Guatemala and the Mayan Ruins of Tikal

After many days in San Ignacio waiting out the Semana Santa holidays, I got packed up saying goodbye to the very nice people at Martha's Guesthouse. The morning was very foggy and cool which was nice as I slogged up the hill leaving town. Most of the route was along the Mopan River. There were lots of different kinds of birds and the scenery was thick in foliage.  The distance to the Belize border with Guatemala wasn't far. The skies cleared just as I approached immigration for my exit stamp. There was also a fee of $20. I can see asking an entrance fee but I think it is so interesting that countries also charge to leave.

Arriving in Guatemala

Guatemala doesn't charge to enter or exit and I received a month long visa stamped into my passport. The whole process of exiting Belize and entering Guatemala was very easy and probably took about 15 minutes. Once in Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala I needed to find transportation to my next destination. The distance was too far for me as there were no other places with hotels along the way. This too, was very easy. I found the bus station quickly and as soon I entered someone approached to ask where I wanted to go. I was directed to a van and Myrtle was quickly loaded on top.  This van was parked under a roof with not much room for the trike to clear a cross bar. Many of us were watching as the van pulled forward. We were all watching to make sure the neck rest on the seat cleared. None of us were watching the HP standing aid which, of course, hit the cross bar. The driver stopped immediately and backed out where there was more clearance. Once we left the bus station we made a few stops around town to fill the van. There were probably seats for 10 but the van was probably traveling with closer to 20 people. Many of the men had to stand hunched over because the roof wasn't very tall. No one seemed to mind.

Casa de Don David

The van was making a run to Flores and I was dropped off at the junction of El Cruce. It was here that I learned the standing aid was broken when the driver handed it me separately. The thin metal piece that wraps around the cross boom ripped. It also put a nice gash in the paint of my trike. I liked the standing aid but I wasn't using it which is good because now it was useless. I originally installed the standing aid to use as a camera attachment point but it never worked out for that purpose. Once I got the bags back on Myrtle, there was only a mile to go to El Remate and the Casa de Don David where I wanted to stay while I visited the Mayan Ruins of Tikal. The hotel is on Lake Peten with stunning views. A room including one meal, of your choice, is $33 which I thought was very reasonable.

Flying Over Lake Peten

Once I got checked in and settled, I wanted to find out about how to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal. There was another couple, a Dutch woman named Charlie with an American man, Dennis, that were also interested in doing a sunrise tour. They had already purchased their tickets and explained that I needed to take a local bus to the entrance of the park to buy 2 tickets. The ticket people do  not take credit cards so I needed to get some cash and I also needed to bring my passport. After purchasing an entrance ticket, I needed to buy another ticket for the sunrise tour that requires a guide. This whole process was very complicated and cost $70. I was very surprised how expensive visiting Tikal is. The van driver had waited for me while I bought my tickets which I thought was very nice. When I got back into the van I understood why. He assumed I wanted to visit the ruins right away and started driving into the park. It never occurred to me that he would do anything else but drive to the entrance and then back into El Remate. Once I got him to stop and explained that I bought tickets for the next morning, he was really annoyed but opened the door to let me out and gave me some money back. After returning to the ticket office I had to wait quite awhile for another collectivo to take me to El Remate. The bus went through many small pueblos which I found interesting. One pueblo had electrical wires hanging so low they got caught on the roof rack of the van! 

View from the air at Casa de Don David

The Dutch woman, Charlie, had been very helpful in explaining what bus to take and all the steps she took with Dennis to secure tickets. When I returned to the hotel she informed me our sunrise tour guide would pick us up at 3:30 am! Oh my! Charlie, Dennis and I had dinner together where I learned they had met that morning on the way to Guatemala. Dennis had rented a car from Belize City and he picked up Charlie who was hitchhiking just outside San Ignacio. He didn't have insurance to drive into Guatemala so they parked the car, walked across the border and took a van similar to the one I took to El Remate.  While looking at the menu, Charlie explained that she is vegetarian. Lots of people are vegetarian. It's not new or weird. Dennis had no idea what she could eat even though the menu had many vegetarian options including the meal of the day. I find it odd that people, often Americans, simply can't imagine a meal without meat and I am not vegetarian. Somehow, at dinner, we got to talking about safety issues in Central America and I commented that people in the US often talk about safety in other countries suggesting the US is safer. I remarked that with the drug and alcohol use epidemic combined with an abundance of guns, I really wasn't sure the US is safer.  Dennis took that comment and segued the discussion to the politics of assault style weapons saying he owned many guns and felt that gun control was the same as abolishing the 2nd amendment. Not only that but any gun control meant that all weapons in the US would be confiscated. He was also clearly very emotional about this. I've heard similar arguments before but I have never understood how regulating assault style weapons, which is essentially a weapon of mass destruction, translates to ending 2nd amendment protections or confiscating all weapons. I also didn't understand how having a dinner discussion with strangers in a hotel restaurant in Guatemala, far removed from US politics, could be so upsetting. I wasn't upset in the least but, it seems, this discussion would make our tour the next day quite awkward.

