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Visiting Tikal, Guatemala

Central America, Guatemala, Travel 1 Response »

Jun 052013

As you may know, I flew down to Flores with the hope of finding a helicopter to fly me into El Mirador, a huge, largely unexcavated Mayan city in the jungle, where I could overnight before flying back. The helicopter was essential as otherwise the trip required two days of trekking in and out. I would have loved to do the trek, but I just didn’t have enough time.

Upon arriving, I discovered the the cost of the helicopter (which I’d decided I was happy spending a fortune on) would be $5000. That was not the fortune I had in mind. As it turns out, they no longer keep a helicopter in Flores, so you have to pay to fly it in. I do wonder if that might be because the helicopter in Flores crashed or something.

So, it was time to execute the backup plan. The backup plan was an equally impressive and much easier to reach, excavated complex called Tikal. This is the reason that most people visit the area. Everything I’d read about the place said you should go at sunrise to avoid the heat of the day. This would have required a 2am wake up.

Instead, after telling Nelson, the guy on the tour desk at Los Amigos, that I wanted to take pictures he recommended the sunset trip. His reason was that the sunrise is often obscured by the mist rising from the jungle, but the sunset was visible. So, I booked a trip at the hottest time of the day, but at least I could sleep in.

I awoke at 6am. My room was boiling. So, I went for a cold shower and set out for some post sunrise pics of Flores before tucking into breakfast at the hostel. Following that I settled into a hammock with George Orwell’s 1984 to kill the time before my tour. I came very close to dozing off, but managed to climb out in time for the trip.

Tikal was amazing. I’ve got a lot of photos of the area so will tell you more about it as I post them. One thing I can say is this, I’m glad I went in the afternoon. Yes, it was absolutely boiling and I sweat more than I think I ever have in my life. But, my tour group of about ten people seemed to be the only people that were as stupid as me and willing to go in the heat of the day. We had the entire place to ourselves. After watching the sunset atop a pyramid we descended to walk back through the temples in almost total darkness.

Launches on Lake Peten Itza, Guatemala

Central America, Guatemala, Travel 3 Responses »

Jun 022013

Following a grueling, but short, hike up to a viewpoint overlooking Lake Peten Itza and the island city of Flores we marched back down to our launch to continue onto the beach. It was hot and I was looking forward to getting back to my bottle of water under the shade of the launch. But, before I could do that I decided to stop for a photo of these two launches, as they waited patiently for their passengers. Mine was the smaller one on the right.

Flores from the Viewpoint

Central America, Guatemala, Travel 4 Responses »

May 302013

My first stop on my boat trip was to visit a viewpoint overlooking the island city of Flores. I knew it would be up hill, but I didn’t know how far uphill. I was also shocked by the heat of the day as it was only about 9am. It was at this point that carrying my camera backpack was not going to work in this climate. My back was on fire.

After a hard slog up to the mirador, I concluded there wasn’t a lot to see, except for this view looking back at my temporary home. The hills in the background were all covered in dense jungle.

My Launch Pilot in Flores, Guatemala

Central America, Guatemala, People, Travel 3 Responses »

May 292013

On my first day in Flores I planned on taking it easy. I was going to sleep in and then take a tour of the lake. Little did I know that I’d wake up at 6am and not be able to get back to sleep because my room was absolutely boiling!

I lay around for about an hour before giving up and going for breakfast in my hostel. Then, it was time to do something. I grabbed my backpack full of camera gear and made my way down to the docks to procure a boat for the day. When I arrived at the water there weren’t any boats about. Then, a kid was passing by and called out to me. Stretching my Spanish abilities to the limit, I arranged a price to visit two viewpoints, a beach, and an animal refuge center called ARCAS.

As we sped out of Flores I snapped the below photo of my new guide.

First Night in Flores, Guatemala

Central America, Guatemala, Travel 8 Responses »

May 282013

I’ve made it back from Guatemala and managed to do a lot: Mayan ruins, a pitch black cave on my own with a dodgy flashlight, climbed a volcano and visited an evil saint. It was a busy week.

To get to Guatemala I flew through Miami from Bermuda. It was actually really efficient, leaving Bermuda at 8:30am and arriving at Guatemala City at 1:30 in the afternoon. Then, I had a torturous 5 hour layover before my flight to Flores. Guatemala City airport has to be the hottest place in the world. There’s no air-conditioning and it resembles a giant greenhouse. I wandered for hours trying desperately to find a cool spot.

Eventually I boarded an aging turbo prop and took off for Flores, swerving between lightning storms. That part was actually pretty amazing, watching the clouds flash angrily, occasionally emitting bolts down to the ground. I was sat next to a Canadian girl on her way to volunteer at a center for animals that had been kept as pets or taken from traffickers. She also had a fear of flying. I tried not to point out the lightning storms, but she noticed.

I arrived at the airport and was soon outside looking for a taxi. It was 9:00 at night and I didn’t have a reservation anywhere, though I had a hostel in mind that I wanted to stay at called Los Amigos. I wound up in a taxi, which was actually a minivan that they loaded up with people. Then, we set off.

After arriving in Flores, I was the first person to be dropped off. The driver’s assistant returned my bag to me and gestured vaguely up the street when I asked where the hostel was. Then they drove off, I was left on my own in Guatemala without anywhere arranged to stay for the night. It was a nervous moment. This is where I was stood. Fortunately, the hostel wasn’t far up the street to the left and they had space for me.

I’m off to Guatemala and Redhill, Cape Town

Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, Travel 13 Responses »

May 152013

I’m off to Guatemala

I decided it’s time to expand my supply of photographs beyond Bermuda and Southern Africa. So, on Saturday I’m heading down to Guatemala for a week. I’m hoping to visit El Mirador. It’s a Mayan city still overgrown by jungle. You can trek there, which takes two days both ways. I don’t have time for that but have discovered it’s possible to get a helicopter in, overnight in a hammock and then take a helicopter back out. I’ve found a website that offers this service, but haven’t managed to get in touch with them. So, I’m turning up with nothing booked and hoping I can sort one when I arrive. If not, there’s another site called Tikal I can visit. There’s actually hotels right next to the temples there, so that won’t be a bad alternative, just not as adventurous.

For the second half of the trip I’ll be visiting Guatemala’s former capital, Antigua. It’s an old Spanish colonial city nestled amongst three volcanoes. My plan is to climb one of them, the easiest one.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get a load of photos done to upload prior to leaving so this will likely be my last post until I get back on May 26th. Then, I should have lots of photos and stories for you.

Today’s Photo: Redhill, Cape Town

On my last trip to Capetown I was lucky enough to stay with my travel buddy’s family. They have a cleaner, Grace, come in once a week and always drive her back home. She lives in this small township called Redhill. It’s in a strikingly beautiful location with vineyards in the valley below. It makes for a startling contrast.

An old one: Ayuni Salt Flats, Bolivia

Bolivia, South America, Travel 11 Responses »

May 092013

Last year I managed to keep the locations of my photos varied pretty well. I was able to switch between images taken from South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, New York, Canada, Prague, Iceland and Italy. At the moment I’m feeling like all I’ve got are African shots and any Bermuda shots I manage to sneak out and take. So, I’ve decided to share some of my earliest photographs from my first real adventure.

I took a gap-year before heading to University, and got to head down to Bolivia and Peru. That’s where I became a bit of a travel addict and discovered I quite liked taking pictures, and wasn’t too bad at it either. I had a little Olympus point and shoot. I can’t remember the model but it was pretty robust. It survived walking a puma through the Bolivian jungle, 4-treks in Bolivia and Peru, and even sand dune boarding (also known as falling over a lot).

Driving across the Ayuni Salt Flats is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done in my life. Miles upon miles of whiteness, minimal landmarks, and no signs of civilization. When we were there, a thin film of water over the salt turned the entire place into one giant mirror. It was like driving in the clouds.

This shot is taken from on top of our jeep. In the picture, you can see one of the girls making her way on to the roof and in the one ahead, you can see the luggage rack is already loaded with people. It was an exhilarating ride, but the salt water splashing up turned all of our clothes into crusty messes.

Bermuda Dinghies at Sunset 2

Bermuda, Travel 4 Responses »

May 082013

I’ve been working on a time lapsed scene tonight, but didn’t have much luck. I decided to pull one of them out and give you another version of the dinghies at sunset I posted earlier. It was amazing how much the sky lit up that night.

You’re being watched, Sable Antelope in Botswana

Africa, Animals, Botswana, Travel 4 Responses »

May 072013

While driving into Chobe National Park, we were gawking at the numerous elephants along the roadside and almost missed this sight. Luckily, one of my travel buddies spotted it. It’s called a sable antelope and stood motionless in the bushes, just watching us until we moved on.

Elephant Back Safari 2011, Zambia

Africa, Animals, Travel, Zambia 2 Responses »

May 062013

My first tie on elephant-back safari was on my first trip to Africa in 2011. We went in Zambia. The elephants all have a handler assigned to them from when they’re babies. This little guy was in training, happily trundling along next to its mother. You can see her shadow on the ground where he’s standing.

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