Tikal and Poptun

After Belize we crossed back into Guatemala and spent a couple days in Flores before heading to Tikal, one of the largest sites of Mayan ruins. By arriving in the afternoon, we were able to go into the park in the evening to see the sunset, camp right outside, and then reenter in the morning to explore more of the temples and pyramids.

We climbed the highest temple to see the sunset; however, the west side was blocked off and covered in scaffolding. Soon one of the many guards carrying guns walking around the park came up and offered to let us climb over to see the sunset for the small fee of 25Q each. We agreed to go and then he told us to explain the deal to everyone else. We got a group of 6 or so of us together and jumped over the ropes and bars.


The next day we got to see the rest of the temples; about 6 large temples and many other monuments and other ruins.


We found an American couple behind a tree with a guide taking pictures and they beckoned us over to see the huge tarantula. Chris´ first question was ¨Can I pick it up?¨


There were also many animals around the park. We saw spider and howler monkeys and tons of these things. I think they look kind of like anteaters mixed with raccoons.
From there we went to Finca Ixobel, a hostel/resort complete with treehouses, a swimming hole, cave trips, and horseback riding.




And two Macaw parrots!
Now we´re spending a few days in Antigua and trying to find a doctor to fix Caroline´s ear infection, which seems to have flared up again. Next we plan to head down to El Salvador and try out the surfing.