Flores

The journey from San Ignacio to Flores went well and quickly, so that we got there early in the afternoon. Enough time to relax a bit and then have a look around town. We met quite a few people at the hostel that either of us knew, so it was of course party time again that night. The hostel had a nice bar where we stayed for a while. Then we went to a bar down the road, but this was very quiet, so that some of us decided to go looking for another place. We found an interesting bar full with locals, but almost only men... We had a few drinks here until they closed at 1am, just like everything else. So we had no choice but to go back to the hostel bar, where the party continued for another hour or so.

The next day, I spent a long time in a restaurant eating breakfast and chatting to some people. We then decided to get a boat together and go to a viewpoint across the lake and a zoo. We recruited more people at the hostel and ended up being 7 people going. The boat driver showed us the way to the viewpoint and gave us a bit of a tour. We saw some howler monkeys on the way back and then drank and ate some coconuts before getting back on the boat. The next stop, the zoo, was really nice too. We saw tucans, crocodiles, monkeys, jaguars, pumas and many more exciting animals.

Boats on Lake Petén Itzá

View of Flores from the mirador

Jaguar in the zoo

When we got back we were all really happy with how we spent the afternoon. We then got some tasty street food and went to see the sunset at a pier to finish it off.

Street food in Flores

Sunset in Flores

That night, we only had a few drinks at the hostel bar because some us us had to get up at 4 in the morning to go to Tikal.

The American guy I had come to Flores with and I had booked the tour to Tikal with a guide while the others went exploring the site on their own. Our guide did have some good information, but what he said was often incoherent and he made too many comparisons with other cultures and even current events. So unfortunately we both did not really like him. The site was really interesting though. It is very different to the other Maya sites because it is in the middle of the jungle. There are trees everywhere and only the tops of other buildings can be seen if you stand on one. This made it all a bit more mysterious, especially early in the morning when it was still very foggy.

Tikal

Tikal

Tikal

Back in Flores, I went for a shop around for a hammock. I really wanted to take one of these home with me. I eventually found a really nice and big hammock which would make my backpack very heavy for the next week...

At night, I went to get dinner with some guys from the hostel and then we all had a good night at the hostel bar again. We were all in a good mood and a bit silly, so it was loads of fun.