el salvador

So it has been a while since we´ve updated the blog. When we last left you, we were in Flores preparing for the big trip to Tikal. We took a late bus there so that we would arrive alter 3 p.m. and our tickets would be good for two days. Upon arrival, we set up our tent in the courtyard of a fancy hotel and set out to explore the ruins.

Our guide book told us that sun rise and sun set are ¨particularly magical¨but the guides were going to charge us 50 to 60 dollars extra in order to see either. Being cheap, we snack into the ruins as they were closing and evaded the guards as they kicked everyone out. We are so cool. We could hear their motorcycles touring the ruins, but knew they wouldn´t be able to follow us up some of the steeper trails through the rainforest as the sun was going down. We climbed to the top of one of the larger ziggurats and watched the sun go down over the jungle while monkeys played in the Canopy. The stairs to the temple had been closed to preserve them, but there were stairs/ladders that you could climb to get to the top of the edifice. They were really steep, so we went down before the sun had completely set. The sunset was awesome and we could see the tops of several other temples poking out above the tops of the trees. Even so, we had to find our way out of the jungle in complete darkness. Fortunately we had brought flashlights, but it still made for a great adventure.

The next day, we woke at 6 a.m. in order to get an early tour of the ruins before the sun got too hot and there were too many tourists. We decided to go with a Spanish guide because there were fewer people than in the English group (3 versus 40). Our guide was great and it helped to improve our Spanish, too. Tikal is amazing no matter what the conditions are, but it is especially awesome when you don´t have a huge group of ridiculous tourists with you. When we walked in, the park was covered in mist and it was quite eerie as the temples appeared. Afterwards, at about 2 p.m., we ate lunch and hopped a bus to a small town called El Remate.

El Remate isn´t really a town. There is only one street and it goes along the side of the lake. There are several restaurants, tiendas, and hostels, but they´re all spread out so it takes a while to see all 8 buildings. It is absolutely beautiful and peaceful. There was one other guest at our hostel, our new German friend Michel. Like all Germans, he smokes like California forests, speaks English, and is very nice. We only stayed one night but went swimming four or five different times. The lake is warm like a bathtub and flat. Like something flat. It was a chill way to relax after hiking and camping in a rainforest.

Yesterday, we left El Remate and took a bus back to Santa Elena. It was quite shocking to once again see all the hustle and hubbub of a gross city afte so much beauty. There were so many people yelling at us to get on their bus or go to their hotel or eat at their restaurant….it will never stop being annoying. We decided we were done with Guatemala after three amazing weeks and hopped on a bus to Chiquimula, near the El Salvador border.

Chiquimula is not a tourist town, which means it has cheap food and people are confused when they see you. We stayed in a hotel that was part of the bus station in order to get to El Salvador as quickly as possible. Stew woke up and bought a bunch of food at the market. He went overboard because everything was so cheap. For about a dollar, he got a thing of orange juice (thing = plastic bag with straw) , 10 empanadas, three tacos, and two bananas. YUMM! Tori, who was sick, really appreciated the bed side breakfast.

We caught a bus over the border to El Salvador and are currently in a town called Santa Ana. Tomorrow is a mystery. It is more relaxing here and no one yells about buses. We´re happy and safe.
Love,
Us