The last trip we made during our time in Guatemala was to Petén, the largest and northernmost department in Guatemala that borders Mexico and Belize. Our original trip was supposed to be in early July, but that ended up being delayed until just days before our departure due to a tropical storm. We knew we were taking a chance by booking a trip during rainy season, but we weren’t about to leave Guatemala without seeing the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal.
The first thing that struck me flying over Petén was that it is very flat. As I’ve described multiple times before, Guatemala City and the surrounding areas are very mountainous. Petén sits at just 1/10th the altitude of the capital. The next thing I noticed as soon as I stepped onto the Flores airport tarmac: it is hot. We knew it would be hotter than the capital; when my mother and sister went in May temperatures crept up over 100 degrees. The rainy season didn’t cool things off much, as it was in the mid-90s every day we were there. I’ve since been told that November to February are the best times to visit.
We started our trip with a night on Isla de Flores, a beautiful little island in the middle of Lago Petén Itza, the third largest lake in the country and largest in the department. We stayed at Hotel Isla de Flores, who’s sister hotel in Tikal is the Jungle Lodge. For a fee, they arranged transportation between the airport and both hotels for us. We were advised by local friends to have dinner at Raices, but to take the boat across the lake and eat right on the dock. It was a great recommendation.
The following day, we were off to Tikal. The drive is roughly 90 minutes and, due to rain, we decided to spend the rest of the evening relaxing around the hotel. Our third day in Petén was all about Tikal. Jungle Lodge is located right at the entrance to the park, so we doused ourselves in bug spray and walked over. We spent the morning and early afternoon wandering on our own. The park is enormous, so we decided to see some of the sights we were going to miss on our evening tour. We had seen some Mayan ruins previously at Iximche, but those buildings were nothing compared to Tikal. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for the first European explorers to just happen on these ruins, which are so big that their tops pop up above the jungle canopy. The view from the tops of those structures is absolutely stunning. (Coincidentally, it was at the top of one of these structures where, regaining cell service for the first time in hours, I learned President Joe Biden had decided he would no longer be running for a second term in office.)
Our evening walking tour shed some light on the history of Tikal and was guided by a Guatemalan man who spent many years in The Bronx honing his New York accent. He was funny and energetic, but his stories rambled at times and often left us a bit confused as to the point. We saw a ton of coati, the cute brown and white creatures you see roaming in packs in some of the photos below. It was a long tour of three hours and, given the heat, left us questioning our decision to spend hours in the park earlier.
The next morning, we took the first bus back to Isla de Flores. We had booked a late flight with the idea that it would give us time for one more activity. The plan was to go to the ARCAS Wildlife Rescue Center, which visitors can only reach by boat from Isla de Flores. From July to December, they offer educational tours regarding sea turtle nesting and conservation, which sounded great to us. However, the rain that day was intense. Since we were only traveling with backpacks and had already sweat through all the clothes we brought, the last thing we wanted to do was get drenched in the boat across the lake and then fly back to the capital soaking wet (even if the flight is only 45 minutes).
That wraps up all our travels around the beautiful country of Guatemala! I still have two more topics to cover regarding Guatemala, then it’s back to the States and my long-awaited baseball road trip!
Beer and Diplomacy 
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