GUATEMALA
March, 2003
Our second night in
Guatemala found us just 35km south of Tikal
We made it!
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We reached El Remate, on the eastern edge of Lago Peten Itza
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After a swim, we dried off while watching the sun drop
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The next afternoon, we went up
to Tikal, a famous site for Mayan ruins -- the site is huge, and seems to grow up out of
the jungle
The taller ruins stretch up and out of the jungle, like the skyscrapers of a small city
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The Mundal Perdido (Lost World) pyramid in Tikal
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Atop the Mundal Perdido, waiting for sunset
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The day's last rays of sun, scraping the tree tops and taller ruins
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The (long) climb down, after sunset
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The next morning, our tent is surrounded by these Ocellated Turkeys
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Our guide uses a long leaf to coax a tarantula out of her hovel
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Swinging from the jungle vines -- Oaoaoaoa...slam, ouch!
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Homes of the rich and famous
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The Grand Finale: the Acropolis
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A final photo after the 4-hour tour with Nina and Martina
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The road to Lanquin
Sylvain and Sylvie, on the return leg of their Ontario-Panama-Ontario tour on the new
K1200LT
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A fairly long snake in the road!
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A strange ferry -- a barge with this covered outcropping: A 75hp engine is mounted to the
edge of this tin-can type rig -- the can spins 360º and pushes/pulls the barge.
Hard to explain, but very cool to see!
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As we climb up into the mountains
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We run into Steffen, and spent about an hour talking on the side of the road -- he is a
nice German guy heading for South America on a XR
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There's a surprising amount of construction on these roads
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We arrive in Lanquin at the
El Retiro, a hostal for Gringo backpackers, and a cool place to hang out
Using child-labor to get the tent set up
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The kids fought over who gets to use the hammer
-- we felt bad that we only had 8 tent pegs!
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Our campsite by the river, on the property below El Retiro
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The bar in El Retiro
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The main room/restaurant
A comfy place to hang-out
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Los Baños
Complete with Eco Poo-Poo toilets -- used for fertilizer
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Raven, one of the volunteers, hanging with his friends
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Another view of our camp
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While in Lanquin, we went to
the falls at Semuc Champey. Here, the river comes down and drops about 15~20 meters
below the limestone rock, creating a natural bridge along with terraced pools above --
great for bathing/relaxing.
The roaring river approaches at an incredible speed -- you wouldn't want to fall in!
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Photo in the other direction, where river drops below the limestone bridge/pools
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The tranquil pools, at least 15 meters above the river
Wonderful for swimming in
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The terraced pools gradually drop down to the river which flows below -- the river can be
seen (or imagined) in the distance
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The 10km road back to Lanquin winds through the mountains, and took about 30 minutes by
motorbike
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Check out the next section
of photos of Dirt Roads and Colorful Markets in Guatemala
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