To Tikal:
As usual when going a good distance south of the border, I arrived from the U.S. to the international airport in Mexico City. From Mexico City I took an autobus, the ADO line, to Chetumal. I did this to save on costs and also to see the countryside. It's quite a long ride, around 19 hours. You can, if you wish, fly to a small airport only about 1/2 hour from Tikal park. The bus passes through the states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche and stops in the state of Quintana Roo.
In Chetumal, I stayed at Los Cocos hotel which I definitely recommend. Their restaurant is also very good. To see contact information for this hotel and others in Chetumal, click Adventure and then Services starting from the above link. There is a museum of Mayan culture in Chetumal of moderate size. If you know little of the Mayan culture it may be of interest, but should you not visit it, you haven't missed much; many of
the
artifacts are copies and, supposedly to respect the artists, photos
may
not be taken.
Should you have time to burn in Chetumal it is worthwhile to do a bit
of bird watching either along the ocean. I saw a bright red male
tananger
and a bright yellow female pair.
From Chetumal I took, from the central bus terminal, a Mundo Maya bus to Tikal, Guatemala. You may need to go to the island-city of Flores first and then take a bus to Tikal, but I was fortunate in that the two buses crossed paths and I transfered. To get information on the Mundo Maya buses you can contact Linea Dorada Autobuses , a first class autobus in Guatemala which is affiliated with Mundo Maya autobuses. The trip takes about seven hours, roughly half of which is spent passing through Belize. The travel time doesn't include time at the borders and at Belize City, where the bus may pass through if there are passengers to be picked up or dropped off their. On the trip to Tikal the bus stopped at Belize City while it didn't on the way back.
I actually stayed within the Tikal park at one of the three hotels there; Hotel Jungle Lodge. It's a very nice hotel and there is also a restaurant. They also run tours out of the hotel. I took a four hour tour which was simply excellent; Carlos was the guide. The ruins are within walking distance; and a nice walk it is.
The first morning in the park I walked to the abandoned air strip at Tikal which some guide books point to as an excellent place to do birding. Indeed, at about 7 a.m. there were numerous birds arriving and departing near the beginning of the strip. I saw more species than I anticipated, including a Trogan and a Toucan; all within 1 1/2 hours. At 9 a.m. the tour started. I asked the guide, Carlos, if he could comment on some of the trees along the way, which he did. The ruins themselves are faboulous. With the flowers, trees, butterflies, birds, Coatis (a member of the same family as the Racoon) and Spider Monkeys it was more than
one could ask for.
One of several birds I saw on the tour was a Motmot.
While I didn't see any Howler Monkeys I certainly heard them and this
in itself is a great experience, with their
howls carrying for a long distance above the jungle. In the evening, you may
encounter fire flies, as I did.
Having stayed overnight in Tikal and spent the better part of a day their, I left to go to the Isla de Flores where I would catch my return bus the next morning. I intended to stay an additional day but the Mundo Maya bus to Chetumal did not operate on the 25th of December. On the Isla de Flores I stayed at the Hotel Isla de Flores, which is affiliated with the Hotel Jungle Lodge. I recommend this Hotel as well as the Jungle Lodge at Tikal.
Isla de Flores is a small island in the Peten Itza lake. You can reach it by car or bus as there is a road built to go to it.
It has a
unique
feel to it and if you want to do any shopping for hand woven items,
wooden art products, etc., this is a great place to do it. In the
late
afternoon I took a boat out to another island which has a zoo on it;
this latter island also has a lagoon in it.
If you are entering Isla de Flores by car or bus,
the area from which I rented the boat is on your left on
the shore, just as you reach the island.
I had an excellent guide for both the boat trip and my time
spent
at the zoo; Carlos was his name, the same name as the guide at Tikal.
He knows only a little English, but is learning. We communicated in
Spanish and he spoke of many interesting things.
The next morning, at 5 a.m. I took the bus back to Chetumal.
For information on travel in Guatemala I used the book Guatemala: Adventures in Nature, by Richard Mahler and for flora and fauna the excellent book Belize & Northern Guatemala: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide by Les Beletsky, both available at amazon.com. I also took along The Birds of Tikal, by Randell Beavers, apparently printed in 1992. It has a few B&W photos, a long list of birds but was not of use to me for it has only a few photos of birds. I wouldn't recommend this book.
It goes without saying that one should be well prepared to travel to Guatemala. I got a few injections and took pills to prevent contracting maleria.
