Tikal

If you visit Guatemala you can’t leave without visiting the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal - so when Jenna and I heard a group was heading north to go we jumped on the bandwagon so fast.

Tikal is about a 10 hour drive from where we live without stops, so heading there in a Chicken bus for that long would be a very bad idea. It was important for us to go with a group because it meant the van there would be cheaper and we would be safer with more people. Traveling in Guatemala always means a huge adventure. Our group consisted of 3 girls from BYU, this young married couple, and then me and Jenna – 7 of us total plus our driver Salvador.

At that time I’d been in Guatemala for over 3 weeks without getting sick from anything I had eaten (and the only one living in our little house at that time that hadn’t gotten sick yet). OF COURSE I had to get sick as soon as we started this long journey up north. The worst stomach pain of my life and there I was in this HOT van on the windy mountains roads of Guatemala for 12 hour ride (I swear Guatemalans make these roads as windy as they could be). I got sick from eating from someone’s house the night before because there was no way it could have been car sickness. Whatever I had eaten my stomach wanted it to get out REALLY fast. I won’t give you the gory details but for about 3 hours I basically got the bathroom tour of Guatemala and was COMPETELY miserable. I was so embarrassed to be in this car full of people I didn’t even know and having to stop every 15-20 minutes. I was so happy when after about half of the drive I was finally feeling better and the roads got straighter. Our driver was awesome and was so sweet about the whole thing – I was so happy I paid for that van because chicken buses don´t stop for nothin! Since the trip my body hasn’t been completely normal – which really sucks. BUT at least I wasn’t that sick the rest of the trip.

On the way there we stopped at the Ruins of Quirgua – which are basically tributes to the kings that have lots of cool inscriptions on them. The picture with all the inscriptions is from that site. It was nice to get out of the car for a little bit. That’s when the heavy rain really started from the hurricanes.

We got in really late to our hotel that night and planned out our next day. It was such a bummer though because our group all wanted to do different things which ended up being really annoying. The next day at 5 am, Jenna, me, and the young married couple were ready to tackle Tikal. The rain was so bad and because of the horrible weather that there were trees, mud slide debris, and huge boulders in the road. What is usually only a 45 min drive across the National Park to get to Tikal, ended up being an hour in a half. We got there and bought ponchos that saved our entire day of getting soaked – and they make everyone look pretty attractive in these pictures. J

To get to the ruins from the entrance it is about a half an hour hike in the jungle. I loved it! We could hear all the animals, the plants were so cool, and it was SO HUMID. It poured nonstop all day long – but shorts and t-shirt were perfect to wear in the jungle. I so wish I would have bought Chacos (like hiking sandles) before I came – they are the perfect shoe to have here. I had my tennis shoes which of course got soaked and still are stinky and wet to this day. The trails were so muddy and flooded but I was so excited to be there it didn’t even matter.

Tikal was absolutely amazing! The pictures can’t even capture how breathtaking it was. We spent from 6:30 am – 6 pm there only taking a little hour in a half lunch break to dry off. We went to every single ruin there were only the ground except for one that wasn’t even uncovered yet (there were actually a couple that haven’t been unearthed yet, but you can tell they are there). I had no idea there were so many on the grounds before I came. All were a hike to get to and once you got to them they were a hike to climb. I LOVE HIEGHTS! We were climbing these scary wooden staircases up to the tops of these huge pyramids in the pouring pouring rain – I had the time of my life! It was so fun exploring and rock climbing these ancient structures. I have a really funny story about Tikal, a pyramid, and these three guys that asked me to take a picture for them – you’ll have to ask me about it when I get home because its pretty hilarious.

When we got back from Tikal and dinner we went to our hotel to find no electricity and no running water (they only had cold water at this hotel by the way). Luckily before we went to bed the water started working or else we would’ve smelled and looked like muddy jungle the whole next day. There were also these HUGE orange cockroaches at this hotel that ran all over the floor. Needless to say I didn’t enjoy my stay there all that much – but hey the hotel served its purpose which was just to give us a place to sleep.

The next day when the girls went to Tikal – Me, Jenna, and the young couple went on a boat around the island of Flores which was connected to the city we stayed in by a bridge. It had stopped raining for about an hour in a half which was absolutely perfect for our tour! For 10 bucks we got a private boat ride, a guide, and admission to this little Guatemalan zoo. The zoo there had the coolest exotic animals (and some not so exotic) – and some were barely in cages so we got to get SO CLOSE! There is a picture of this Jaguar seriously 50 feet away from us…it was so cool! The guide told us about the animals and also took us on this little hike in the jungle to a really pretty lookout point.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the long drive by getting food and such. It was an adventure finding a bank – whenever I go to tourist places on weekends I have to get money out because there is no place for me to get it in Patzicia. We got some food and then started the long trek home. The storm was pretty bad our whole way home which slowed things down a bit. The rain hasn’t stopped since. That’s a whole blog in itself about this hurricane weather that been here for over a week!