Back                                                       November 2008 Guatemala Trip

                                                                                                          by Greg Vandiver

Day 1 - After an interesting ordeal at the airport in Atlanta with Delta Airlines, which required me to stay the night there and fly out the next day, I FINALLY made it to Guatemala. When I arrived to the airport in Flores, I was delighted and surprised to see one of my friends there waiting for me with a large sign which had my name on it. It was Manuel (AKA Lente Loco). He was a local which was my driver for the March trip to Guatemala, earlier this year. When I asked him how he knew I was coming, he told me that one of my other friends there had told him, so he decided to meet me outside the airport at the exit there and took me to the Island of Flores. On the way to Flores, I noticed there was a newly built restaurant entering the causeway for going to the island, which was very nice. It was a Pollo Campero, and was the only one I knew of in the Peten. I checked into my room at Hotel Casazul in Flores for $37/night, which I had reserved by the internet.

I walked to the Cafe Arqueologico Yaxha to meet some other friends and found Raul Noriega, Dieter Richter, and Dieter's girlfriend Anabel there waiting for me. It was great to see them once again and everyone gave me a hug. I was introduced to a very famous Spanish architect (Gaspar Muñoz), who had helped restore the famous Temple 1 at the Maya Ruins of Tikal many years ago, as well as a Guatemalan architect (Oscar Quintana) who had worked at the Maya Ruins of San Clemente and La Blanca. We ate a nice dinner and had a few drinks while we discussed my plans for the week, as well as a future trip together to Mexico. I was also happy to see the cooks at the restaurant there once again, which are 3 sisters who are very sweet and adorable. After dinner, we went to a small party nearby, where I met another architect (Arturo) who had worked at the Maya Ruins of El Peru for five years and a Guatemalan archaeologist (Miriam). We had a few drinks and talked about many different sites during the night.

Day 2 - After a nice breakfast with Dieter, I had a tuk-tuk take me to the area in Santa Elena for buses and colectivos. I caught the first available colectivo to Sayaxche' for 20 Quetzals. Once I arrived to the river there, I had to cross to the other side on a ferry, which costed only 2 Quetzals. I was to meet a boat there by reservation over the internet, with Lanchas Don Pedro, and through Chimino's Island Lodge. Even though I was a little late arriving there, I had no trouble finding Jorge, who had been waiting for me that morning for taking me where I wanted to go for the day. Jorge took me down river for about an hour to the Maya Ruins of Ceibal. After arriving there, I had to walk up the hill to enter the site, which is located on the Rio Pasion. It was a long climb up the hill and I had to stop for resting a few times along the way. There was a lot of stelae there, as well as a ball court and another structure. It wasn't the largest site I had ever visited, but was a important site which I has never visited before. Also, there were some black howler monkeys there at the site, which I always find to be amusing.

I stayed 2 hours at the site and went back to the river to meet Jorge again, who had waited for me at the river. He asked me if I needed to pick up some food for lunch, when he stopped in Sayaxche' for getting some more gas for his boat. I told him I had brought some food along, as well as a couple of drinks. I reached in my backpack and offered him some smoked sausage links and teriyaki flavored beef jerky, which I had bought in the U.S. before the trip. I also handed him a soda which I had bought in Sayaxche'. He really liked the beef jerky a lot. Every time I would offer him some more of it, he would have no trouble taking it. I could tell he had never experienced eating it before. He told me I was a very prepared person, as we headed up river to our next stop.

Jorge was to take me to Chimino's Island Lodge, where I had reserved a bungalow for the next three nights. It was a long trip up river, through mangroves and narrow pathways at times. I saw a lot of Snowy Egrets, as well as a few crocodiles along the way. Once we arrived there to the boat dock, I was met by the manager there, which was a Mexican-born man named Agusto. Agusto took me down one of the trails there to my bungalow, which was located near the waterfront of the Petexbatun Lagoon. The bungalow had three beds, a nice porch, and private bathroom/shower. I was surprised to find out that the shower even had hot water. I could see a propane water heater outside my bungalow, after searching for the source. I did not have any electricity in the bungalow and found out later they only operate a electricity generator twice daily, for lighting and such on the island. They ran it from 6 a.m. - 8 a.m. and then from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.. I also enjoyed hearing and seeing the family of black howler monkeys there on the island, as well as the numerous exotic birds.

