I’m currently staying at the Los Amigos hostel in Flores, Guatemala. Flores is a town located on a tiny island in Lake Petén It’s really beautiful here, and the conditions are perfect for swimming in freshwater.
Today I visited Tikal, which is an incredibly impressive collection of Mayan ruins located deep in the jungle. The ruins date back to around 400 BC, and the city had its golden age until about 900 AD, when it was conquered by other indigenous tribes from Teotihuacán in Mexico. Since the ruins are right in the middle of the jungle, you can easily spot monkeys, tarantulas, raccoons, and a variety of other animals and birds.
Tonight there’s both a full moon and a partial lunar eclipse here in Flores, so we’re heading down to the lake to watch it. Tomorrow I’m off to Semuc Champey, which supposedly offers impressive limestone formations and waterfalls. More to come…
