Tikal
(DAY060 : Rio Dulce - Tikal : 157 miles)
(DAY061 : Tikal - Rio Dulce)
After a nice breakfast at Bruno's, I left Rio Dulce at 9:15. The views, the bends, the surface, all made for a great ride, and I was in Tikal before 1 pm. You are not required to purchase your $20 park entrance ticket at the main gate, and if you buy it after 3 pm, it's valid for the next day as well. I reserved a guided sunrise tour at the gate for $13, but that too can be arranged inside, or you can even just show up at the info booth at 4:45 am and join one then.
The 2 hotels in the park were both full (and expensive anyway), but you can rent a tent or camp with your own at the Jaguar inn for only $3. That's safer and cheaper than camping at the main camp area. Internet, on the other hand, costs $5 per hour and that's about 8 times more expensive than normal around here.
I visited the ruins in the evening, and once again the next morning with the tour. The sunrise tour is a hit and miss, as the thick morning fog does not always part to offer you the magical views the tour is famous for, but I was among the lucky. In any case though, it's a great experience to visit the jungle in pitch black, discover a mystical Mayan high-rise in the mist, and hear howler monkeys' terrifying (if you didn't know what they were) morning growl.
The theater (Temple IV)
The show (Temple V in the distance)
The temple of the Jaguar
Tikal is a personal discovery
And you better be in shape
Following the morning visit, I broke camp and rode to Flores for breakfast. Flores is a tiny lake island connected to the mainland with a short bit of road, and in my opinion just a glorified bus stop. I was really glad I didn't choose to stay there and commute to Tikal as some guide books suggest.
El Muelle hotel is by the lake and very close to Tikal. Nope, didn't stay there.
Until this morning, I still didn't know whether if I would continue to Belize or not. Belize has some of the greatest diving, and culturally is quite different than what I've seen so far. San Ignacio, very close to the border, is supposed to have some really interesting sights as well. I'm not sure whether if I still have a chance to reach Ushiaia before southern winter. But if I visit Belize, and get into scuba diving and all, I know that it's game over. I know, it doesn't matter, and the point is to explore and go with the flow, but... The decision is to dive Belize another time.
The road between Rio Dulce and Tikal is a trip in greens.
After breakfast, I tracked back to Rio Dulce and this time checked into Bruno's for $25. I had warm water, and a balcony with a hammock overlooking the rio. It's a bit closer to Sundog too :)
Also see : Palenque vs. Tikal vs. Copan
(DAY061 : Tikal - Rio Dulce)
After a nice breakfast at Bruno's, I left Rio Dulce at 9:15. The views, the bends, the surface, all made for a great ride, and I was in Tikal before 1 pm. You are not required to purchase your $20 park entrance ticket at the main gate, and if you buy it after 3 pm, it's valid for the next day as well. I reserved a guided sunrise tour at the gate for $13, but that too can be arranged inside, or you can even just show up at the info booth at 4:45 am and join one then.
The 2 hotels in the park were both full (and expensive anyway), but you can rent a tent or camp with your own at the Jaguar inn for only $3. That's safer and cheaper than camping at the main camp area. Internet, on the other hand, costs $5 per hour and that's about 8 times more expensive than normal around here.
I visited the ruins in the evening, and once again the next morning with the tour. The sunrise tour is a hit and miss, as the thick morning fog does not always part to offer you the magical views the tour is famous for, but I was among the lucky. In any case though, it's a great experience to visit the jungle in pitch black, discover a mystical Mayan high-rise in the mist, and hear howler monkeys' terrifying (if you didn't know what they were) morning growl.
The theater (Temple IV)
The show (Temple V in the distance)
The temple of the Jaguar
Tikal is a personal discovery
And you better be in shape
Following the morning visit, I broke camp and rode to Flores for breakfast. Flores is a tiny lake island connected to the mainland with a short bit of road, and in my opinion just a glorified bus stop. I was really glad I didn't choose to stay there and commute to Tikal as some guide books suggest.
El Muelle hotel is by the lake and very close to Tikal. Nope, didn't stay there.
Until this morning, I still didn't know whether if I would continue to Belize or not. Belize has some of the greatest diving, and culturally is quite different than what I've seen so far. San Ignacio, very close to the border, is supposed to have some really interesting sights as well. I'm not sure whether if I still have a chance to reach Ushiaia before southern winter. But if I visit Belize, and get into scuba diving and all, I know that it's game over. I know, it doesn't matter, and the point is to explore and go with the flow, but... The decision is to dive Belize another time.
The road between Rio Dulce and Tikal is a trip in greens.
After breakfast, I tracked back to Rio Dulce and this time checked into Bruno's for $25. I had warm water, and a balcony with a hammock overlooking the rio. It's a bit closer to Sundog too :)
Also see : Palenque vs. Tikal vs. Copan
posted by Serdar at
9:52 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Sonny
Fun meeting you a Boca Del Toro. Sorry for dragging you along on that boat tour..;-) Its was quite bad.
Anyway crossed the fucked up bridges twice by the border to Costa Rica. Because we found out that Diana now, because for the The Purple House hostel if you head this way. Might stay here a couple of days to sort the visa out!
Keep on ridin´ in the free world
Mikkel - www.race2aid.org
Hmm sorry don´t know what happened to that message.
But "we found out that Diana needs a visa to Costa Rica now, because of the recent conflict between Colombia and Venezuela. You might wanna check that out before going to Colombia...!
And "We´re back in DAVID to sort a visa out for Diana. Staying at the Purple House Hostel...."
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