So we made it to Belize!! But you don't get to hear about that just yet. First of all comes Flores in Guatemala. It's actually quite a cool, touristy little town surrounded by lake, as in it's in the middle of a lake with a bridge connecting it to the mainland. Quite picturesque, cobblestoney, colonially kind of place. Probably a placid, relaxing place to be any time of the year other than between January 6 to 15 which is a festive period sort of connected to Christmas when they celebrate Cristo Negro (Black Jesus). I think there's a song about him. Fesivities involve street parades, marching bands, pinatas, live music and 24 hour firecrackers. We slept about 3 hours a night.
Mostly we just hung out and enjoyed the merriment. But the main reason to go to Flores is to see Tikal, THE major city at the height of the Mayan Empire (500 to 800 AD ish). After a mix-up with our sunrise tour, we managed to get on an afternoon bus which gave us an hour and a half to run about taking in the tranquil, haunting majesty of the place. A quick visit but completely worthwhile. It helped that we'd been to another site (Yax' ha) the day before with a great guide who walked us through the history, the current archaeological work and the significance of the various structures there. There are actually around 3500 recognised mayan ruin sites in Guatemala alone; only 500 of which have been studied in any way as yet. Little funding and problems with site robberies (sometimes by local archeologists) make it a slow process which can't really be at the forefront of the Guatemalan government's concerns at the moment.
Our quick break from Guatemala began in San Ignacio, Belize. As soon as we got off the bus and asked for directions we could tell it was a completely different place. So friendly and relaxed! And they speak English!!! It's much more a Carribean country, full of Jamaican accents and good beer. Not wasting a moment, we booked ourselves a canoe trip for the afternoon. About an hour of quietly paddling up an iguana-lined river, follow by a short walk, led us to a secluded waterfall where we had a bit of a dip before heading back. The evening involved a great meal, a few beers and a long chat with a local jewellery-maker/shop owner who offered us his guest room at his place in the forest the next time we're in Belize.
We're currently enjoying a couple more beers, relaxing after one of the major highlights of our trip. Actun Tunichil Muknal means "Cave of the Stone Sepulchre" in a local Mayan dialect. It was only discovered in 1989 and only opened to the public in 1998 after intense archeological investigation. There's no road access to this incredible cave system. We hiked 3km before we could don our bathers and swim in through the mouth of the stream which runs though it. Reaching the main chamber involves a bit of swimming, trekking, scrambling, ducking and climbing. Our guide was incredibly knowledgable on everything from local flora and fauna to the geogology of the caves, the archeology of the site and the beliefs of the ancient Mayans. Of Mayan descent, he was also very respectful of the sacred ground that he was showing us through. We removed our shoes at the main chamber and he explained the different artifacts we saw throughout - from ancient Mayan pottery cemented in place over the years by calcium deposits to the skeletal remains of sacrificial victims. It's hard to even think of ways to describe the emotional impact of being in such a place. Suffice to say it will stay with us always.
Photos to follow...