Bye bye Mexico...Hello Guatemala (and Tikal)

I didn’t know you could stroll into a country without anyone checking to see who you are, until we walked into Guatemala. We literally walked it too. No questions or look at the passport. So much so that I assumed that immigration must be further on up the road. This is the new border at El Ceibo. You used to have to cross into Guatemala by boat up at this end of Mexico, and then do the immigration thing at El Naranjo.  However, they’ve built a shiny new road, which we found ourselves on, and before we knew it, hey presto, we’re in a minivan heading for El Naranjo, in a different country! Slight problem though. As we all know, you’re supposed to hand over some cash and get a stamp in your passport. Not a massive deal as we could head back in the morning. But no. The President of Mexico was due to visit and officially open the new border, and therefore the border was closed, if that makes sense! Oh well, it will catch up with us, I’m sure.

The destination was Flores, so that we could go see the Mayan ruins at Tikal. El Naranjo was our stop over town, and we didn’t want to stay long. Wild dogs barking all night, a plethora of dodgy characters hanging around, and cockroaches occupying the shower. Enough said. Its not the worst place you could find yourself in, I’m sure. No pictures of this place I’m afraid. I didn’t think brandishing a shiny SLR was the best course of action.

We got a minivan / Colectivo to Santa Elena, which included a continuous turnover of passengers. Just when you thought there was no more room, the van would stop and a woman with two chickens would squeeze in, followed by a mother and two kids, followed by a man on crutches. Babies were passed around like shopping bags until every nook and cranny of the van was filled. It was hot and uncomfortable, but a lot of fun.

A 4.30am start the next day and we were on our way to Tikal – a large Mayan ruin. We had a tour guide who had the ability to constantly drop impressive words into his talk. It made it very entertaining, but at times I had no idea what he was talking about, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one! – he informed us the world will end December 21^st 2012. Still, he’d pick up the odd tarantula and he had an amazing eye for birds. And the Tikal ruins were impressive, especially the views from the top of them.