Yesterday I crossed over the border from Belize to Guatemala. The difference was immediately noticable. Apart from the obvious problem with the plumbing/electricity situation (see photo), the roads are rougher and less people speak english. But the people that I´ve met are being very patient with my obvious lack of spanish.
Today I was up at 3:30am to go to Tikal (Mayan ruins) to watch the sunrise. After climnbing up the second highest pyramid in the mayan world, we waited for the sun to rise over the jungel canopy... which I´m sure it did, behind the heavy cloud cover. However, it was peaceful listening to the sounds of the jungle. That was until the Howler monkeys started. They sound like a jaguar mauling a dog!
The next few hours were spent wandering the expansive site with our guide, Miguel and a collection of army personel (they are there to protect the tourist from robbers). Tikal was an amazing combination of ancient ruins, jungle and animal life. The best views of which were from the top of the pyramids (which have very steep climbs). And what goes up must come down ... very slowly in my case (did I mention I´m not really good with heights!). I also got to see spider monkeys, toucans, owls, bats and plenty of other bird life.
By midday we left the ever increasing crowds behind, and headed back to Flores. I spent the rest of the afternoon taking a walk around the island and swimming in the lake.
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