How time flies…in our last post which only felt like yesterday we were studying Spanish in San Pedro, a small town on Lake Atitlan in the northwest of Guatemala. Since then we have travelled many kilometres to finish up at the Carribean – the opposite side of the country! We swam inside of caves and jumped off bridges in Semuc Champey, stayed in a treehouse in Flores, visited ancient Mayan ruins in Tikal, enjoyed a boat ride down the Rio Dulce and dined on tapado (a local cuisine) in the small Caribbean town of Livingston.
Our 2 week journey across Guatemala began with a very long and uncomfortable bus ride from San Pedro in Lake Atitlan. Only an hour into the early 4:00am journey, just as most of us found a position with some level of comfort (some choosing the foetal position), everyone was awoken suddenly to the sound of several passengers yelling as we all saw a backpack hanging from the roof of the bus – that backpack was actually Jo’s! Including the time it took for the driver to properly affix our bags to the roof we eventually arrived in Lanquin, a small town near the beautiful Semuc Champey almost 12 hours later. Despite our sore bottoms, Jo and I ended up meeting some great people whilst all 15 of us were crammed in a shuttle bus like sardines in a can. Jo, myself and our new friends stayed at the El Retiro Lodge in Lanquin, a gorgeous and popular spot for backpackers wanting to visit Semuc Champey for a few days.
We were told by many travellers that Semuc Champey was the jewel of Guatemala and our experience there certainly lived up to this title. The day started off with a guided tour through an extensive cave network around the area followed by rope swings into a nearby river. Next we went tubing down this same river whilst being pelted with beer cans thrown by local kids wanting to make a quick buck. After drying off, we then hiked to a nearby mirador (viewpoint) for a beautiful view of Semuc Champey and then hiked back down to swim in the shallow waters of the Semuc pools. No words can really describe how much fun we had that day so we have put our experiences together in this short 3min video. Watch and enjoy!
After a few more days relaxing at the beautiful El Retiro lodge in Lanquin, it was then time for us to head to our next destination – Flores. Flores is a town on a small island in the middle of the Lago de Petén Itzá where only a single bridge connects the island to the nearby town of Santa Elena. With beautiful cobblestone roads similar to Antigua, a great range of restaurants, hotels and gorgeous views it’s no wonder Flores is a popular spot amongst tourists. We stayed at the Los Amigos hostel, a very popular hostel there with a fantastic vibe. Our treehouse room (literally in a treehouse) made us feel like kids again yet was surprisingly spacious. We used Flores as our place of stay whilst visiting the world renowned Mayan ruins of Tikal one afternoon, far north in the province of El Peten, Guatemala.
During our visit to Tikal in late June it was HOT. Those of you who do not like the heat, we strongly recommend visiting Tikal during the cooler months. If this is not possible, we do not recommend the sunset tour at Tikal due to the heat – take the sunrise tour instead. We heard from a number of backpackers that the sunrise tour was amazing and that the only difference between the super early tour (departs at 3.30am) and the more popular sunrise tour (departs at 4.30am) is that you have to pay an extra 100Q for the super early tour. It is certainly a lot cooler doing the tour first thing in the morning.
Despite the heat, Jo and I followed our guide around the protected park of Tikal and were very impressed by the enormity of the ancient structures possible nearly 1500 years ago. Jo ended up receiving quite the personalised tour with the local guide taking a liking to her. Meanwhile the rest of us plebs could still enjoy the amazing sights of the Mayan history right in front of our eyes. Oh and we saw a tarantula too so that was pretty cool J
After Tikal and Flores, the town of Rio Dulce was our next destination. This small yet very bustling town is a popular spot amongst Caribbean sailors needing time to rest their sea legs. We only stayed the one night in Rio Dulce before our early morning boat ride down the river itself, towards Livingston.
Prior to arriving at Livingston, we decided to stop off at the small hidden hostel of Finca Tatin with a recommendation we received only a few days earlier from some Suisse backpackers. It was a great decision to stop off here and have some serious chill time. One relaxing afternoon here, Jo and I kayaked along the Rio Dulce to some hot springs and spent a few hours bathing in the warm waters (sometimes really hot too!). The staff at Finca Tatin were so friendly and unlike other hostels where it can be noisy this place was very tranquil and relaxing – exactly what we needed after many hours in cramped shuttle buses.
After we were all chilled out, we took a 20min ride to our final destination in Guatemala, Livingston. This Caribbean town is very small and has one main street – Calle Principal. The Garifuna people here are a mixture of African, Mayan and European descent which creates quite the contrast from the rest of Guatemala. Regardless, like the rest of Guatemala we were always greeted with a kind smile and had locals more than willing to help us. A local dish we enjoyed here that the Garifuna people are renowned for is Tapado – a stew made from fish, shrimp, shellfish, coconut milk and plantain spiced with coriander.
So after spending 40 days in Guatemala, it is now time for us to bid farewell to this amazing country as we set our sights on Honduras! Stayed tuned J
Jo & Aaron xo
Operation Whiskey 