3-14 San Ignacio. Cahal Pech, and iguanas! Back on Belize

We arrived in San Ignacio refreshed and ready to continue our adventures. We found a decent room at a guesthouse run by a sweet, really old couple, Mr. and Mrs. Guerra. Mrs. Guerra seemed to do most of the work - showing us around, quoting prices, etc. But, her husband was still in charge of the money - every time we paid for something, she would give us change, write up the invoice, and then bring the cash to her husband. As the guesthouse entrance was through their living room, she spent time showing me pictures of them in younger years. Mr. Guerra and Caryl, in turn, discussed the best restaurants we should visit across Belize. They were very specific about 2 things - locking the main gate after 8:30pm, and reminding us of the internet code. I remember it even now - 2020 2040. She spent ample time teaching us how to lock the gate, and still every time we got back "late", I would hear her whisper to her husband, in Spanish so we couldn't understand, for him to go check the gate. But overall they were very, very sweet, and great hosts. I only regret we didn't get a picture.

Our first day exploring (notice new, comfortable shorts!)



While on our way to the local Mayan ruins, we came across a " Yaad sale" sign - creole for yard sale. We decided to stop by! We had a nice chat with the locals, and Caryl bought me a cute flower ring made out of a modeling clay-like material (which I have already broken). Fun experience.



We eventually made it to Cahal Pech, a very early Mayan city (compared to Tikal, which was the last to fall). While it was not as large or tall, we really liked it. We were alone most of our visit and were able to climb anything we wanted.



The museum:





The site:



Us being silly and having a good time:









We learned that there was going to be a wedding of an archeologist that evening, people were setting up. We debated crashing the wedding, but ultimately decided they would probably notice us:





And one more:



On our walk back, I somehow managed to trick Caryl into checking out an iguana conservation project with me. I was ecstatic; he kept complaining that iguanas are everywhere and don't need saving, just as we don't need squirrel conservation. I disagree with the latter point, but anyway, here we were:



It is obvious who is more comfortable with the lizards:



They have sharp little claws; the caretakers release them into the wild once they are large enough, so they need them.



Bert, our guide, sensed my weakness, and took pleasure in overloading me with the beasts:



I would highly, highly recommend this to everyone. Caryl may not agree, but I know he had fun.


That evening we went out again to check out the San Ignacio nightlife.



Caryl got a haircut - but just a little off the ends:



Interesting aside - the barber recommended we check out a karaoke competition downtown. Knowing of no other, more interesting activities, we checked it out. Not surprisingly, we saw he was one of the contestants! He did pretty well on Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved, but was pretty bad at the other song. Caryl says it was god-awful. We didn't stay to see the end, as the sound system was terrible and we were tired.

The next day we had booked an organized trip to Crystal Cave, the main attraction in San Ignacio, and the reason why we came. The trip was absolutely incredible. After a short hike through the jungle, our group (4 plus the guide) had to swim through a pool at the opening to the cave, and then wade, knee to chest deep, for about a mile. Then we climbed to a dry area, with the guide pointing out cave formations along the way. The main attractions of the cave lie within; the Mayas used this cave (and most caves in the area) for rituals and sacrifices. The cave is full of Mayan pottery, some of it crystallized after hundreds of years of calcium deposits. There are also skulls and human skeletons - 14ish throughout the cave, but we were only taken to see a few, as the cave is huge. The most famous remains are referred to as the crystal maiden, though recently archeologists have determined the remains are of an adolescent male. Though we do not know for certain, it is highly likely that the individuals were brought in alive and sacrificed in the cave. Powerful to see. I apologize for the lack of photos, but ever since a tourist dropped their camera and caused damage to one of the skulls, cameras are no longer allowed in the cave. I encourage you to do a quick google search of crystal cave, also known as ATM cave.

A view from the roof of our hotel, where our shoes were dried after the cave:



I think this is Dora the Explorer from hell???

3-11 Rio Dulce, Flores, and Tikal, Guatemala

After leaving Stewart and the comfort of Casa Nostra, the four of us took a scenic boat ride to Rio Dulce. The river is stunning and quite diverse. Here are some examples:

We passed Casa Nostra on the shore of Livingston:









In Rio Dulce we caught a bus up to Flores, a small town on an island near Tikal, the major sight to see in Guatemala. The bus was packed. Every seat was filled, and as many people were crammed in the aisle. People were sitting on the dashboard and on the steps, and we kept stopping to pick up more passengers. Imagine a packed subway train, for four hours. Definitely an experience. Needless to say, we were relieved when we made it to Flores. We then found a great, and really cheap, guesthouse, where we spent 4 nights. The guesthouse does not yet have a name. Our host explained she wants to call it something Mayan, but neither she, nor anyone she knows speak Mayan. She also told us the terrace of her building is too high, and while she would like to have a restaurant, the town won't let her get any permits without first demolishing her terrace. I think there's probably more to the story, but for us, we were glad to have an amazing view of the town and the lake - her terrace is one of the highest points of the city, second only to the church.

Partially flooded road in Flores:



View from our hotel:





The next morning we awoke at 3:30am to take an early bus to Tikal. Since it gets so hot during the day, we wanted to make sure we had enough time to see everything and hike around before noon. Tikal was one of the last Mayan cities to fall to the Spaniards because of its remote jungle location. Only a small fraction of the city has been excavated, but it's still approximately 10km on walking to see it all.



