Tikal, the Abandoned City

At 3:40 AM, the alarm went off. By 4:00 AM, we were picked up and driven to the airport in Guatemala City, which is our only encounter with this city. It’s way too dangerous to hang around here. There are far too many murders happening every day. We’re flying to Flores, which is further north in the country. From there, we’ll head to Tikal, a famous ancient abandoned village deep in the jungle. Flores is also a convenient jump-off point for Belize, our next stop. The national airport was tiny. Each airline has its own little departure terminal, which is basically just a small waiting room. There was a communication mix-up somewhere because we weren’t on the passenger list. Luckily, there was space, so we made it on board. It looked like we snagged the last two seats on the plane—what a stroke of luck! Even at the airport, you can book a tour to Tikal. The locals were super eager to get us to sign up since there aren’t many tourists around this time of year. We politely declined all the offers and took a taxi to our hostel, Doña Goya II. It cost 80 quetzales for a double room with a lovely view of the lake. Flores is a really charming little town located on a small island near Santa Elena. Most restaurants and hotels have a beautiful view of the lake. We had breakfast—sandwiches—right by the lake, which was teeming with fish. At 10 AM, we were picked up by the driver we hired at the airport. He was so persistent that we ended up buying a tour to Tikal from him. It was 50 quetzales for a round trip per person. Tikal is about an hour’s drive away. It costs an additional 50 quetzales to enter the national park and see Tikal. But then it’s all about getting started with exploring the grandeur of the past. Tikal covers a large area, so there’s quite a bit of walking to do. There are several temples built so high that you can see over the entire jungle—a truly stunning sight. We climbed up three massive temples, where we were treated to the most amazing views over the treetops and the jungle. It was tough on the legs, but the view from up there was absolutely worth it. It actually doesn’t matter which company you booked your bus ticket with to Tikal. You just show your receipt, and you can ride back with several different buses. They all work together seamlessly. It was a hot trip. The humidity is high, and there’s not much wind in the jungle, so we definitely worked up a sweat :) Later in the afternoon, a heavy rain shower hit. It lasted only about 30 minutes, but it really cleared the air. We had dinner with a view of the lake. We struck up a conversation with the table next to us, which included a girl from Switzerland and two older gentlemen from the USA who had very different political opinions about Bush, so that was entertaining. For 170 quetzales, we enjoyed nachos and caipirinhas (a Brazilian drink) as appetizers. For the main course, we had pizza along with piña coladas and beer—yum! :)