The Guat without a map

The rain god has spoken!

We stepped foot into "the Guat" (as we affectionately call Gutamala) and it rained the whole time. A long Guaty bus ride took us to Flores, a very un-Gutamalan city. Flores is an Island in the middle of a lake, so we felt that the real town was on the other side of the bridge, and this cobble stone island in the middle of a misty lake was a European escape. We got a 3rd floor hotel room with a private balcony that looked out over the street and onto the lake for only $10 a night. After dropping our bags off, Kimmy quickly lead us down the cobble stone streets and into every fabric store. We haggled and haggled and got a skirt for Kimmy (which she has been wearing every other day since), and a beautiful bed throw. Next on our list is a hammock(s) which I think we will find in La Ceiba. Flores was CHEAP! We had eggplant burgers and shared giant bottles of Gallo cervesas for next to nothing.

We got picked up at 3:30 am for a sunrise tour of Tikal. About 5 km from the park, a tree had fallen and blocked the road, which meant that 5 men were using their machetes to cut up the tree and get it out of the road. These Central American's are amazing with their machetes and the whole process probably only delayed us 5 minutes. Once we got to Tikal we rushed through the park and up the tallest Myan ruin in Mesoamerica. There we sat watching the mist clear, temple tops appear, Howler monkey growl, Tucans chirp, and Tapirs nuzzle through the jungle foliage. We had a pretty good tour guide who then led us around, and up and down temples. He spoke English that he had learned from all the different tourists and archaeologists that he had interacted with since he was a boy. As a result every few words he said were in a different accent (eg. American South, Canadian, Australian, Whales). It was kind of hilarious. Tikal was really impressive. Especially the Grand Court where two identical temples (one containing Lord Cacao, and the other his wife) stood facing each other.

The next day, we got on another bus to Rio Dulce. We don't have a tour book of Guatamala so we didn't really know where we were going or what we were going to do, or where we were going to sleep for that matter. Operating on rumors, and broken explanations in Spanish, we decided to check out the thermal waterfalls in Paraizo. We were jammed into a minivan and taken FROM Rio Dulce deep into "the Guat". The van had seats for 15 at the most, and at one time there were 22 people on board for the ride. We were in the back, claustrophobic and hot. After an hour of this we were dropped off on a dirt road next to a bar. We found out that the hotel was a 30 minute walk in one direction, and the thermal waterfalls were 10 minutes in the other. The scuba suitcases were too heavy for a thirty minute walk but luckily we hitched on ride with the hotel's food delivery truck and arrived at Paradise, Finca Paraizo. We were the only guests at a bungalow hotel on the banks of Rio Dulce. After dinner and a swim in the Rio, we retired to our bungalow with the coolest orbiting fan yet. The next day we hiked up the road, and were lead to the thermal pools by some kind bar patrons. The river was very cold, but a smaller river that cascaded over a small cliff was VERY hot. Only Chris was able to tolerate the hot pools above the waterfall, but we were both enjoyed swimming through the cold water, and being battered by the hot waterfall above.

We got a ride back to Rio Dulce from Finca Paraizo on the back of a pick up truck. This ride was much more pleasant, and put us in good spirits for a boat ride to Livingston. Livingston is a small Garifuna village on the other side of Rio Dulce. Garifuna's are old African slaves who were too troublesome/rebellious for their masters and were thus exported to villages throughout Belize (eg. Caye Caulker, Punta Gorda), and here in Livingston Guatamala, to live free and abandoned. A crazy, sputtering Garifuna, clutching a Conch forced his assistance upon us and led us first to a hotel too expensive for our budget, and then to the dingiest, buggiest hotel yet. We decided to stay anyway, rationalizing this thrifty decision with the fact that soon we will have a beautiful A/C house of our own in La Ceiba. Livingston kind of had an island village feel but was a little dingy on the edges. One night there was a deluge of rain that flooded the streets and shut off the electricity. Some other travelers showed us an amazing hole in the wall restaurant where we ate Breakfast and Dinner on the second day. It was the best food we've had yet, and the owner knew it and wasn't afraid to tell the world how every thing she touched turned to gold. That afternoon we took an 8km walk down the beach and across a rope bridge to the Seven Alters. It was a fat, crystal clear river that cascaded through lots (probably 7) little swimming holes (kind of like a mini Havasupi). The last pool up the river had a waterfall and was deep enough for cliff jumping. Our first plunge into the river was conducted in this way. It was very relaxing.

Back in Livingston we arranged for a boat/van combo ride all the way to La Ceiba. With city buses and city water taxi's the trip would take 10 hours. Ours only took 5 and it was so comfortable, and not much more expensive. We've made it to La Ceiba. But this post is too long to start all that. We've spent a night here, and today we're headed to Roatan. We will tell you more about it when we get back this weekend.