Flores... Tikal... Guatemala

Excuse me... Hopefully this blog is cohesive... Drinking red wine then blogging may leave rational gaps in the thought process.  Then again, this may happen sans red wine... Hmmm. o_O  NOTE: the pics are all over the place, I'm quite tired. x_x

Leaving Guatemala on an overnight bus on Linea Dorada was actually quite nice.  Hueling introduced me to night buses, when we took one from Banos to Guayaquil and yup, another overnight bus, this one was quite nice, the bus ride took 9 hours, and I was able to sleep for most of it, except certain parts in the middle zig zagging through the mountains and being forced by gravity from one side of the seat to the other didn't help any...

Abruptly waking up in Flores after an overnight bus ride was quite scary actually now that i think about it, the bus was empty and apparently, I like to sleep.  As soon as i left the bus, half awake, I was off to an adventure, thanks partly to a driver who offered to take me to Tikal back and forth for a reasonable price and even helped me find a hotel.  (we'll get back to this), ok well I booked a hotel for 60Q (about $7.50) it was really shitty... and needless to say after the adventure I'm about to describe, I decided that I wanted AC, so I upgraded to a waterfront hotel room with AC and WiFi for 160Q (About $21).

Ok, back to adventure... To be honest, I was really filled with anticipation, I have read about these Mayan ruins where a game similar to basketball is played and the losing team dies. (ouch!) well that and the travel, the views of the beautiful island (Flores) and the scenic drive, sort of like you're heading to Jurassic park, coupled with what I've read and researched in classes, Tikal had a lot to live up to, and about a 45 minute drive later (about 0800) we arrived in Tikal and what perfect timing, the weather was cool, the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds to say hello, and here I was armed with a map of Tikal and my eager spirit ready to explore these ruins from many, many, many, many (many, MANY, MAAAAANNNNNNYYYYYY) years ago... :P

freaky white furry thing hanging

As soon as I entered the Preserve, I was walking through a light jungle like hike (does that make sense - ha! seriously, maybe a comment or two to keep me in check?!) I could hear spider monkeys telling each other my location, that i have impeded in their territory like a vocal GPS system, the various insects each with their own sounds of welcome (maybe panic, perhaps even warnings!) with every step I took.  Then there it was from 1000s of years ago, within my sight, it gave me chicken skin the closer I got, like I was about to intrude on something sacred and holy, there it was, the main square, where they played "basketball", I was sort of freaked out actually, i couldn't bring myself to enter certain parts of the ruins... Partly because it appeared sacred, but mostly because I heard howler monkeys, which I just took as a sign do not enter.  I've actually studied both spider and howler monkeys and they are both quite harmless, just lots of noise for intimidation's sake.

Each site had its own unique beauty, the crazy thing is how intricate the temples where.

Then it got crazy hot, yup around 11:30, the weather guy was right 94F and humid, which I didn't believe because it was so cold... ohhh no, it was humid... so on my way back, I took a different route, took some more pictures, thought I got lost and freaked myself out when i almost ran into this insect like thing that was just floating there, with no one around, i thought it was bait for a larger bug, which I really didn't want to find out, so I sorta ran out of there... ha ha.

View from my hotel (the latter one)

More exploring, more travels, and a different hotel (see tweet:  "That last picture suxxx. Lol ok here's a new one. Toast from Guatemala! Get ur drink on... http://t.co/12hKh8v)

small taxis in Flores

I was going to try to explain more, but sometimes you just have to see things for yourself, which is actually what my next blog is all about.  Imagine going from Rio Dulce to Livingston Guatemala on an 1.25 hour boat ride, where the water is calm and the mountain on your left look like Kauai and the swamp like vegetation on your right looks like Florida, or Mississippi.  The breeze going through your hair, and ladies in front talking to me in Spanish, wondering what a guy from Hawaii is doing in Guatemala...   Yup... next blog.

Mahalo for reading.

Until next time.