Rise And Fall Of Tikal & The Fireworks of Flores

It's almost as much a pain to leave Lanquin as it is to get there. Almost. The major advantage of the road towards Flores is that the quality of the roads tends to improve dramatically as you exit the mountainous region and progress to the more hilly parts. It's not exactly the Pan-American highway, but sort of close enough. Regardless, it's a long drive. About eight hours in a mini-bus (it's exactly what it sounds like). The scenery is quite beautiful, although the rows and rows (and rows) of coffee trees tend to get less interesting after about four hours.

And why did we make all this effort? It's not so much our destination, which is Flores. It's about what's close to Flores: the ancient Maya city of Tikal. It's the one destination that is on every Guatamala itinerary (probably together with Antigua and Lago de Atitlan). And even if you haven't been to or even plan to go to Guatemala, chances are you've seen it anyway. Not because of the board game with the same name. No, it's more subtle. It's Star Wars. Tikal was where they shot the imagines of Yavin 4, the rebel headquarters before it was moved to Hoth. I honestly had to look it up to recognise it, but I can confirm that it's true. No Millennium Falcon in the sky when we were there though. Slight disappointment.

Most of the people on their way to Tikal arrive and stay in Flores. So did we. Though nearby El Remate is supposedly more tranquil, Flores functioned well as a base to explore the region. It is littered with travel agencies, though not all are as honest as you'd like. One of them is company called San Juan. They runs most of the shuttles in the area. They actually board the shuttles when they arrive to Flores (or more accurately, the nearby Saint Helena) and start to push the services they offer. If you plan to visit, do a Google search. We did and knew what to expect when the guy 'joined' us for the last 500 meters from Saint Helena to Flores. The one advice to follow is: don't listen to anything they say. We left the guy as soon as we arrived and never saw him again.

Other than that minor annoyance, Flores is a nice little place. It's on a small island, connected to the aforementioned Saint Helena by a bridge. It's maybe a bit touristic and too 'polished', but as Saint Helena is rather dusty and dirty, the choice between the two isn't a very difficult one. Wandering around the island doesn't take too long. In maybe two hours you've seen most of the highlights, which, other than the square, mostly consists of the lakeside view from the promenade around the island. One downside during our stay was the noise on the island. Although the new year had long since started, fireworks were still very popular, especially during the night. Before that there was a fiesta on the square (which, since the island is small, is close to everything), which was followed by a procession with music and dolls in the morning. This was partly compensated by the fact that for our first time in Guatemala - after more than two weeks -  we had an excellent shower with plenty of warm water. So kudos to you, people of Casa Amelia.

But then the main event: Tikal. As said this Maya site attracts many visitors, which is mainly due to the impressive temples towering in and above the chaotic jungle surroundings. What is actually more interesting than the stones stacked 44 meters in the shape of a pyramid, is how they came to be. The limestone towers that make up this park are the results of hundreds of years of rising and falling. Of empires, wars and the downfall of a society. The city, it is estimated, had more than 100.000 residents at its peak. Now the only permanent residents on these sites are howler-monkeys, various kinds of birds and other less benign creatures such as (poisonous) snakes.

To get an idea of the amount on history that this place carries, we have to go back 2700 years. At around 700 BC the first Mayans settled here. At 500 BC the first structures - so nothing near the size of the ones still standing today - started to appear. More than 750 years later Tikal started to rise to prominence as a regional commercial, religious and cultural centre. Military success followed. Expanded territory also made it also harder to mange and a more desirable target for conquest. An invasion from what we now call Belize struck a blow, and deprived Tikal of the good fortunes it had enjoyed in the hundreds of years before. The tables turned again at the end of the 7th century. The now legendary Ha Sawa Chaan K'awil (who's apparently also referred to as 'Ah Cacao, God knows why) paved the way for Tikal's rebirth as a local powerhouse. He, accidentally, is also the one who built most of the temples that you see at Tikal today. And he's buried under one. His bones are supposedly still under the Templo I.

Of course we wouldn't be standing around ruins these days if the good times had lasted. Around 900 Tikal, and the Maya lowland civilization in general, started filling into decline never to rise to prominence again. Note that this had nothing to do with the Spanish. They wouldn't arrive to Guatemala for hundreds of years after Tikal fell into ruin (pun intended). So what caused the decline? The general theory seems to be a water shortage. Cutting down so many trees to create stone to make big temples is apparently not good for maintaining a balance with the local ecosystem. Personally, it sounds a bit far-fetched to me. But that's also because it's hard to imagine this lush green area once barren and dry. Fact is, something happened that led this great civilization to fall. And it fell far. The temples were abandoned and the jungle took over. Literally. Only in the mid 1800s, Tikal was more or less rediscovered. By then most of the impressive buildings here had been fully overtaken by the jungle. Even now, only 20 percent of the park is uncovered. So almost any 'hill' that you encounter here, was once a building that was once used as a temple, palace or even a home.

Thought Tikal is a large and impressive complex, spending a couple of hours there covers the most interesting parts. There is an option of staying in the park, which is apparently highly recommended, as you can explore the park in the morning before most visitors arrive. However, Tikal isn't crazy busy. We arrived late in the morning and still were able to enjoy the park in relatively peaceful conditions. As we only had two days, we decided to divide them between Tikal and Yaxha, the other site nearby. This is where we had our 'sunset-tour' (it's a thing). It basically means you end your tour on a temple and watch the sunset, which is cool but less spectacular than the travel agencies make it out to be. What is cool is that you hear the jungle get very active during dusk and then get quiet as night falls.

After Tikal, Yaxha and Flores, it's time for last real destination: Rio Dulce!

Before they start excavation

When they're halfway through.

Done!

View from one of the temples. There's just jungle for miles around this ancient Maya city. Also, this is where they filmed Star Wars!

As mentioned it took many years to excavate these temples. As the limestone is fragile, removing all the vegetation (including roots growing into the structure) takes years. 

Templo I, a massive structure, mirror by a sister structure in a (nowadays) well-kept square. It's the area that really makes you realise that there once was a flourishing culture here, in what is now a jungle. 

Panorama shot conveys it even more. 

More jungle towering structures. 

Similar to Tikal though smaller in terms of the height, the amount of structures and types of buildings excavated, Yaxha is still very nice to visit if you have the time! 

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Intermezzo: Lost in Lanquin or The Sacramental Semuc

Lanquin is halfway to the middle of nowhere. It doesn't seem to matter much where you come from. The way there takes hours regardless. Not because of the distance. But because of the type and quality of the roads. The type is the windy, alternating between the uphill and downhill variarty. The quality ranges from decent to almost off the scale terrible. At some points we barely drove faster than 20-25km. Especially the last 40 kilometres took us about two hours. 

There is basically one reason why anyone would make the strenuous journey to Lanquin. And it's not because of Lanquin itself. The town is actually surprisingly dull. Lanquin has just two churches and a number of tiendas. What makes it interesting, is that it is the jumping point to the 'most beautiful place in Guatemala': the beautiful limestone pools of Semuc Champey.

There are options to stay at Semuc itself, but with limited electricity and little to no Internet connection, people seem to prefer to camp out in Lanquin. So did we. Even my local and reliable Claro sim couldn't find a simple phone single in Semuc. Also, other than the pools, there's not too much to do around here. While the pools are beautiful, spending more than one, maybe two days would be a bit too much. And while we thought Lanquin was remote, Semuc is even worse. Any road in the area is terrible. Most people - including us - spend about 45 minutes in the back of a pickup truck to cover the 10 kilometres. Which actually isn't too bad. There's a breeze, there's beautiful nature and you're either heading or coming from the clear waters of Semuc.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story!

The best part of the road to Semuc. At least they made an effort here, some time ago.

Our group had a pickup truck for eight. Others left when their truck was full. And full means full here! 

Terrible roads, but pleasant views. Even when it's cloudy. 

The last bit before Semuc. A bridge that's becoming less bridge and more air each day. 

Mind the gap! 

So the pools are part of a river, of which one part goes underground (left) and one part flows over the plateaus (right), thus creating the said pools. 

Semuc Champey as seen from the viewpoint. The pools are filled with small fish that nibble at your feet. It's like a fish spa, with twenty little fish eating away the dead skin! Sorry, no pictures!

The end of the pools. After this the water from the underground river and pools join, and it becomes one big turquoise current. 

Panorama of the meeting point. As you can see, this part is not so suitable for swimming, though it does make for a pretty picture. Later on, the water becomes calmer.

As the river is calm here, people tend to swim to and jump off the rock. Good thing no one gets hurt, since the nearest hospital is just fours hours away! 

¿Que? Tzaltenango

Quetzaltenango. Kee-tsal-tuh-nango. It's actually not that hard. If you're in the country for a few days - since it's semi-remote and extremely well-known, that's quite likely - you have been dealing in quetzals for a while. Not because it's the national bird. It's because it is the name of Guatemala's currency. So it's 'kee-tsal', like the currency. And then just add 'tenango'. Quetzaltenango. Just say it. Quelzaltenango. [Dora The Explorer Voice] Good job! [/Dora The Explorer Voice]

Now forget it. Because Quetzaltenango maybe long and poetic, it's not used that often. For obvious reasons. Ain't nobody got time to say Quetzaltenango. No, you're supposed to refer to it as Xela (as said in the previous entry, it's pronounced 'shee-la'). That itself is again an abbreviation of it's mayan name: Xelaju. Still following? Excellent. 

Depending on the way you travel, the ride from Lago de Atitlan is actually not the most challenging. Generally you have the options: local or 'chicken' bus, local microbus, tourist shuttle or private shuttle. Although chickenbuses (old American schoolbuses, repainted) are said to be an 'experience', we ruled out this option pretty quickly. Not only are they full, uncomfortable and only semi-reliable, they also rarely go directly where you want to go. Since our time here is short, spending it unnecessarily long on uncomfortable buses was not the preferred option. However, the generally reliable tourist shuttles also proved to be an unexpected problem. They didn't run. We timed our departure on January 1st, which is a day of sleep, comfort food and Netflix. Apparently also here. That meant we took the private option. Luckily Matt of Matt Geo Tours, doesn't just do tours, but also transfers. So we found ourselves in the now familiar red truck, talking about volcanoes and making our way to Xela. 

After the adorably sized Antigua and the small villages of Atitlan, Xela is something different. It's a city. Not compared to the capital though. Where Guatemala City boast a population of millions, Xela barely breaches the line of 200.000. It is large in terms of the space it occupies. This is mainly due to the fact that most cities in Guatemala doesn't do high rise, because of the earthquakes. Hence, cities tend to sprawl. Still, the center is nice and manageable. There's a central square where most of the city's activity is centred. This is also where you find some of the 'architectural discrepancies' that are built here during Xela's turbulent history. 

Unlike Antigua the city was never a (modern Guatemalan) capital, but it did experience a similar cycle of prosperity, demise and resilience. After independence and exodus of the Spanish, an influx of Germans altered the demographic composition of Xela. Making money on the coffee boom, they built a number of distinct buildings, now scattered around town. Then faith struck. The magnificent Santa Maria volcano - a textbook triangular stratovolcano - woke up in 1902. It was an awakening that left its mark. An eruption and earthquake bursted the entrepreneurial coffee bubble. With it, the city lost part of expats and prosperity. 

That period may have gone, but it's not forgotten. Especially Xela's central square is distinctly non-Guatemalan or even Spanish. There's more of the oppressive German architecture than anywhere else we've seen in Guatemala. A lot of the buildings are in a state of disrepair, but are stubbornly still standing. It sometimes even feels a bit post-apocalyptic. The city however, is anything but. Xela is very much alive these days. There is a hint of tourism and foreign influences, but overall it's more authentic than what we saw of Antigua and Lago de Atitlan. 

Other than walking around town, one of the suggestions we got from our (initial) hostel was to check out Xela's municipal graveyard. It sounds a bit morbid, right? Actually I wasn't too sure what would be so special about it. That is until we arrived. So people here don't actually bury their dead underground, but above. So instead of gravestones, you either get 'buried' in a sort of cabinet style, with graves stacked on top and next to each other. The alternative, if you or your family did well in this world, is a sort of thomb. These varied from tasteful to semi-ridiculous. I mean, a pyramid including sfinxes? In Guatemala? Probably even Egyptians wouldn't dream of doing something like that. Anyway, it did make for an interesting walk, that's for sure. 

Another interesting walk, but of a slightly different nature, was the one up to Santa Maria. That's right. The vulcano that destroyed Xela's fortune in the early 1900s. That Santa Maria. It is no longer active, though. It is however a bitch to climb. Starting at 2500 meters, at the top you find yourself close to 3800. The challenge of Santa Maria is not necessarily the altitude though. Relatively closeby Volcan Tajumulco is actually 400 meters taller. No, it's the steepness and quality of the path which make Santa Maria more difficult than her counterpart to the north. The path goes up, up or up. There's almost no point where it levels. And most of way up consists of slippery rocks, which get even more slippery once the soil unfreezes and the path becomes muddy too. Ah yes, did I mention we started at 05.00 in the pitch black? Actually that part I can totally recommend. You see so many stars, it's impressive. 

So why Santa Maria? First of all, it's close. It's just a twenty minute drive from downtown Xela to the foot of the volcano. Second, if you make it to the top and you're lucky, the view is fantastic. If you're unlucky and it's clouded, the view is still great. You're above the clouds and see the range of volcanoes of Guatemala. It's like six or seven on a straight line where the tectonic plates meet. If it's not cloudy you can add another one to the list. An active one. And you're looking down on it. Volcano Santiaguito was originally part of Santa Maria, but has continuously grown and is now regarded as a separate one. Like Fuego it is very active, but there's no massive lava explosions. Mainly it's rumbling and non-lethal gas explosions. Still getting too close to Santiaguito is dangerous. And seeing it from up high (it's only 2400 meters at the moment) you have a better view of the young volcano and its doings. For Xela and surroundings, the emerge of Santiaguito is actually a good thing. It diminishes the likelihood of another Santa Maria eruption like the one of 1902, making it also safe to climb. 

Safe, if you tread carefully. Especially on the way down, the path is extremely tricky. It's still the same slippery rocks, but now covered in slippery mud. Some parts are better done fast than slow, if you want to avoid sliding down that is. For our guide Carlos, going down fast was not a problem. We remained careful. Broken bones were not part of the itinerary. 

No, next up is Lanquin. The goal there is not Lanquin itself, but the clear, clean waters of Semuc Champey! 

Xela's main square, designed by an Italian architect, adding another European nationality to the city's quaint historic mix.

Some kind of New Year's celebration? In the back you see the quite depressing church, in gray stone rather than the usual painted ones.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Can't remember what building this was. But it's pretty during the sunset.

Pasaje Enriquez, located at the Parque Centro America. It now houses a few cafes, and Adrenalina Travel Agency. Odd thing is that half of it is restored. Exactly down the middle. One side has gotten new paint, the other side is in bad shape. 

Up close.

One example of Xela's architectural quirks. 

A bit post-apocalyptic, right?

Pretty pictures already during the ascent of Santa Maria.

While climbing keeps you warm, the ground is still frozen at 6-7 in the morning.

Ice-ice-baby!

The reason why climbed for hours. More volcanoes! Volcanoes on a straight line! Seen from on top of a volcano! I like volcanoes! 

Another volcano! One that erupted! It's Santiaguito. 

Panorama from Santa Maria. Did I mention you can see volcanoes? 

The way down was almost harder than the way up. Both took us hours! 

Where Juan Average is buried. 

Tomb I. Not bad. 

Tomb II. Bit more extravagant.

Tomb III. If this isn't over the top, it's very close. 

Tomb IV. This is where I draw the line though. But yeah,  matter of taste. 

Atitlan. Arise!

Antigua (see previous entry) was shaped by a long history of volcanic activity. That holds even more true for the next destination: the majestic Lago de Atitlan. The lake used to be a volcano. Literally. Now it's a 8 by 14km wide hole, that goes 300 meters under normal ground levels. So what happened? In the words of Matt of Matt Geo Tours: Geology! 85.000 years ago a massive volcanic eruption left the surface so unstable, that the cauldrum of the volcano imploded. The result was a massive sinkhole. This sinkhole filled with water, and there we have it: a beautiful lake at 1500m altitude, surrounded by volcanoes.

None of the volcanoes surrounding the lake are particularly active. At least not in the obvious way. There is no Fuego here. However, that does not mean there is no risk to the people living here. Exactly because they are so dormant, they are understudied. There are little to no plans are in place in case one of the volcanoes decides it's ready to rumble. During our stay neither San Pedro nor Atitlan or Toliman gave any sign of life. Let's keep it that way. As it is, the combination of the lake and its volcanoes make for a very pretty picture.

As peaceful and majestic as the lake itself is, the first impression is anything but. Instead of one major town, Atitlan has several small ones. Panajachal ('Pana') is the main from a tourist perspective. As the earliest of the villages to recognise the added (monetary) value of temporary residents, the town is flooded year round by travellers. Most of them are Americans. This influx of tourists also makes Pana almost impossible to avoid, as its popularity makes it the destination for most shuttles and busses. Truth be told, the view from the docks is nice. Otherwise it's either full of shops selling Guatever and Guat's up-shirts or restaurants that try to lure you in with the cheapest cervezas. We gave it another chance after initially passing through it. But even then we left quite soon. I would probably avoid it if I'd ever return.

Knowing Pana's reputation beforehand, we instead opted to stay in San Juan La Laguna. Both in terms of location (opposite side of the lake) and atmosphere (tranquil) it's the counterweight of our initial point of arrival. Though there are roads, travel around the lake is mostly done by boat. More specifically by lancha, a sort of oversized passenger-speedboat. They run regularly as long as there's light, though traffic gets less in the late afternoon. Regularly here does not mean they have a schedule. How regularly they run depends on how fast the captains can fill the boat. If you're the first to get into a lancha, it may be a while before you actually get anywhere. And what you think as full, may not be full in the eyes of the one who in 'commanding' the ship. There's almost always room for more, so scoot!

The captains are said to be somewhat of a shady bunch. We can confirm. When taking the boat back from Santiago to San Juan, things got a little 'unclear' in San Pedro, the stop before ours. Since San Pedro is more touristy than San Juan, everybody had left the boat but us. Though we agreed beforehand in 50 quetzales, the price jumped to 75 when he realised he had to make the five minute trip to San Juan just for us. It took some haggling to get the 'captain' to bring us - reluctantly - to San Juan at the agreed price. It's minor, but it gives a glimpse into the mindset of those operating the boat system at Lago de Atitlan.

There is little you can do though. Though San Pedro was a short tuktuk-ride away, other towns on the lake shore were harder or even impossible to reach without using the lanchas. And it is worth it to visit the other towns. Each is a different mix of locals with different Maya heritages and customs, and visitors looking for a certain vibe. San Pedro for example is a sort of Pana light. More relaxed, but distinctly touristic. Santiago is a step further towards normality. The docks are dotted with stands selling the usual, but further into town it feels more genuine than Pana or SP. San Marco is an odd one. As a hippy hotspot, it attracts the most eccentric visitors. At the same time the vibe is relaxed. The small streets and lush nature give it a certain charm. Locals and tourists mix in a sort of mutual understanding, giving one plenty of options in terms of food, activities and accommodation. All of this is of course only based on a few hours in each town. Maybe party place San Pedro would grow on me, while the shakras of San Marco would drive me to madness.

To put it all into perspective, we climbed the so called 'Indian Nose'. On this relatively low mountain peak you can see the entire lake area plus the line of eight volcanoes that shaped the region. This is where the aforementioned Matt of Matt Geo Tours comes in (sorry Matt, I don't know your last name). As much a passionate geologist as a guide, Matt actually gave us a lecture on how the lake came to be and how plate tectonics works. If you're reading this and plan to stay at Lago de Atitlan, be sure to book a tour.

Next stop: Quetzaltenango or Xela for short. And that's 'sheela' not 'kseela'. Took me ages to get that right.

Lago de Atitlan as seen from the Pana docks  Crossing the water is one infamous lanchas.

The view from the lanchas: volcanoes!

View from the San Juan docks. Waiting here wasn't the worst! 

The 'Indian nose' which is actually an Indian's face. Highest point is the nose, to the left is the eye socket. Yes, you need an active imagination.

Lago de Atitlan from Indian's nose. Literally from on top of the nose. 

Lago de Atitlan's water levels have been rising in the last few years. Not everyone expected that. 

In San Pedro, Jesus is the man. 

In San Juan just a man. 

Guatemala has loads of coffee plantations. The altitude (+1500m), climate and fertile volcano ash soil make for some excellent coffee. Above is the berry, below the drying of the seeds. 

Our last view of the lake on our way to Xela!