Guatemala – Our Trip to Antigua, Lake Atitlán and Tikal National Park
According to the Mayan calendar things were about to get interesting, like end of the world interesting and so Shani and I figured a trip to one of the hearts of the ancient Mayan civilization was in order. First, though, there were a couple of other things in Guatemala we wanted to see.
The dark sand beaches of Guatemala
We landed in Guatemala City and our first destination was a night in Antigua, the former colonial capital of Guatemala and then down to a surf camp on the coast. We stayed at the awesome Paredon Surf House in one of the Seaview Suites. A cool feature of the suite was a really nice outdoor shower and the whole place had a totally laid back vibe (as a surf camp should!). Unfortunately for me, the surf was all closing out and even the local kids with nothing better to do weren’t interested in going out in the waves. The upside was a completely deserted beach, some fantastic local food (the corn tortillas in Guatemala are so insanely good!) and cheap beers with incredible ocean views for a couple of days.
Shani cooling off at the surf camp.
After the surf camp and much needed decompression we headed back to Antigua for some exploration of the historic town and to see the sights.
Antigua.
We also went back for a chance to trek up a semi-active volcano and get some good views of a second one. The one we trekked up was called Acatenango Volcano and had erupted years before (last known serious activity was 1972) and there was a massive debris field and some still smoldering pots at the terminus of our trek.
Lunar landscape on the volcano trek.
We actually had some breakfast in tinfoil that we dropped in the steaming ground for a quick re-heat. Our trek guides brought marshmallows along for the whole crew and so we got to roast some marshmallows too! The whole landscape is so otherworldly. It was quite a memorable experience that I highly recommend. If you’re not feeling fit or up for the challenge the locals have horses for hire.
Horses for hire.
From Antigua we were off to Lake Atitlán to check out the lake and the expat scene. The small towns on Lake Atitlán are another one of those destinations touted as the next great expat destination, like all of Costa Rica was in the 90’s. We stayed primarily in the town of Panajachel as it’s the most developed and was an easy base to see the other smaller towns that call the lake home. It’s common to take a boat across to them for a day of exploration and we took in several each day. We really liked the town of San Marcos, known as somewhat of a hippie enclave and truth be told we had wonderful massages even if there was a bit too much ‘patchouli’ in the air.
Breakfast in Panajachel.
After our days at Lake Atitlán we took a short flight up to Flores and then on to the Island of Flores. At this point we both had a bit of a bad stomach and we opted for some down time and amazing views of the water. I also had a very serious work emergency back in the States to deal with so we needed to stay put as I worked that out. Eventually both our stomachs and my work headache got sorted and we were on our way to Tikal to find out all about the Maya and the end of the world.
Sunset in Flores.
First, let me say that Tikal is incredible. To have seen the whole of it in it’s prime must have been amazing as even today what has been uncovered and documented kind of blows the mind a bit. The site is massive and there is obviously much more to be excavated. They think that as much as 70% is still undiscovered. The Mayan people had such a grasp on astronomy and built these massive structures that would only be correctly illuminated during certain celestial events. It really takes a bit to get your head around how advanced they really were.
Tikal National Park Map.
To get an idea about how big the site is consider this from the Tikal National Park site “Tikal National Park encompasses 575 square kilometres of jungle and thousands of ruined structures. The central part of the ancient city alone contains 3,000 buildings and covers about 16 square kilometers.”
Monkeys in the jungle canopy.
Tikal was also a very important town in the overall Mayan empire, and to quote the park site again “Tikal grew into an important ceremonial, cultural, and commercial centre over the centuries. Most of the city’s huge temples were constructed during the eighth century AD when Tikal became the greatest city in the Maya world with a population of perhaps 100,000.”
Temple in Tikal.
We had two days for our visit to Tikal and honestly that seems like a fair amount of time to really see the highlights and a bit more. We stayed at the Tikal Inn which is actually located inside the national park and only a 10 minute walk from the central part of the Tikal ruins.
Temple in Tikal.
For our first day in the park we opted to self guide and see the structures on our own. It is incredible to be walking through thick jungle with the sounds of the howler monkeys and parrots above you and then suddenly out of nowhere a massive Mayan pyramid appears and then BAM! there you are, in the center of the once great Mayan civilization!
Temple in Tikal.
There are so many fascinating things about Tikal. For instance, the central area (called the Great Plaza), appears and feels flat but actually has a sloping grade to it that would have funneled all of the rainfall to one of many cisterns. This is pretty critical as there is no water source at Tikal!
More of the central complex.
For our second day in Tikal we opted for the early morning guided tour which included climbing to the top of the tallest structure in Tikal, Temple IV. From here we were hoping for a dramatic sunrise over the jungle with just the tops of the other temples visible. Alas, we didn’t get lucky and there was a fog in that morning. Still, the views from above were pretty stunning.
Tikal from above.
Our guide was a local and his family had lived in the area for generations and he was well versed on his Mayan history and was extremely informative not only about the Mayan culture and the nature of the temples and other structures but also about the jungle and the trees and animals that call it home.
These guys were everywhere.
If you are interested in learning more about this fascinating UNESCO World Heritage site the park site at http://www.tikalnationalpark.org/ and the WikiPedia site at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikal are a good start.
Poking up through the jungle.
Our flight from Flores back to Guatemala City ended up being a bit sketchy. It seems the airline overbooked the flight and ended sending up a second much smaller (maybe 19 person) plane like this one – the Embraer_EMB_110_Bandeirante. Plus there was weather involved making for a very bumpy ride back to Guatemala City. Shani’s hands were gripping mine pretty tightly for that flight, that’s for sure!
More ruins of Tikal.
Our only night in Guatemala City saw us relaxing in our hotel room and eating in a sports bar attached to the place. Not very adventurous but hey, we didn’t want to get mugged! At the end of the day we had a really great time in Guatemala and it turns out the world didn’t end after all.
Parrots in the jungle.
If you have questions about our exact itinerary or would like some more information about our trip just leave a comment or drop us a line and we’ll get back to you.
