Flores, Guatemala

I caught a bus from Belize City and travelled West, crossed the boarder, and arrived in Flores with friends Abie and Tom who I met over Christmas in Caye Caulker, Belize. My first stop of many in Guatemala. I’d heard fantastic things about this country, with many of my friends I made in Mexico telling me Guatemala is their forever place and that they knew I would love it too. Flores. Petén is a small island connected by a bridge from Santa Alena surrounded by Lake Peten Itza. On my first night I stayed in Los Amigos Hostel, probably the most known on the island because it has a nightclub and restaurant. Personally, for that reason I didn’t like staying there, it wasn’t homely and the rooms just felt out of place within the restaurant. However, I ate there twice and it was lovely and I spent my New Year’s Eve in the nightclub in the back.

The next day I got chatting with 3 guys and they said they were renting a car, I of course asked if there was room. I hadn’t booked accommodation for that night and it worked out perfectly. After waiting an hour and a half to get a Guatemalan SIM card, the four of us headed off to Crator Azul. The crator was more of a small river but it really was blue. We rode a boat through mangroves and trekked through mud to reach it, after a few hours of swimming, we got the boat back with locals and the boat crashed into another as we sped through the mangroves. The clear blue water created more attention than the near-death experience.

As the sun began to set a perfectly pink sky we drove to a town near Tikal, where we planned to go in the early hours of the next day. We arrived in El Remate, a small town, and found a small hotel for us to sleep. We roamed around the town and the boys found a firework stand. And then I remembered that boys will forever be immature and I laughed to myself. After a small firework fight in the street, we walked towards a community football game, surrounded by Guatemalan bikers. We walked around a small fair while the boys shot guns at cans in hope of scoring some more fireworks to light. We drank wine and slept a while in that town and at 5am headed to Tikal National Park. Tikal holds Mayan ruins from 4th century BC and was one of the most powerful kingdoms of ancient Maya. Because we arrived so early and with our own transport we roamed freely around the park, watching monkeys in the trees, anteaters on the ground and it was beautiful. We climbed the Mayan ruins like a playground (respectfully) and then headed back into Flores.

In Flores, I had booked Hotel Petén for 2 nights over the new year. It really was a hotel but with a bunk bed. It was beautiful with a pool overlooking the lake and a great breakfast. Those few days I relaxed, swam, and ate tacos. After this I moved into Maya Hostel with the boys, I’m not going to say it was nice because it wasn’t- more of a crack den vibe but there was a bed and that’s all that mattered. As you walk away from the island on the bridge there is a food stand that cost 5 quetzals for 3 tacos (50 pence). So after 3 accommodations, a road trip, a wild New Year in Los Amigos nightclub, the boys and I said our farewells and I headed to Lanquin, 9 hours north with some of the lovely people I made friends with over Christmas in Caye Caulker, Belize.

Thank you Flores! A beautiful start to a beautiful country.