. 

Oh and you can climb the nearby volcano as well which takes 4-6 hours. I couldn't be arsed so didn't. Alternatively you can climb up the Indian Nose which affords good views of the lake and the volcano, probably a better hike to do if you want decent photos.

San Pedro

Boat wharf in San Pedro

San Juan

No wonder it isn't advisable to swim in the water near San Pedro

Cafe el Artesano, San Juan

Antigua, Guatemala

Very similar town to Oaxaca in Mexico, which I really like. Colourful colonial buildings, ruggedly paved roads and surrounded by mountains and an active volcano. Good food and some interesting bars and cafes. Plenty of Yanks (and Canadians) living here....retirees living the good life.

The conical volcano at the edge of town was active and apparently erupted either the day before or after I was there. I couldn't get a straight answer as to when exactly. Anyway, it was smoking very regularly which is always cool to see.

I didn't climb the volcano as it was too cold and again I didn't have the appropriate clothing. All I did was wander around town, searching for good restaurants, lounging in cafes and bars and people watching in the square. Locals are so friendly, including the Canadians whom have retired here. Will keep this report brief as I really can not remember too much about what I did here, perhaps because it was next to nothing.

Cafe/Bar No Se - A dimly lit bar with a mix of clientèle with a small Mezcal bar that you enter through an old refrigerator door. It is here you can drink four beers and pay an extra 10 Quetzales and receive a t-shirt or singlet.

Cafe Sky - Great roof top bar with damn fine views. On the pricer side.

Restaurante La Cuevita de Urquizu - Certainly not the cheapest place in town. More fine dining local food buffet style. You have a selection of at least 20 different meats and vegetables and salads for around Q80. 

Old washing facilities still used from time to time

So awesome!

Street performer

The commencement of one month of Semana Santa celebrations...

 

 

The buffet restaurant with numerous bowls of deliciousness

Tamarind flavoured mezcal, served with mineral water

View of town square from the public offices....just walk up the staircase leading off the footpath