Guatemala! Here we are! We are finally in this new country! To us the landscapes, the meetings, the new cultures. We are so excited!
In fact, first of all, I wanted to tell you that Guatemala is a dangerous country, very dangerous! Nooooo, I'm kidding! Of course not, it is not dangerous. If you can avoid Guatemala City it is very good, it has been discouraged by the locals. I just wanted to bring down one of the prejudices that this country has suffered in recent years. The locals are adorable, always ready to help you. And the landscapes, just amazing. Good by cons, you must love the mountains and transport!
Our first destination is Flores but more precisely Santa Ana where our host Orvin awaits us.
Border crossing Mexico - Guatemala
Good before discovering Guatemala, it must happen! The crossing of the land border is very easy, customs officers, whether on both sides, have not even searched the bags ..
Step 1:
We were in Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. We took a colectivo to get to Frontera Corozal ,. Allow about 3h30 of journey. The colectivo stops us in front of the Mexican immigration. Perfect.
2nd step:
It is reduced by 52 euros of exit tax (there is no exit tax in Mexico if you have entered by plane ...) and stamped passports that we are heading to the lanchas (boats) to cross the river that separates Mexico from Guatemala.
Step 3:
After five minutes of crossing, we are surrounded by Guatemalans ready to help us, to reach our final destination. To reach Flores, we still had 5 hours of public bus route.
Step 4:
We then take this famous bus colectivo which stops us after about 1:00 of road to the immigration of Guatemala. Buffered passports! We are officially in Guatemala!
Important thing to know: you actually have 90 days to visit Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. This is valid for the 4 countries. But if you decide to stay 3 months in one of the four countries, that's fine too.
Then the roads in Guatemala are totally authentic that is to say that they are dirt roads with potholes on the right, on the left. Can you imagine the trip for 5 hours? If, if, imagine ... your buttocks they will remember!
After being shaken in all directions we arrive to our destination!
Accommodation - Airbnb at Orvin
She was the sister of Orvin who welcomed us, she kindly presented the house and its garden to know a tennis court, two swimming pools and especially a basketball court. Guess who was happy?
The next day we met Orvin but also two other travelers: Anahi and Isabelle;
Orvin is a swimming coach and president of clubs in the Peten region. He also has hobbies like photography but also to discover new landscapes to his guests.
Anahi is from Argentina (I immediately recognized the accent!) And now it's been a year since she traveled across South America and Central America.
As for Isabelle, she is German and has been traveling by bicycle from South America for three years. She returns home in September but will resume her journey next year. Lucky!
We were a good little group! We shared meals, some tours together, but we exchanged a lot about our travel experiences.
Crater Azul
One afternoon, Orvin took us to visit the azul crater. Just before leaving, he showed us some pictures and we were seduced by this discovery. By cons, he had been good to tell us (all four) that it was an hour and a half drive. We who did not want to move following the trip of the day before ... we were served! Because there is an hour and a half to go but there is the return too ...
Arrived (finally) on the spot, the time had changed a little to give way to the clouds ... But where is the sun? It must be recognized that the place was very pretty. The lack of sun did not emphasize it but it was possible to see the clarity of the water.
The crater is not at all a crater of a volcano. It is a lagoon that has the shape of a crater, hence its name.
We stayed for a short time, about an hour ... compared to the trip, it seemed very little, but hey we were not alone.
Yaxha
We had the choice to visit either Tikal or Yaxha. Why not the two of them? Simply because the budget did not allow.
We finally chose Yaxha because the place is much less touristy, cheaper than Tikal and it is possible to admire the sunset at the top of a temple and that made all the difference in our decision making.
The departure for the Mayan city is scheduled for 12:00 and arrival at 13:30. Still and always on the road! On site, we leave behind the guide and the rest of the group to leave our side and enjoy Yaxha.
Believe it or not, but we had to be a maximum of ten people all over the site. When I told you it was not touristy ...
It was under the screams of the howler monkeys that we made our entire visit. What a funny sound!
We first went to the Mirador to see the view. What a show the friends! Whether for the monument called Temple 216 or for the view that is breathtaking.
We then headed for the most impressive monuments of the site.
During this pleasant discovery, we took the time to observe the work of the ants carrying leaves to bring them back to the anthill. What work!
We were lucky enough to see two monkeys walking from branches to branches.
Returning to temple 216 to watch the sunset, we were able to interact with some guards of the site. One of them stays twenty days on the spot, night and day, to then find his family for ten days. Sometimes Guatemalans have to work far from their own to be able to support themselves.
Back to the point of view, we find several people ready to contemplate the show. We were very lucky because there were clouds which, at the last moment, left all the place in the sun.
Little anecdote
It was four o'clock in the morning when I woke up because of a strange little noise near my bed. A kind of "paf". I turn in my bed towards the direction of the noise heard. I see on the sheet something dark but I tell myself that it's just a drawing on the sheet. A few minutes later, having some doubts, I take my phone and light this drawing. For God Sake! This is not a drawing but a scorpion!
As much to tell you that I have never jumped so quickly and so far from my life, 20 out of 20 jump in length and height!
I wake up Ezekiel who wants to stop the scorpion until he finds something to put it on. He then puts a basket on the beast. But surprise, once the shoe removed, no more scorpion !!
I warn immediately, I do not sleep as long as the scorpion is in the room and especially around my bed.
A few minutes later, he comes back, still on my bed and not that of Ezekiel .. (we had two beds at Orvin). We take a box and we manage to bring it outside the house. Far, far away from our room.
Here is my meeting with a scorpion in the middle of the night;)
Et maintenant...
Cost of the stay: 4 days / 4 nights
- Taxi to go to the colectivo: 1,20 euros for 2
- Colectivo Palenque - Frontera Corozal: 11.50 euros for 2
- Passage to Mexican immigration: 52 euros for 2
- Boat Frontera Corozal - Guatemala: 4,70 euros for 2
- Guatemala City Commuter - Flores: 16,50 euros for 2
- Airbnb Hosting at Orvin: 36 euros for 2
- Meals: 57 euros
- Transport to visit: 18,60 euros
- Entry to Yaxha: 18.6 euros for 2
- Crater Azul admission: 2.5 euros for 2
- SIM card: 6 euros for 15 days
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