Tikal your fancy

I cannot overstate my joy upon reentering Guatemala. I also cannot stress enough my advice that you all come and visit. Soon I would return to Antigua, but first there were a couple of small landmarks to take care of.

We went straight to Flores after crossing the border into Guatemala. Flores itself has a certain charm, and we resided on an island in the middle of the lake which was very lovely indeed. But despite the vista and the wonderful coffee shop we stumbled across, there was really only one reason we stopped by: Tikal.

Tikal is a site of Mayan ruins situated in fairly dense jungle territory. We woke up at 2.30 in the morning to climb the pyramids and watch the sunrise, which was a bit of an intense experience as the sun had already begun to rise when we stepped out of the minivan. What followed was a swift walk through the jungle, in the dark, whilst a howler monkey made some rather aggressive noises that sounded more like a jaguar was about to pounce on us from out of the bushes (of course there are jaguars there too, but they would usually run away from humans). The following video is almost entirely pitch black, but that´s kind of the point. Just turn up your speakers and imagine walking through this at around 5am.

A long climb up a large pyramid later, and it was clear that our efforts had been rewarded. And if you need some convincing, here´s the proof.

There are all sorts of things both animal and mineral to be found in Tikal. Monkeys, toucans and Mayan temples to name just a few. You can see a few pictures by clicking here. This monkey however is my personal favourite.

After spending the afternoon relaxing in Flores, the next day we moved on to Rio Dulce. In itself the town is nothing special, but we were staying at a little hotel overlooking the lake. Though it was on the mainland, to get to the hotel a small boat ride was needed. Once there, one can drink cocktails at the restaurant and watch the boats go by, chill out in a hammock or just go upstairs and shoot some pool. I´m telling you, all this relaxation was beginning to get to me by that point. So the next day we took a little boat ride, stopping to watch some birds, take a dip in the hot springs and visit the town of Livingstone with its brightly coloured buildings and stunningly delicious iced coffees made with coconut milk.

You may well be wondering what could top all of that, but as far as I´m concerned it was topped this morning when after a very long bus ride, though mercifully in a very comfortable bus, we arrived in Antigua. I was wondering how I would feel when I gazed upon those cobbled streets once more, and whatever feelings I had manifested themselves in a childlike smile and dizzying excitement. What didn´t help however is that we were travelling whilst back in Europe a very important football game was occurring. Most of you know I am a Man U fan, and as it happens there´s an Australian, named Ben, on the trip who´s living in London and supports Chelsea. The banter between the two of us seemed to get the whole tour interested, and when we made it to our hotel just in time for extra time, almost everyone congregated in Ben´s room to watch the pair of us squirm uncomfortably as the game went to penalties. Fortunately the better team won. John Terry can blame the grass all he likes.

And then the real highlight of my day so far. Everyone at GVI knew I was coming back at some point, but not exactly when. All the volunteers meet at a coffee shop near the town centre after the day is done, and I decided I would show up unannounced and succeeded in provoking quite a few double takes. Seeing everyone again was wonderful, and it really feels like I only just left. Whilst I´m only spending one night here this time, I shall return for the whole of the weekend which pleases me greatly. But as tonight is Wednesday night, that means one thing: it´s darts night. Even back home, you may want to take cover.