flores/ tikal

mayan tree



templo II --------------------mayan stone carving


plaza --------------------------our furry friend


view from templo V top ----------steep templo V





rest on rooftop terrasse in Flores ------ guate breakfast (tortilla, huevos, frijoles, queso fresco,platanos


local shaded from the sun ----------flores streets


gallo (local beer) Xmas tree




it was a sudden change arriving in flores; spanish was spoken , people were in traditional dress and we now had to think in quetzales. many memories flooded back from when i came here ten years ago with margs and jason. it was almost like i remembered yet perhaps smaller, with it´s cobbled streets, colourful hotels and views of the lake peten-itza from almost everywhere.

we used flores as a stop-over point to visit the tikal ruins. what makes these ruins that much different from the others is the fact that it is almost entirely submerged in jungle and one has to trapse through it (really like indiana jones) to reach other temples. it is a wonderful experience even for my third visit. i don´t know where to start so as per usual, i shall tell you about my faves;
the gran plaza is a splendid site with two monsterous (almost identical) temples facing eachother, templo 1 and 2. they measure 44m and 38m respectively and have brilliant reliefs. we were able to climb up templo 2 which unfolded a magnificant early morning view over the courtyard and acropolis (occupied earlier than 400bc) situated nearby. the plaza oeste was also amazing, being 55 m high and still almost completely covered in foliage. it could easily be missed as it just looks like a mound of rocks and trees. finally, my absolute favourite is templo 5.
templo 5 is really different to the others in it´s architecture as the steps are rounded rather than squared and it goes up, almost into the clouds (ok, slight exaggeration)! the view is breathtaking over the jungle, with views of the tops of templo 1,2 and 4 (being the highest in tikal at over 64m, finished in 741 by king moon double comb´s son - indeed, that was his name!!)

after about 5 hours exploring, we were ready to leave our aching feet behind...which is what we did. rewarded with my best guate. meal of frijoles (refried beans), fried platanos (bananas), queso fresco (cheese) and tortillas. mmm-delicious!

Florès est une petite ville située sur la presqu´ile du lac Peten Itza. C´est une ville étape sympa pour rejoindre le site maya de Tikal. On vient de passer au Guatemala, tout le monde parle espagnol de nouveau, ce qui semble plus naturel en amérique centrale.

Tikal est un des plus anciens sites maya et ce qui le rend exceptionnel , c´est sa localisation en pleine jungle. En effet, entre chaque temple, il faut marcher sur des sentiers en pleine jungle, peuplés d´animaux de toutes sortes (toucans que malheureusement nous n´avons réussi a débusquer, une sorte de cochon au nez allongé mangeur de fourmis, dindes, vautours, araignées et même chauve-souris dans les temples). Partis de bon matin, on arrive les premiers sur la plazza centrale où le temple I et le temple II se font face, du haut de leur 40 mètres. L´ascension du temple II nous permet de profiter des premiers rayons du soleil pour nous réchauffer. La vue sur la forêt est magique. Pas un seul batiment a portée de vue, seulement les collines au loin.

Sur l´acropolis nord, on découvre une tête maya immense sur la facade d´un temple, puis on continue la visite avec les temples IV et V, tous plus haut les uns que les autres. Apres 4 h de marche dans la jungle, d´ascension de pyramides de 40 m, on est fatigué et on rentre donc sur Florès pour déguster un bon plat guatémaltèque, ce qui me permet de renouer avec les frijoles, le riz et les bananes grillées. En dessert, la glace locale, una chocobanana (banane congelée recouverte de chocolat chaud).