Woke up early the next morning - lets see the first highlight of this trip - the Ruins of the Maya City Tikal.

Even if Flores is the next airport (and nearest city) to Tikal - it still is about an hour by car away.

I didn`t arrange any transfer in advance - and must admit didn’t really plan anything. So after a cup of coffee I walked to the place on the island where I expected I would find a way to get to Tikal (right by the bridge to the mainland)

There really were already a few minibuses around and I found one that took me to Tikal and back.

Took a few minutes until the bus was full - but soon we were one our way.





I paid around 80 Guatemalan Quetzal (thats about 9 Euro) for both ways (with a choice of three different times for the return)

First view over the lake during the day





There is not much to tell about the ride - I was the only one in the bus that was traveling by himself - the rest were part of a guided group - which had the advantage for me that I could listen to the guides introduction during the busride. We made a short stop at at the entrance of the National Park so those who didn’t get one in advance could by a ticket.

From the parking lot where the bus dropped us of I at first walked towards one of the outlying temples to the west.









You could freely walk almost anywhere you wished - there were almost no fences or otherwise blocked areas.









So far only a small part of the city has been excavated









Because of the remote location - and the huge area it covers it didn’t get crowed the whole time I was there - a stark Contrast to Angkor Wat for example













A few of the pyramids are equipped with stairs so you can easily get to the top and enjoy the view.





Looks familiar? The landscape pictures for the Rebel Base on Yavin IV for the first Star Wars movie were taken at Tikal.









Didn`t see much wildlife while I was at the area - aside from these ants.





And another Pyramide - sorry, can’t remember which one this was.









And finally the central place with the best preserved pyramids.

























And even here just a few tourists, no huge crowds.

I was contemplating if I should also visited a few more of the outlying ruins - but as it suddenly started to rain quite a lot I decided to call it a day and take the next bus back to the city. But not before bying a t-shirt at one of the souvenir shops (not because it was such a great t-shirt, but because the one I was wearing was alle wet from the rain and I didn’t wanted to risk anything with the high powered air condition on the bus)

So is Tikal worth the trip? Its not as diversified as the different temples at Angkor Wat - and not such a spectacular location as Macchu Pichcu - but nonetheless worth the Trip if you are in the area.

Was still raining when we arrived back in Flores - actually raining too much for the sewer system in the city, so there were almost small rivers on the roads.

As soon as it stopped raining I went out again in search for a late lunch









Nothing special, the Corn rather boring, the shrimps too long on the grill - but surprisingly delicious handmade Onion Rings.





Walked around the whole island back to my appartment.









Guatemalas Version of a Tuk Tuk





Didn`t do much the rest of the afternoon, wrote some e-mail, read a little and arranged the airport transfer and check-out for early next morning.

For dinner I again just walked to one of the numerous restaurants here on the island - just took the one that was the busiest.





Didnt`t look like much - but was a really tasty chicken!





And back towards my apartment - tomorrow is a day with a rather complicated flight schedule.