Left the south of Guatemala after almost two and a half weeks and found my self on the Island of Flores. The place feels tropical, the people are relaxed and there is an ancient Maya Civilization around the corner.
The Island of Flores so far has been very relaxing. It is definitely a tourist hot spot, the majority are Guatemalans who come to have fun, party, swim in the lake, do water sports and chill out with family and friends. I am currently staying at Ciao Cacao Hostel, it is super relaxed and they provide home made plant based Ice creams.
Maracuyá, a cafe/restaurant pictured below was a welcoming setting after travelling 12 hours on the bus from Antigua. The food was decent, but the setting made it great. The island of Flores is a little pocket of paradise. Surrounded by Lake Petén Itzá, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the water, you can kayak, jet ski, paddle board and catch a boat to the beach on the other side of the water, yesterday I kayaked there.
I met a big family of siblings and cousins at the beach which goes by the name of Playa Chechenal. They were thrilled as I was to share experiences of Guatemala, and they were noticeably proud of their country. They were all inquisitive and focused on the conversation. The family were happy I had been to their city of Quetzaltenango, we discussed the best places to go there. It was a special moment. One of their guardians came over and checked if I was a western preacher of Christianity. I think it is quite common for American missionaries to come over here and preach Christian values. We discussed the Christian dominance in Guatemala and how it is sad that the Ancient Maya civilisation is in some ways being left behind. The beach itself had a rocky entrance and was not as welcoming as first anticipated but once in the water you forget about all of that. There was a small pier where people were jumping in and hanging out.
Yesterday morning i woke at 2:55am and caught a shuttle bus to check out the ruins of the lost kingdom of Tikal, an ancient Maya settlement that more than likely used to be called Yax Mutal. The one reason it was worth the early arrival was to hear the waking of the jungle, the birds and the Jurassic sound affects from the Howler Monkeys and Spider Monkeys. There wasn't much of a sunrise unfortunately as you will see in the photos, but the mist and cloud cover added to the mysticism. There was a hell of a-lot of information, the guide was very knowledgeable, however with three hours of sleep I was unable to process much of it. I suggest you go to Tikal to experience the Mayan mastery for yourselves. It is good value at 200 Quetzal (£20) for transport for all day access to the Jungle, plus it is a UNESCO World Heritage site after all. Book the trip through a Hostel as there are some prevalent scammers. See Tikal photos and video at the bottom.
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