Backpacking Adventure 2010 – Week 4

The group's current location: Placencia/Belize

This week’s blog entry is written by Cris, one of our guides for this Backpacking Adventure.

14^th November

Today we got up very early to go to Tikal and after breakfast we drove to the archaeological site. We were the first ones to enter and after a general explanation we started our tour in the most important Mayan site. It was an amazing day: We saw, crocodiles, tarantulas, coatis, agoutis, ocelated turkeys, and a lot of birds, including two different types of toucans and an orange breasted falcon. After 15km we left the park to have a nice lunch by the Peten Itza Lake back in El Remate and afterwards we enjoyed swimming in the lake. In the afternoon we went to a Guatemalan birthday party, the youngest daughter of our Tikal guide was turning 3 years old, so we enjoyed a clown show and some piñatas. It was a great day.

15^th November

After breakfast we departed to Cerro Cahui Biotope where we had a good hike, not so long (just 6km) but a bit challenging, the highest point is close to 600m altitude, so when we had finished we went to refresh at the lake and have lunch. During the afternoon we visited a school, a bit far from El Remate – this is a school for poor kids where they get free education and food. After a tour in the facilities we did some community service. It was a nice place the only downfall is that the kids where on winter brake so we couldn´t see them.

16^th November

After breakfast we departed to Ixpanpajul Park where we did the canopy tour. They have 6 zip lines, the tallest one was 18 m high, it was exciting. Then we went to Flores, an island in the middle of Peten Itza Lake, where we had a great lunch. Some of the guys tasted agouti, armadillo, wildboar, wild turkey and deer at LA MESA de los MAYAS restaurant. We visited ARCAS, an animal rescue center. To get there we had to take a boat and we saw monkeys – spider and howler –, macaws, crocodiles, ocelots, deers, jaguars, rabbits, ship and lots of different types of birds. We met some Danish who are volunteering at the park. During the afternoon, the guys had some free time to enjoy the island and to get some souvenirs.

17^th November

After breakfast we departed to Rio Dulce. We arrived around 4pm. The place where we are staying looks great; everybody agreed that it´s the nicest place where we have stayed. The rest of the day was pretty much to chill, playing pool, swimming and kayaking.

18^th November

The morning was pretty slow, some of the guys went for a swimming and relaxed. In the afternoon we went to the town to do some groceries and to check the handcrafts. This is a great place for relaxing and having fun by the river.

19^th November

It had been raining yesterday in the afternoon so we decided not to go to the waterfalls. Instead, we had a pool tournament and played some chess and cards. We agreed in using the money for the waterfalls in something else in Placencia, so everybody gets to enjoy it.

Right now they should be on their way to Placencia in Belize where they will experience further unforgettable adventures.

Catch up on them on their way through the Mayan World. Read about the different destinations, about their experiences meeting other people and about all the adventures on their way. In the following weeks we will publish articles about their tour right here in this blog. Check out our photo album, too.