Today we awoke to an too familiar rum punch hangover, thank god were leaving Belize & the rum punch behind today. An early start after a big night never helps & we were in the van by 6.30am.
The drive to the border was very easy & only 20 minutes away. We paid an exit tax & waved goodbye to Belize.
The entry requirements for Guatemala were easy & we didn't even go in the building. Suzie took all our passports & had them stamped for us, while we loaded all our big bags onto the roof of a small van & found seats.
Guatemala gained its independence from the Spanish in 1821, which is the same year that El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras & Costa Rica also gained their independence. It has a population of 16.9 million people and is known for its scenic natural wonders such as the forrest's, lakes & volcanoes, as well as it's archaeological sights. Because of these things Tourism is Guatemala's second biggest industry, employing 35% of its citizens. The common language is Spanish, however there is 21 different Mayan dialects spoken in Guatemala as well. It is a big exporter of chocolate & coffee, with coffee being the biggest industry & surprisingly is the worlds leading producer of Jade. Unfortunately there is a dark side to Guatemala with it having one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America, mostly due to the uneven distribution of wealth & development in the country. In 2016 alone, there was an average of 101 murders per week. Which is a crazy high number!! Admittedly, we did notice the lack of wealth & development in some areas, however, everyone we met in Guatemala was very nice.
After entering Guatemala we went to the Tikal ruins, an ancient Mayan ruins that only just missed out on the people's vote for the title of world wonder, a title that Chichen Itza holds. Our guide blames this fact on the high number of the Mexican population that voted as opposed to the smaller population in Guatemala. This makes me feel mildly better about missing Chichen Itza, Our guide definitely thinks Tikal is just as special, if not more special than Chichen Itza.
Our excitement to be exploring a new Mayan ruins was short lived. It was in the car park here that Tom couldn't find the battery for the DSLR camera & realised he also had this plugged in to the wall socket behind the microwave at Playa del Carmen. Another piece of technology lost & another inconvenience. We are now relying on our phones for all the photos & are having to borrow the wall adaptor & cords to charge our phones. At this point, I honestly wanted to cry. We have no Go-pro, or DSLR camera & our phones are constantly dead & we are unable to charge them conveniently. Once again, Barbie saves the day & the blog posts, by sharing all her pictures. She let me use her Go-pro to take photos & video's at Tikal, while she used her phone.
The Tikal ruins are really something special & we are glad we saw them, especially cause we missed Chichen Itza. We had to walk 20 minutes through jungle & on our arrival in the main archaeology area, we received a refreshing sun shower. The jungle is really dense here & full of life. We can hear lots of birds & howler monkeys, we can see lots of insects & frogs. Some of the tour group catches a glimpse of a fox, running past.
Tikal is was of the biggest Meso American cities in the classic Mayan period, with a lot of it still un-escavated and an estimated area of 575 square kilometres. This is a huge ruin site & is considered by archaeologists to be a Mayan super power city & the capital. The ruins contain evidence of a sports stadium, school, hospital, library & even some books were uncovered here. Another incredible thing about this Archaeological site is the grand & very tall Temples & pyramids that they built to worship the god's. The top's of these structures can be seen sticking out from over the top of the jungle canopy.
After we have finished with Tikal, we hop back into the Van & continue through Guatemala.
The drive to the border was very easy & only 20 minutes away. We paid an exit tax & waved goodbye to Belize.
The entry requirements for Guatemala were easy & we didn't even go in the building. Suzie took all our passports & had them stamped for us, while we loaded all our big bags onto the roof of a small van & found seats.
Guatemala gained its independence from the Spanish in 1821, which is the same year that El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras & Costa Rica also gained their independence. It has a population of 16.9 million people and is known for its scenic natural wonders such as the forrest's, lakes & volcanoes, as well as it's archaeological sights. Because of these things Tourism is Guatemala's second biggest industry, employing 35% of its citizens. The common language is Spanish, however there is 21 different Mayan dialects spoken in Guatemala as well. It is a big exporter of chocolate & coffee, with coffee being the biggest industry & surprisingly is the worlds leading producer of Jade. Unfortunately there is a dark side to Guatemala with it having one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America, mostly due to the uneven distribution of wealth & development in the country. In 2016 alone, there was an average of 101 murders per week. Which is a crazy high number!! Admittedly, we did notice the lack of wealth & development in some areas, however, everyone we met in Guatemala was very nice.
