Flores & Tikal

Our first post on Guatemala!

Flores, a small island in the northern area of Guatemala was our first stop in what turned out to be an absolutely amazing country. It was here that we had some down time (believe it or not, a holiday like this can get tiring!) and also ventured out to Tikal to see some incredible jungle ruins.

You can tell that we had started to step outside of the comfort zone when we accepted a local's offer to hold a tarantula that he plucked from a nearby tree. It wasn't as bad as you would think because we've come to learn that the bigger & scarier looking the animal / insect is, the more harmless it is. In this area, you have to be careful of the small, cute looking animals!

Back at Flores we had some chillout time, enjoying the lake views and cute cafes & restaurants. A little touristy, but perfect for what we were after!

San Ignacio

Ok, ok we're been slackers with the posts. After some complaints from various members of friends and family, here we go...

It was quite a shock to the system going from laid back island life straight into the Belizean jungle at Lower Dover Field Station where we stayed in a little cottage for a few nights.

The highlight of our trip here hands down was our visit to the ATM Cave. Unfortunately there is no cash inside the cave as the name might suggest, the ATM stands for Actun Tunichil Muknal. This cave blew our minds. We knew only that we might "get wet" and boy was that the understatement of the century! After 3 river crossings fully dressed, we next had to swim (keeping our headlamps above the water) into the first section of the cave. 

The trip involved around 4 hours of squeezing our bodies through the tiniest crevices, walking / swimming through the water within the cave and climbing rocks. 

Inside the cave are fully preserved Mayan artifacts and even skeletons which was kind of creepy but interesting nonetheless.

It's pretty difficult to describe the experience but there are a few youtube videos that show what it is like inside! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VZsxOCz8jA&feature=related

Got to love the look in the photos. Socks + sandals + hard hat is a damn sexy combination.

On our last day we went to check out a nearby ziplining facility which was lots of fun!