Guate All Stars: The Great Finale

Leaving Semuc would be hard.  I had wanted to lounge about in the pools again but we were on a timeline and had already paid for a shuttle ride.  We left by truck bed taxi to Lanquin where our shuttle would be picking us up. Schedules are not to be trusted but I find myself still somewhat frustrated every time a bus or shuttle is late.  Such is life.

Snapped this picture while waiting for the shuttle. Can you spot the mistakes?  Misspellings are seen everywhere, but it´s still always enjoyable.

One of the most frustrating moments of my entire trip was about to occur and here I was blissfully thinking about all the fun I had yesterday.  We were to take a shuttle to Flores, Guatemala to see the Tikal ruins.  We waited for I believe 30 minutes before the first van shuttle arrived.  Not only was it late, it could not accommodate for all the people waiting to take it.  Frustrations ran high as people realized the those responsible for coordinating our shuttles over booked by a few spots.  Whether it was intentional or a mistake we could not tell.  The kid, and I mean kid, maybe 16 or 17, who drove us here and on the phone with shuttle drivers was laughing at our questions and complaints.  A few of those waiting boarded the shuttle and the rest stayed for another shuttle that was on its way supposedly empty.  In a few minutes it showed up and guess what, not empty but close to full.  Kid still laughing, people frustrated, not a good situation.  We piled in and set off on our journey.  At least some familiar faces were in the van, the same people we had taken the shuttle to Semuc with were in the backseat. 

The seat.  As stated the van was nearly full, they put 16 people into a 14 seat van.  My brother and I shared the fold out seat shown for about 8 hours. I had the right side of the seat so I could lean on the window and he had the left side straddling the two seats.  We put my rain jacket there so he could try and sit level and I asked whoever sitting behind me to keep there knee forward to help as back support.  While very uncomfortable we were able to keep positive attitudes knowing everyone was uncomfortable and joking about the situation.


We eventually made it to Flores after a few stops, a delicious pineapple smoothie and some more discomfort. The town of Flores was a developed tourist town, pleasant, and felt relatively safe.  I say it felt self because about a week after we left a safety warning was issued to travelers to stay out of Northern Guatemala due to gang violence.  Our plan was to catch a shuttle to Tikal the following morning around 8am.  Not sure why I believed it would be anywhere close on time due to past experience.  Bryce and I sat around till about 9:30am until a private taxi driver showed up to take us.  The people we had booked our shuttle through forgot to have the driver pick us up.  Either way it was much more comfortable to take the private taxi and we were able to see everything in the ruins site that we wanted to see, even though a bit rushed.

Caution: Jaguar Crossing.  A few of these signs are posted along the drive to Tikal.  Our driver informed us 2 jaguars have been killed by cars in the past so a strict 25mph limit is enforced along with these posted signs.

Me in front of the Great Jaguar Temple. Boundary Bay what. I was somewhat surprised to see construction and repairs being done to the temples but it makes sense.  The ruins are a large culture icon for Mayans and those in Guatemala as well as an important source of income generated by tourism.

This carved face was found inside a hut which access to was prohibited.  It is actually quite large and I would estimate the top of the head is around 6 feet off the ground.

I learned that temples at Tikal are for the most part solid.  They begin as smaller structures used mostly for astronomy purposes.  As they age they are continually built over top of the previous structure resulting in huge, solid masses of stone with one to several chambers and platforms.

Opposite side of the Great Plaza viewing the Great Jaguar Temple.

Temple of the Jaguar Priest.  Multiple temples exist in Tikal but those not located at the Great Plaza have their bases covered by jungle overgrowth.  This being one of them, but a view through the trees is available.

 People are allowed to climb to the tops of the temples by way of wooden staircases.  Not the best construction and had me feeling a bit uncomfortable at times.  Then again I dislike heights very much.  This is one view.  Could see miles of jungle top in every direction, it was an incredible sight and feeling.  Pictures don´t do it justice.

The Great Plaza once more, giving a sense of the size and how it was surrounded by temples and structures.

We had a guide for our trip, again just us two since we missed the 1st shuttle.  He helped explain some of the culture of the Mayans as well as name the temples for us.  All in all it was very interesting to walk through the old ruins knowing these are the remnants of a past civilization.  Immense structures and buildings that used to be home to a thriving culture and population, all vacant now and turned into a travel destination.  The experience was definitely worth the trip, uncomfortable or not.

Tikal was the concluding destination in Guatemala.  Our time in the country while short, was a great experience.  We packed the biggest attractions into a week and had so much fun doing it with pictures to prove. I would not have much time to dwell on it though, we had scheduled a shuttle for Belize in the morning.  So long Guate, hello Caribbean!!! Talk with you all later.  Tome cuidado todos.