I tried my luck at some fishing from the boat dock for a bit, but did not catch anything (although I had a lot of bites). I had my first meal on the island that evening, which was also included with the price of lodging. The Chef there (Ricardo) really knew how to put together some wonderful dishes. The presentation was very nice and he even made home-made bread each day, which was the most wonderful bread I had ever tasted before. On this night, I had cream of vegetable soup, lomito, some steamed vegetables, and fruit cocktail for dessert. The only beer they have on the island is the dreadful local beer - Gallo. I had a couple with A LOT of lime juice, which made them surprisingly tolerable. After the wonderful dinner, I decided to walk down the dimly-lit path to my bungalow and called it a night. I was the only guest on the island that night and was amazed at how tranquil it was there. During the early morning (1 a.m.), a black howler monkey decided to make some noise, which was no bother to me. I am always happy to hear them, no matter what time of the day (or night) it is.

Day 3 - I woke up early to have breakfast at the dining area alone. My breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, fried wieners, refried beans, pineapple juice, and toasted home-made bread with strawberry jam. It was awesome! At 8:30 a.m., my boat driver for the day (Drewen) took me to the nearby Maya Ruins of Aguateca. When we arrived to the entrance there, once again, I had to climb up a steep hill to enter the site. The site was very nice, and consisted of a lot of stelae, as well as some nice structures. As usual, there were a lot of black howler monkeys there too. Drewen had given me a tour of the site there and we headed back to Chimino's Island Lodge for lunch. I ate some cream of chicken soup, a tilapia dish with some assorted steamed vegetables, peaches for dessert, and some pineapple juice.

Afterwards, I walked up one of the paths on the island to visit the very small Maya Ruins of Punta de Chimino's. There is only a decent-looking stela there, a pitiful-looking ball court, and a flat area which they call an acropolis. I did try to take some pictures of a few monkeys along the way, but the jungle canopy made for some dimly-lit photos. It was a overcast day as well, which did not help matters any. I took a short nap and decided to try my luck at fishing once again, with no luck of course. There were other guests who arrived that afternoon to the island, and I was invited to eat with a British couple, who I found to be very funny. Our dinner consisted of baked chicken, steamed vegetables, and pineapple turnover for dessert. I also had a few Gallo beers as well. I turned in early for the night, for I knew the next day would be very demanding, and I would need to get all the rest I could get to prepare for it.

Day 4 - I enjoyed another wonderful breakfast at Chimino's Island Lodge at 6 a.m. and caught my boat to Paso Caribe, where I would depart from that morning by horseback to visit two Maya ruin sites for the day. I was met there by my guide, Yovanni. He already had my horse named "Estrella" saddled up and ready for me. I mounted my horse and we departed at 7:02 a.m.. The ride was long and muddy at times. After a bit, we arrived to the first site I would visit. It was the Maya Ruins of Arroyo de Piedras. It was a small site which had some nice stelae, and we only stayed there for fifteen minutes or so before he headed onward to the main site we were to see on this long trip. I saw lots of spider monkeys along the trail, high up in the trees. Also, there were lots of tropical flowers to see. My favorite of them, is called a "Jaleconia", and I saw a lot of them too. I was also fortunate enough to see a jaguar track in the mud along the trail, as well as a covey of quail. 

Three hours and twenty one minutes after departing Paso Caribe, we finally arrived to the Maya Ruins of Dos Pilas. I had been wanting to visit the site for a few years, but could never seem to have the extra time for going there, on previous trips to the area. The site has a lot of history. There was a lot of nice stelae there, as well as the nice-looking and unfinished hieroglyphic stairway. I ate a box lunch prepared by Ricardo at Chimino's, which consisted of a large turkey sandwich with tomatoes, potato chips, and a small container of peaches. After lunch, Yovanni and I departed Dos Pilas and he took me on an alternate trail part of the way, for going back to Paso Caribe. My horse got tired and refused to take me up a hill. So, I decided to take advantage of flat ground and simply walked for a bit. I probably ended up walking four or five miles during the trip, which was good for me to do. Like most people, I don't get enough exercise. We arrived back to Paso Caribe at 2:40 p.m. and I was glad of it too. My rear end and back were killing me, from riding the horse most of the day. The boat back to Chimino's was supposed to pick me up at 3 p.m., but I had to wait until 3:50 p.m. for them. 