From the tallest temple after watching the sunrise

On the bigger temples

Cojolita

The hotel offered wake-up calls but I set my alarm for 3 am and, as promised, we were picked up at 3:30 am. Along the way we also picked up our guide. Once at the site we made arrangements to meet our driver between 10 and 10:30. Charlie had also hired the same driver to take her to another site later in the afternoon so timing was important. Seeing how dark it was at 4 am when we arrived at the ruins, I can understand why a guide is necessary. There was no way we would have found our way to the tallest temple to watch the sunrise. Along the way our guide pointed out plants and animals, stopping to show us tarantulas in the road and to listen for the sound of jaguars in the distance. Unfortunately, this morning was overcast so we didn't see a sunrise over the jungle. There were probably close to 70 people sitting on top of the temple. Lots of people were meditating as the day got lighter. One woman started chanting and the group quickly shut her down. There are many signs asking for silence during the sunrise.  Once the sun rose, the 3 of us started exploring the temples. Dennis and Charlie, not surprisingly,  are much stronger and faster hikers. At one point, I thought I would lose them but Charlie hung back helping me get down some of the more difficult temples. Tikal is huge and only a very small part has been excavated. Recently, there was some kind of laser technology used to reveal Tikal actually includes around 60,000 structures in 800 square miles that even has an elevated highway. It's possible there may have been as many as 10 million inhabitants living in the area. Here is a link to an article about the incredible discoveries.  Tikal was built between 4 bc and 900 AD. 

While I was walking around the main temple complex, I watched a Mayan family setting up for a sacrifice that included a live chicken. A man was chanting and lighting herbs to cleanse the pit when a Tikal official approached and asked him to produce a permit. The man showed him a permit but something still wasn't right. I think the permit was for another alter pit. The man got up and walked to the office to clear up the misunderstanding. I later heard that the family was allowed to continue with the sacrifice of the poor chicken. 

Sacrifice pit with a live chicken

Some of the temples allow climbing and some don't. Many of the temples have steep stone steps that my legs aren't strong enough to climb. Luckily, some of the temples also had staircases added and I didn't have any problems climbing those. It was nice to look out over the jungle from the top of the temples. Climbing up and down these temples is also a big work out!

Stairs down from one of the temples

Dennis, Charlie and I were exploring the main temple complex when, suddenly, Dennis disappeared. Charlie and I walked all around looking for him. After awhile we gave up looking and figured we would see him back at the van. But, he didn't show up there either. We sat with the driver waiting for over an hour and Dennis never arrived. Back at the hotel, the owner, another American, said sometimes people get separated but they always get back to the hotel and he wasn't worried. But Dennis never came back to the hotel. What could have happened to him? The next day Charlie was returning to Belize and she would see if his car was still there. If his car was at the border where he parked it, she would call the US embassy. I gave her my email address and asked her to let me know.

Lake Peten from Flores

The next morning, I rode 20 miles to Flores and the other side of Lake Peten. Flores is a beautiful island. It is much bigger than El Remate and much more touristic.  This is the hub for the area and there is even an international airport. From here, I wanted to take some kind of transport into Mexico. There was a heat wave happening and it was incredibly hot and humid. Much too hot for cycling. The forecast called for the heat wave to continue a few more days. Also, looking at the map, there didn't appear to be any places to stay between Flores and the border with Mexico or from the border to the town of Palenque which would be my next big stop to explore more Mayan ruins.  I pulled into Hotel Peten which is very nice and my room had a lovely view of the lake.  The receptionist lady spoke English and effortlessly took care of all my transport issues. She made me a reservation for a shuttle in the morning that would have a roof rack for Myrtle. The whole process couldn't have been easier. Temperatures were close to 100 degrees and the sun was so strong I couldn't really enjoy much of Flores. The wifi was barely good enough to take care of photo, video processing and I was able to upload a couple of short movies. Adding video updates to my blog really takes a lot of time but, luckily, I'm enjoying the process. 

Recap of travels through Belize and Guatemala

Even though the timing of this tour prohibited me from doing any camping, I would like to return to Guatemala and Belize with more time and options for camping. This time of year is simply too hot and humid for camping. I think when I return I will bring not only a tent but also a hammock. I think a hammock would be more comfortable than a tent in this stifling humidity.  My Spanish is also really coming along but I hope next time to have even stronger language skills which will make traveling in the area easier as well.

View from my hotel room on La Isla de Flores

I really love Mexico and am looking forward to returning.