Week #32
Entering 2024 in Livingston, visiting Mayan ruins around Flores and traveling to Lanquin.
December 31, 17:13
On this last day of the year we went on a reggae boat tour on the Rio Dulce which was much more exciting than what you expect when you hear the word reggae. One of the stops was at a cave with a waterfall inside! First the captain lowered a ladder attached to a rope in this waterfall. He tied the rope to one of the rocks and when he found it secure enough, he told us to jump! It was suuuuper dark inside the cave so it was a little scary but I went first anyway. And the jump was fun! I waited on one of the rocks until everyone was down there and then it was time to climb back up. And fucking hell. It was HARD. First you had to find the ladder somewhere in the waterfall and then you had to somehow keep breathing while the water was aggressively splashing in your face. You couldn’t see anything and the captain had to pull you back up since the ladder wasn’t even long enough. Pff definitely not reggae vibes but nevertheless really cool!!
Our last photo of 2023 and first photo of 2024
Januari 1, 12:14
On the beach! Fuck yeah! What a way to start the new year. We went to Playa Blanca with a private boat so we can leave whenever we want. We need to make sure we’re back in time for our cooking class in the afternoon. But right now we’re at the whitest beach of all of Guatemala! The sun is pretending to be shy today but occasionally she shows herself, so I’m super happy! I’m laying on a weird hard sun bed, right in front of the ocean with palm trees left and right of me. What more can you ask for on this 1st day of January!
20:05
And we’re back at the hostel. This cooking class was so much fun! It was just the two of us so we got to see and experience the whole process of making Tapado. Part of it was also learning how to make coconut milk from scratch. Super cool cause now I can do this myself at home sometime. Not that we have fresh coconuts in The Netherlands but I still got the skill.
Januari 2, 17:39
Today was travel day to Flores. First a one hour boat ride from Livingston to Rio Dulce and then a five hour bus ride to Flores. The bus left about two hours later than expected, but we didn’t plan to do anything upon arrival anyways so we didn’t mind. Our hostel is located right on the waterside so we have great views of the lake! Tomorrow is gonna be a planning day to fix everything from a visit to Tikal, to transport to Lanquin, and accommodation somewhere around Lanquin. Easy day!
Januari 3, 21:18
We did absolutely nothing and I loved it. We just walked around Flores, arranged all our stuff, drank some coffee and ate good food. Flores was so crazy to see cause almost the whole outside ring is flooded. I don’t know if it’s normal but the whole street is inaccessible by car and you can really see the water coming in over the little stone walls.
Also, the hostel has a super cute dog AND a cat.
Januari 4, 17:14
We’re on top of one of the pyramids in National Park Yaxha waiting for the sunset. It’s an incredible view with on the right side the jungle where the pyramids and temples are hidden, and on the left side a big lake where the sunset reflects beautifully in the water. This afternoon we walked around the park and surprisingly were allowed to climb on top of the ancient pyramids and temples. It was so fun! Super tiring and sweaty in the sun, but the views made it totally worth it. Especially when you bring banana bread to the top. Good food tastes even better when you eat it with a good view. And we saw so many monkeys! All climbing and playing in the trees above us. At some point Karo yelled: ‘’Lisa! Don’t move to the right!’. It sounded serious so for once I listened to my sister and stopped to figure out why I shouldn’t move. And then I saw it. A stream of water coming down from one of the trees where the monkeys were sitting. A monkey was peeing! Almost on top of me! So thank you for warning me Karo :)
Januari 5, 14:18
Back in Flores from a morning at Tikal. The famous old Mayan city, just like Yaxha filled with temples and pyramids but a much bigger national park.
Part of the temples are still covered in grass and plants and trees, and some are dug out by archeologist. It’s a much more jungle vibe compared to Yaxha and such a different experience even tho they are both old Mayan cities. Again we saw a lot of monkeys, but today we also saw toucans, parrots, a woodpecker, nose bears and apparently a capybara although it looked different than I expected but what do I know.
We also went with a guide today which makes the experience different too. On one hand it was good cause otherwise we wouldn’t have spot the toucans but on the other hand guides can be so annoying. Especially when you have an English tour. Since its not their first language a lot of information is not shared (I know cause I heard him explain some things to the Spanish speaking people) and then they keep repeating the same stuff they do know in English.
But overall a super nice day and really cool to see the Mayan ruins.
Januari 6, 18:27
We’re chilling in our room which looks like a cute small wooden cabin. This morning we arrived at 5am in Lanquin with the night bus from Flores. Well, it wasn’t really a night bus as we know it in other countries with wide seats that can transform into an almost full bed. No, this was just a regular shuttle bus with little seats and little space. Those shuttle busses are not even comfortable for 1 hour let alone 8 hours. In Lanquin we got picked up by a 4x4 cause regular transport can’t get to our remote hostel. And after about 30 minutes by car we still had to walk for 20 minutes cause the road was blocked. So with a broken back, hurtful necks and sleepy faces we arrived. But what a place! It’s so beautiful! The view is gorgeous, the river is right there, common area is spacious, hot and good showers, family meals for lunch and dinner. Just a great spot! Because of the tiring transport we decided to not do too much today and take it easy.
So we joined the chocolate tour which was at the hostel itself, super chill! We walked around the many cacao trees on the plot at the hostel and afterwards we learned to make our own chocolate. I seasoned them with chilli and salt but I didn’t do well on the measurements, cause they are SPICY. But good practice anyways, cause now I know how to make chocolate!