When I got back to Chimino's Island Lodge, all I wanted to do was lay down and rest. So, I took a nap for a bit before dinner that evening. For dinner I had cream of squash soup, tilapia, some vegetables, and a dessert which I can't recall. Also, I had eight Gallo beers with lime, as well as took two 500 milligram aspirin tablets. Needless to say, my rear end and back were not bothering me, at least not on that night. I talked with Ricardo after dinner and he knew a lot of K'ekchi Mayan. Ricardo and I were comparing the differences between certain words in Yucatec and K'ekchi. Also, I tipped the entire group who work there, for taking such good care of me during my stay there at Chimino's. I was asleep at 10:15 p.m. and slept like a baby. The black howler monkeys woke me up at 3 a.m., but I easily went back to sleep. By the way, I highly recommend anyone who wants to get away from it all, to stay at Chimino's Island Lodge when they can. It is absolutely wonderful there, in every aspect. 

Day 5 - After breakfast, I caught a boat back to Sayaxche' at 9:00 a.m.. Once there, I caught a colectivo for going back to the bus station area in Santa Elena. The trip from Sayaxche' to Santa Elena took one hour and fifteen minutes. I then caught a tuk-tuk to Flores, for leaving my bags at Dieter's apartment, while I waited till it was time for checking into my hotel room for the night. Meanwhile, I took advantage of the down time I had for catching up on emails and such at an internet cafe. I decided to eat lunch at my favorite restaurant in all of Flores - Capitan Tortuga Restaurant. I decided to order my favorite dish there, which is called "Parrillada Chapina". After leaving there, I picked up my bags at Dieter's apartment and checked into my room at Hotel Mirador del Lago for $12/night. I had a shower and took a nap, before watching the sunset at Lake Peten-Itza. 

I had dinner with a lot of the architects I had met a few days earlier, and also met some new friends from Germany. One of them was a funny man. He spoke three languages and had lived in Huntsville, Alabama for a while in the past. So, we had a lot to talk about, since I was raised in Alabama. Gaspar had invited me to join him for the next day at the Maya site where he and the other architects were currently working. I had never experienced anything like that before, so I decided I would go with them all the following day. Also, I dropped some children's books in Spanish off at Hotel Doña Rosa for Merlina Barnes to pick up for taking back to Biblioteca La Crucenita in Santa Cruz, on her next trip to Flores. 

Day 6 - After meeting the group and eating a large breakfast at Cafe Yaxha, we went to the Maya Ruins of La Blanca for the day. It was an interesting site, where there was a lot of work going on at. Gaspar gave me a private tour of the entire site in the morning, which I found to be amazing. He explained things to me about the site, which I had never experienced before. Needless to say, I was loving every minute of it. There was a lot of "graffitti" on the stucco walls there, which was original and was put there by the ancient Maya people who lived there long ago. For lunch we had went to a nearby villlage for eating a dish which consisted of fish and vegetables. Also, Dieter wanted to get something to drink, so after leaving the small restaurant we went to a store which sold beer and rum. I had a few beers with the others and the children were staring at me, as usual for being there. The people there probably don't see anyone who is my size too often. 

At 3:15 p.m. we decided to call it a day and went back to Flores. For dinner that evening, I ate a HUGE bowl of vegetable soup at Cafe Yaxha for $2, and also had a large plate of spaghetti while I talked with Dieter and the others. I had met a lot of new friends, which I hope to see again one day on another adventure. Also, and for those interested, I will include the following price for a sample package to the Petexbatun Region through Mynor Pinto at Chimino's Island Lodge:

Boat transfer from Sayaxche' to the Maya Ruins of Ceibal to visit the site, boat transfer from Ceibal to Chimino's Island Lodge, three nights lodging there with all meals included (except drinks), boat transfer to the Maya Ruins of Aguateca to visit the site and return to Chimino's Island Lodge, boat transfer to Paso Caribe and return to Chimino's Island Lodge, guided horseback tour to visit the Maya Ruins of Arroyo de Piedra and Dos Pilas - $630 U.S.. I would also like to note that a person could do all of this a little cheaper than the price I paid for a "package" deal, but one would have to speak very good Spanish and take care of some of the reservations themselves by phone.