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         Guatemala; Tough trip to "Lodge El Retiro", and Tikal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            My first day in Guatemala started a bit late as I had some "Police Business" to deal with and didn't get to leave Belize 'till mid-late afternoon, much later than I wanted to start but I didn't want to stay in Belize another night and I never want to see it again.  The border crossing was relatively swift and standard but the first 15 miles of road were anything but that.  Mud, dirt and large sharp edged, rigid rocks made that stretch of road take almost 2 very exhausting hours.  Just when I was really starting to worry about making it to a real highway without breaking something on me or the bike the road finally turned to pavement - I have never been happier to see that simple combination hardened tar and rock all flattened out in front of me.  There were lots of pot-holes and it was a very bad highway but it was still about 97 times better than that first 15 miles.

            At one point I guessed I had about another 30 minutes of daylight left; 40 minutes later I was really starting to worry as I hadn't seen a single hotel sign and only passed through a couple of small towns that had none.  The sun was gone and dusk was disappearing quickly.  Traveling alone after dark anywhere in Central America is not bright [punny, eh?] plus I was still a little paranoid from the previous nights' "Police Activity", which I said I wouldn't talk about anymore.  During that first 15 mile stretch I had wanted to pull over and take pictures to show how bad the "highway" was but I didn't because I really thought I would need every last minute to make it somewhere safe before dark and I was right.  Finally I saw a sign that said "Lodge el Retiro, Eco-lodge, 1.8km".  I turned down the dark dirt and rock road hoping for the best.

            When I arrived at the gate of the "Lodge el Retiro" it looked like nobody had been there for a long time.  I couldn't see anything behind the gate except for trees, a small hill and a path that lead around the hill.  It was difficult to see very far into the trees because it had gotten very dark.  I jumped off the motorcycle and started shaking the gate and yelling, asking if anyone was there.  For several minutes, which seemed like an hour, I couldn't see or hear any signs of life.  Finally the manager appeared and said "tranquilo!", or relax!, I guess he could tell I was pretty nervous about the situation.  Up to that point of the trip I had not been happier to see another person.

            The first set of pictures below are from there, the other pictures are from Tikal, certainly one of the more impressive of the Mayan ruin sites.

Click on the image and sleep with bugs.

 

I was very happy to find this place but when I got to the gate it was locked and it looked like nobody had been there in weeks...

After banging on the gate and yelling a bit I was eventually introduced to my home for the night, this welcoming little shack with screens for windows

I didn't swim. The "Eco" term for hotels usually means a run down hotel with lots of bugs and no hot water.

The "Eco" term enables them to charge eco travelling gringos 2-5 times more than anyone would otherwise pay for bugs and cold water.

I'll stay in one of these next time. Maybe it's because I felt like this place saved my butt that night but I really fell in love with it.

I was woken up 4-5 times by the many night noises made by those tropical night creatures but it was still very relaxing and easy to go back to sleep.

Flower pots. I was the only guest there that night, and looking at the guest book there had only been about 15 since mid October, 2006.

Macanche isn't close enough to anything to get very popular but it's only 40 minutes from Tikal and if I make the trip again I'll definitely stay here

The managers daughter was a great cook and made the best dinner and breakfast I'd had in weeks. And they had Gallo, a great Guatemalan beer.

This also may be part of the reason the business isn't thriving; most eco-travelers take issue with animals in cages.

They fed the boa for me to watch. I'm not an eco traveller, even though I slept with bugs the previous night and showered in cold water that morning.

Manager/groundskeeper with another caged friend.

Serpent feed. My room cost about $35 and it is half that for a tent. It would be a great place for some sort of group retreat.

Young serpent feed. I'd guess the "Lodge El Retiro" would handle 20-40 visitors, depending on how close those visiters are.

He had 3-4 of these in a fenced in pond, this was one of the smaller ones.

These are some of the little Mayan discoveries he has made in the 12 years he's worked the grounds here.

First shot at Tikal - the Cieba tree, declared as Guatemala's national tree in 1955.

The Mayans worshipped the Cieba as the "Holy Tree of Life" and said it was the axle of the world.

Tikal may be the largest ancient city of the Mayan civilization.

The city thrived between 200 and 850 AD and was eventually abandoned around the 10th century.

Temple IV, the largest structure, is being excavated - you can just see the top from here.

Excavations at the base of Temple IV.

This is how they clear the rubble from the excavations.

I liked this - the motorcycle is used as a winch, there's a generator hanging from a cable being pulled to the top.

I needed a closer look.

Everybody has to climb Temple IV to take this picture of Temple III, right, and Temples I and II.

Blooming arcaeologist.

Pyramid of the Lost World, the oldest excavated building in Tikal.

Temple III.

Temple II.

Temple I. It sort of symbolizes Guatemala's Mayan history and is on their license plates.

View of Acropolis of the North, from Temple II.

Looking straight down the steps of Temple II.

A better view of Temple I.

The obligatory Pelota court, one of several, next to Temple I.

Back of Temple I, leaving the park, and what may be the last Mayan ruin shot of this trip as I really need to head south...