Diary/Photo Journal
Week of November 30, 2003
After Tikal, we found a wonderful little town called Flores to stay the night. Flores is built on an island on Lago De Peten Itza and squeezes in about 2000 inhabitants. It is thought to have been one of the last major functioning Mayan ceremonial centers as it was not overtaken by the Spanish until the late 1600's. Unfortunately, all the pyramids, temples, idols, etc. were destroyed as the Spanish soldiers thought these to be representative of "pagan" creations.
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Flores laid out on the back of a menu Views from our hotel |
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One of many side streets and a view from the hotel Not a bad place for less than $6 a night! |
From Flores, we decided to check out a recommended place called Finca Ixobel. What a wonderful place! It is a combination youth hostel and eco-tour center. Accommodations range from basic camping to open-air huts to dorm rooms to private bungalows. Finca Ixobel is situated on 400 acres where a well-fed spring meanders through and the horses wander freely. Much of the restaurant's food is cultivated from the finca and nearby farms and the "hostel" itself is run primarily by volunteers. If you speak English and Spanish, volunteer opportunities may be available for free room and board.
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Finca Ixobel View across grounds from open huts to private bungalows Where's Cindy? |
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Rescued spider monkeys, macaws and other birds are kept on the finca |
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The horses are free to roam and graze the grounds |
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Hammock space was difficult to find - I wonder why? Tigre the Terrible watchdog! |
I wanted to stay at the Finca Ixobel because of their famed cave trek which includes body surfing/swimming through the cave. Well, we excitedly signed up for the trek and we now know what it is really like to be to hell and back. The supposed six-hour tour stretched into a nine-hour treacherous slosh through ankle-deep mud - you know the type of mud, that which makes that pleasant sucking sound each time you have to extricate your lower limbs from the quagmire.
Not to mention the last 200 feet of a steep slope that was extremely slick and was marked by many a butt that inadvertently found their way to the mud. Unfortunately, my knee was rebelling and my shoes became useless, so I scrabbled down the last 200 feet barefoot by clutching Gerson's arm (and whining very appreciably). Of course, once we all collapsed on the rocks at the entrance to the cavern, we forgot (almost) about the horrible previous hours and looked forward to the "stroll" through the underground river.
Now, to back up a tad, along our path, we ran into some locals that were trying to separate their Land Rover from the mud. When a 4x4 is buried in the mud, you know the conditions are not conducive to travel. With the several locals, the muscle of our group and some excellent driving by a certain author of this website, we finally tore the Land Rover from the mud's grip.
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Yep, it's stuck alright! |
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Our audience |
Ok, back to the cavern. We entered the temperate water and the view of the various limestone formations (stalactites, stalagmites, etc.) was fantastic. However, that enjoyment was soon dulled when we learned that we were going to trek one kilometer (.62 mile for you metric challenged) in and one kilometer back. Now add a swift current to combat, many hidden sharp rocks to slip on, several river crossings to knock you over, multiple rock faces to shimmy across, low overhangs to hit your head on and you have our next two hours of this adventure. All to be climaxed by climbing up onto a precarious limestone bridge over an underground waterfall and actually being able to jump the 25' down into the cool pool below.
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At the cavern entrance - all smiles now (of relief that is!) |
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At the diving bridge and pool Our crew and G after his dive Sorry about the rough pics, |
Getting back to the finca was another exhausting three hours and made worse by the fact that we completed the last hour in complete darkness, but for a small headlamp that Gerson carried. We stumbled into the "hostel" with one thought - a hot shower (ok, two thoughts, a hot shower and a cold beer). (I will state that had the conditions been "drier", this trek would have been a definite highlight of our journey - so wait until the middle of the dry season, do not go at the beginning!).
We almost stayed another day but alas, we wanted to continue further into Guatemala and preserve our remarkable memories of Finca Ixobel intact as they were. Since we were heading south, we offered a ride to three travelers going in the same direction. We ended up staying together in Rio Dulce and enjoyed a cut-throat game of Mexican Train (a dominoes derivative).
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Allon (Israel), Selma and Karen (Holland) and us and the view from our hostel |
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Views of Guatemala countryside |
Gerson could not pass up a chance to visit yet another ruin, so
off to Quirigua (Key-ree-gwa) to inspect some extraordinary intricately carved
stelae - gigantic sandstone monoliths up to 10.5 meters/30+ feet tall.
Quirigua began to form in the early 700's CE and its king commissioned the
giant stelae and zoomorphs to be built. The stelae were made from the
brown sandstone in the nearby Rio Motagua as it had cleavage planes suitable for
cutting large pieces. Though soft when first cut, the sandstone dried hard
in the air and was thus carved. In 1981, Quirigua was declared a
World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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Various views of the Stelae These monoliths are incredibly detailed and not an inch of sandstone was left untouched |
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Jaguars are a common theme View to the |
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Banana crossing The bananas are hooked on this transport conveyer belt and they travel through a "shed" where they are sprayed/washed and then off to packing. These tracks go for miles through the plantation and the bananas are led by a man that rides in the front of the "train". I want his job! |
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