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!

Caye Caulker

The immigration office as we entered Belize really set the tone for our stay in Caye Caulker. Sitting on a little jetty on the island of San Pedro it was quite a sight & a little different to the immigration offices we've been thru so far. When Elise mentioned that she had fruit in her bag to the customs officer, he said, "just don't show me because then I'd need to take it." Hmmm... not quite Border Security.


Caye Caulker was the type of place that looked like a movie set. Sand streets, little painted cabanas and shops and reggae music playing all day and night. We occupied ourselves with lazy days at the Split (the main swimming area on the island) where we had fun watching the island ganga farmers trying to pick-up tourists, sell some marijuana and yell at the sun bathing tourists, "man, ya'll should be arrested for being so serious on this island, man".

One of our highlights was a day sailing around the nearby reefs Caye Caulker-style. We had the chance to snorkel with sharks, stingrays & some turtles and on the way home the rum punch came out. We were sunburned and drunk by the end of the trip but all in all it was a really fun day!

Our cabana was super cute, complete with hammocks, bikes to cruise around the island and a double bed each! YAY!

Playa Del Carmen & Tulum

After a few weeks inland it was time to hit the coast for some R&R, sun and swimming! Our first stop was Playa Del Carmen, Mexico's answer to Miami.

It was definitely a bit of a treat to have access to so many yummy restaurants including our favourite after-dinner icecream stop, Haagen Dazs, as well as first class service on the beach with waiters, sun beds & unbrellas to chill-out during the day.

We had a day on the island of Cozumel, a 45 minute ferry ride from Playa which is only really accessible if you have a car or moto. We opted for the moto which provided lots of entertainment as we cruised along the coastline of the island, stopping in at beaches here & there for a drink & swim.  Despite the potholes & some crazy Mexican drivers, we made it back without a scratch!

A quick 1 hour bus trip and we were at Tulum, the sleepy beachside town just South from Playa which seemed like a world away.

Just a short ride from town were kilometres of beautiful coastline which looked a lot like the NSW South Coast!

Here we met some cute friends. These guys have the ultimate backyard to play in!

Merida

The highlight from our stay in Merida was most definitely our trip to a tiny village called Cozuma, where we had the chance to go swimming in 3 cenotes (underground caves filled with amazingly clear, blue water).

Getting there was a real adventure:

1. Bus to the town centre

2. Motorbike tuk-tuk to the start of the trail (Don't worry Mothers, we held on tightly : )

3. Bumpy horse drawn cart along rail track to each cave (they have been using this method of transport in the area for over 150 years)

  

To enter the first cenote, you have to climb down a long ladder into the dark cave. After your eyes adjust to the lack of the light, the water looks incredible and is actually a lot deeper than it looks in this photo (possibly 10 metres deep) and is lovely and warm.

We met two lovely travellers along the way, Juan from Argentina who become our personal guide and translator and fearless Yoko from Japan who was always the first to jump off a ledge or swim into the dark areas of the Cenotes. We also met one absolute nut from Canada who we tried to avoid without much luck.




Our final stop was Chichen Itza, one of the new 7 wonders of the world. We left Merida at 6am to head to the site before the crowds of tour buses arrived and heat set in. We could only bear the heat for a few hours before making tracks but enjoyed the variety of the site - pyramids, columns, carvings etc. It was definitely the most touristy and busy site!