Caryl and Francois, remembering old travels:











View from the highest temple:



This is what the temples look like before they are restored:



And one more:



In addition to the awe inspiring ruins, the jungle is equally impressive. We heard howling monkeys (they sound like T Rex from Jurassic Park), saw spider monkeys, and these guys:



But I was most amazed by the leaf cuter ants. We traced their path a bit and they were carrying leaves for at least a 100 yards before we lost them in the jungle. They create highways, and ants from different locations carry various organic materials back to their ant hill for fermentation by a special fungus that produces their food.

Close-up of ants:



Ant highways merging:



And of course, lots and lots of other bugs:


This picture should be rotated 90 degrees.

And, these plants are pretty cool - they don't need soil to survive:



Overall, we highly recommend Tikal. We agree it's the most impressive of all the sites we've seen. You can climb a number of the structures, there's jungle shade, and it's massive. We debated going again the next day, but decided one full day was just enough.

Over the next few days we did some chores and explored Flores and Santa Elena, the neighboring city. I've been needing to buy some more shorts (hard to find in the US in January), so while looking for a clothing store, we stopped by a thrift store, which are everywhere. Apparently, they receive unwanted clothes from the US in huge bundles, and sell things super cheap (I got 3 brand name pants for under 4 dollars). We heard from locals that sometimes whole shipping containers filled with clothes are actually stolen off of cargo ships and sold in Guatemala. Not sure if this is related, but our hand-made pillows in the guesthouse were also filled with clothes.

The stores are pretty decent though:



And here are a few more pictures of Flores:





Poor little things! Sold for about two dollars each (at least that was the price we were quoted):



On our last night with Francois and Angela, we made a dinner of guacamole and tuna salad. Two additional Frenchmen had just arrived, so we invited them to join us. Our host came up for a bit as well - it was a great night. We used all our combined languages to communicate, Spanish, English, French, and German. Except for Polish; it was not helpful in this case.

Here we are:



The next day, Francois and Angela left for Mexico, our new French friends went to Tikal, and Caryl and I headed back to Belize.


P.S. Don't forget to check out the Where in the World are We link located at the top of the page, just under the title. Caryl has been working hard on gps tracking our progress.

3-12 Livingston, Guatemala

Just a quick post today - I wanted to share a picture from our last morning in Livingston. From left to eight: Angela, Francois, Caryl, Ania, Stewart, and Erika (the parrot).



Check out the Angela and Francois travel blog at:

http://angelaetfrancois.blogspot.com

I also wanted to mention our picture issue - as you may notice, some of our pictures are rotated 90 degrees. We have tried to fix it, but so far, we cannot find a way on our tablet, and we do not have a laptop with us. Right now, the best thing I can think of is to not post vertical pictures, since we cannot get then to rotate. Our apologies!

3-10 Punta Gorda, Belize and Livingston, Guatemala

We took a 3.5 hour bus ride from Dangriga to Punta Gorda, a small town on the shore. We spent two nights there, and took some time to explore the town.

Punta Gorda:



We stayed at Tates Guesthouse. We recommend it:





We then took an uneventful boat ride across the border to Livingston, Guatemala.

While we were waiting for our ferry to Guatemala, Caryl and I joked about a dilapidated boat that was listing to one side, hoping it would not be our ride. I casually took a picture, and thought little more about it. After 45 minutes we arrived in Livingston, excited to meet up with Caryls friend from his previous voyage around the world, Francois, and his wife, Angela. We settled in to our hotel, kayaked, and waited for our friends.

The next day our host, Stewart, told us an incredible story about how a boat, the Alba, had been abandoned by drug trafficers in the middle of the night right out back, and how the coast guard had been investigating it. The next day, after a storm and strong winds, the boat sank. The day after that, three men worked for hours trying to bring it back up, and when we returned later that day, it was gone. Well, while looking through my pictures getting ready for this post, I realized that that dilapidated boat we had made fun of at the Belizian port was none other than the Alba. Stewart believes it may belong to an American, working for Apple in NYC. What a strange world.

Here is the Alba in Belize:



Here it is, sunken behind our hotel:



And here it is once more, brought back up before it mysteriously disappeared:



Now, a little about Casa Nostra, our hotel, and the best rated restaurant in town. It is run by a former American banker, who abandoned his soul crushing job and emigrated to Livingston. He has been our best host by far. He is very knowledgeable, friendly, and a wonderful cook. Every dish is crafted with care to perfection. We cannot recommend it highly enough. He even came looking for us when we went kayaking for a day, and dragged us back to shore once he saw us in our sorry state. The winds had picked up, and after 4plus hours, Caryl and I were unable to fight the waves any longer. Stewart was a blessing. And after saving us, he baked us an incredible pizza. With local beer, of course. Did I mention he has a pet parrot AND a kitten. We stayed here a total of 4 nights and are only leaving because we should really see Tikal before Francois and Angela need to leave us.

The front of the hotel:



Out back:



And a small sample of the food:



In Livingston, there are a few wonderful things to see. We went twice to Siete Altares, lovely waterfalls that end in a swimming hole after a nice walk along the beach:









And, of course, lots to see around town:

More birds:



And birds on boats:





Fish drying in the sun:





Everyone loves clean laundry:



Caryl and Francois enjoying a nice breeze:



A few more: