Flores and Tikal

After spending ages waiting for a bus in Rio Dulce and having to pay a lot to get on a 'Special Class' bus as no other buses had turned up, I arrived in Flores about 7pm.  As it was Semana Santa (Easter Week) most hotels were really busy and prices had gone up a lot.  Ended up sharing a room with 2 Greek girls as the only room we found had a double and single bed (I had the single bed by the way!)

Wandered round Flores.  This doesn't take long as it's tiny.  Found the hostel in Flores which was absolutely heaving - people sleeping 2 to a single bed and every hammock was full.  Booked in for the next night as a lot of people were leaving the next day.

Chilled out in Flores and read a book for a day.  Headed off to Tikal on Sunday afternoon.  Had hired a hammock from the hostel so that I could stay the night at Tikal and watch the sunset and sunrise from the top of the ruins.  Arrived at Tikal about 3 and put my hammock and left a load of stuff at the campsite.  Wandered around the ruins for a while and headed for the Pyramid in the 'Mundo Perdido' to watch the sunset.  It was really nice to just sit on the top of a pyramid, listening to howler monkeys, well, howling and watching parrots flying around in the trees while the sunset.

Got up the next morning at 4.30 to watch the sunrise from Temple IV.  Had the choice of paying for a guide ($10) or bribing the guard ($3).  We bribed the guard and went and sat on Temple IV to watch the sunrise.  Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy and so didn't really see much.  It was still cool to be in the park at that time in the morning as hardly anyone is there and most of the photos don't have coach loads of tourists in.

Headed back to Flores in the afternoon where I spent the night before getting up at silly O'clock to walk to the bus station to catch a bus at 5.30, which we didn't get on because it was full and had to wait another hour for the next one on which we didn't get a seat because we didn't realise it was parked around the corner and people were getting on and grabbing seats while we were sat in the waiting room of the bus station.  Had a quality 5 hour bus journey to Coban where I was standing for most of the way and when I did get a seat, the child in front decided to be sick.  A lot.  Didn't get any on me but the smell was great!