Hammock heaven in Flores

Days 28-31: Flores and Tikal

Fri 21 Jan 2011 - Mon 24 Jan 2011 22 °C

On arrival in Guatemala I am instantly feeling pretty inadequate with my limited Spanish. For a few days it doesn't matter too much as I spend most of my time swinging in a hammock by the lake while I rid myself of the mosquito bites and make the most of having a proper bathroom for a while. My peace and quiet is unfortunately disturbed by the daily 4.30am start for the trip to Tikal, which is followed by a dawn chorus by some over-enthusiastic birds.

View from my hammock

Flores

If you can't beat them, join them: On the third day I visit the impressive ruins in Tikal buried amongst the jungle. I face up to my fear of falling by climbing one of the ancient pyramids towering high above the trees. There are a number of structures spread over a large area which would take a good couple of days to cover in its entirety, but I manage to see a fair bit by midday and learn a few things from our guide. The jungle setting also makes for a good opportunity to meet the local wildlife: the noisy howler monkeys, colourful turkeys and a hu-uge tarantula!

The Tikal ruins....

The structures tower way above the trees