Guate and Belize: Lanquin and Flores

From Antigua we took a shuttle to Lanquin, Guatemala, in the middle of the country. Lanquin in near Coban, the next largest biggest city, but aside from that there really isn't much here. It was a nice drive, getting to see rural Guatemala, although I did sleep a lot as it had been New Years the night before. Guatemalan shuttles are very uncomfortable and crowded, worse than in other countries I have visited, so it made sleeping hard but I took a Gravol and tried my best! We arrived to a rainy Lanquin where we settled into our hotel, El Retiro. The room was cheap, although we did spot some cockroaches! It was packed full with young backpackers coming for the same reason we were- Semuc Champey. Lanquin is a small town that is closest to the beautiful Semuc. The food was great- dinners were 50Q served buffet style. It was interesting to talk to the other travellers- most were backpacking as we were. We met one couple who were teaching at an international school in Guatemala City and were on their Christmas holidays. We exchanged travel tips.

Neither of us really liked Lanquin. The people weren't overly friendly, unusual for Guatemala, and there really wasn't much to it. It rained our entire time, from the moment we arrived until we left. That said, we only had one day in Lanquin and we really wanted to get to Semuc Champey, the beautiful turquoise pools. Some people did a tour that involved the swimming as well as a trip through the caves and cliff diving, but Chris can't swim so we opted for just going on our own. We paid 20Q there and another 20Q back. We went with our hotel there along with the people on the tour. It was a 45 minute drive- probably the craziest drive I have ever been on. It was in an open back truck with no seats. Chris and 2 others were seated on the bar at the back, going flying over the bumps. I started that way but was sure I was going to fall out, so sat on the floor of the back and put a backpack underneath me to not sit in a puddle. Ours was covered by a tarp but the other truck was open in the rain. It was...interesting!!

We arrived at Semuc and the group went off to the caves. We made our way to the pools and it is even more beautiful than pictures can show. We put our feet in, but then it began pouring rain so we waited in a cave until it let up. At that point, another group had arrived so we were brave enough to ignore the rain, now just spitting, and go for a swim. Little fish circled and nibbled on our feet as we waded. After about 2 hours, we found a guy headed back to Lanquin and got a ride in the back of his car, along with a few other Guatemalans. We then walked from Lanquin to our hotel. The rain continued and the power went out again. We weren't sad to leave Lanquin behind and continue on to Flores!

Flores is a cute little town with not much to do, but good for relaxing and for visiting Tikal, the famous Mayan Ruins. El Remate is a smaller town a bit closer, but seemed to be similar to Lanquin so we opted for the larger and more comfortable Flores. It is practically an island, with just one road leading to mainland. We stayed in Hotel Mirador Del Lago and we liked it. It was clean, with a lakeside view and a comfortable bed and private bathroom. We spent a day hanging around Flores (there really isn't much to do here) and the next day left bright and early (4:30am!!) on a shuttle to Tikal. The tour guide offered later tours, but really pushed the earliest one, and we were glad we took it. Not many other tourists had arrived yet, so the park was empty and we were able to really enjoy the ruins and the animals as the sun rose.

I have never visited Mayan ruins before and found it really interesting. Tikal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and reached its peak during the Classic Period- 200 to 900 AD. We spent about 3 hours on a guided tour seeing the temples, the monuments, and learning about the way of life of the Maya people. We had watched the movie Apocalypto (about the Mayan people in Mexico) the night before, and although the movie is very Hollywood, it definitely peaked my interest in what I would learn at Tikal.

Flores felt very different than Antigua. We had many days of long hour travelling at this point (7 hours from Antigua to Lanquin, 8 hours from Lanquin to Flores) and had a 5 hour trip from Flores to Belize City ahead of us. While I was sad to leave Guatemala (and Spanish!) behind me, I was definitely ready to relax and stay in one place for a bit. The day after Tikal, we left at 5am for a 5-hour shuttle to Belize City.