After entering Guatemala we went to the Tikal ruins, an ancient Mayan ruins that only just missed out on the people's vote for the title of world wonder, a title that Chichen Itza holds. Our guide blames this fact on the high number of the Mexican population that voted as opposed to the smaller population in Guatemala. This makes me feel mildly better about missing Chichen Itza, Our guide definitely thinks Tikal is just as special, if not more special than Chichen Itza.
Our excitement to be exploring a new Mayan ruins was short lived. It was in the car park here that Tom couldn't find the battery for the DSLR camera & realised he also had this plugged in to the wall socket behind the microwave at Playa del Carmen. Another piece of technology lost & another inconvenience. We are now relying on our phones for all the photos & are having to borrow the wall adaptor & cords to charge our phones. At this point, I honestly wanted to cry. We have no Go-pro, or DSLR camera & our phones are constantly dead & we are unable to charge them conveniently. Once again, Barbie saves the day & the blog posts, by sharing all her pictures. She let me use her Go-pro to take photos & video's at Tikal, while she used her phone.
The Tikal ruins are really something special & we are glad we saw them, especially cause we missed Chichen Itza. We had to walk 20 minutes through jungle & on our arrival in the main archaeology area, we received a refreshing sun shower. The jungle is really dense here & full of life. We can hear lots of birds & howler monkeys, we can see lots of insects & frogs. Some of the tour group catches a glimpse of a fox, running past.
Tikal is was of the biggest Meso American cities in the classic Mayan period, with a lot of it still un-escavated and an estimated area of 575 square kilometres. This is a huge ruin site & is considered by archaeologists to be a Mayan super power city & the capital. The ruins contain evidence of a sports stadium, school, hospital, library & even some books were uncovered here. Another incredible thing about this Archaeological site is the grand & very tall Temples & pyramids that they built to worship the god's. The top's of these structures can be seen sticking out from over the top of the jungle canopy.
The site has an Indiana Jones type of vibe about it & we spent quite a few hours walking around, admiring the stone tablets & smaller structures as well as climbing up 1 pyramid & 1 temple to look out over the jungle canopy. As is the case with other Mayan cities from the classic Mayan period, nobody quite knows why it was abandoned. The typical Mayan collapse theory which includes problems surrounding deforestation & drought, is thought to be a factor here.
After we have finished with Tikal, we hop back into the Van & continue through Guatemala.
The drive to the island of Flores in Guatemala was only approximately 3 hours & only mildly uncomfortable. On our arrival it starts absolutely bucketing down & we wait in the van for 15 minutes before unloading our bags & walking to the hostel.
Thankfully the island of Flores is now connected to the main land by bridge.
It has a very colourful history about the initial resistance to the Spanish invaders & the Christian movement. Unfortunately the Guatemala people who were also Mayan descendants in this area, eventually had to relinquish their old ways & convert to Christianity or they would be slaughtered.
Flores is a town that we immediately wish we had more time to enjoy! Sadly there's only 1 night here.
Tom & I set off exploring the town & hunt down a 3 storey cafe with a bohemian vibe, live music & cheap vegetarian food. We order stuffed peppers & mushrooms with goat cheese, salad & a balsamic vinegar dressing, which was amazing!
After this we walk along the lake, getting startled by the locals letting off fireworks in celebration of something. As was the case in Mexico, there's always some sort of celebration in Guatemala. The island town is very small & before long we are heading back to the hostel to shower & nap before going out for a group dinner to celebrate B's birthday.
It was a pretty tame event for both Tom & I, a few people still had some stamina after the previous night & ventured out after dinner. Not us!
We only have 1 night here & it was spent in bed.
- Alli
Thankfully the island of Flores is now connected to the main land by bridge.
It has a very colourful history about the initial resistance to the Spanish invaders & the Christian movement. Unfortunately the Guatemala people who were also Mayan descendants in this area, eventually had to relinquish their old ways & convert to Christianity or they would be slaughtered.
Flores is a town that we immediately wish we had more time to enjoy! Sadly there's only 1 night here.
Tom & I set off exploring the town & hunt down a 3 storey cafe with a bohemian vibe, live music & cheap vegetarian food. We order stuffed peppers & mushrooms with goat cheese, salad & a balsamic vinegar dressing, which was amazing!
After this we walk along the lake, getting startled by the locals letting off fireworks in celebration of something. As was the case in Mexico, there's always some sort of celebration in Guatemala. The island town is very small & before long we are heading back to the hostel to shower & nap before going out for a group dinner to celebrate B's birthday.
It was a pretty tame event for both Tom & I, a few people still had some stamina after the previous night & ventured out after dinner. Not us!
We only have 1 night here & it was spent in bed.
- Alli
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