Backpacking Adventure 2010 – Week 5

The group's current location: Tulum/Mexico

This week’s blog entry is written by Corbin, one of our Danish Backpackers.

When we left Mexico and entered Guatemala we crossed a big river and after many hours of driving we reached the small town of El Remate. El Remate is located close to the ruins of the ancient Mayan power center called Tikal and right beside the town was a lake, wonderful to swim in! The following day we went to Tikal. It was everything I had expected and much more, our guide, Luis, was supreme and new all the details. We found some tarantulas in their burrows and we got to hold them. Luis got the others to take a picture of me with the spider in front of my mouth, but while doing that it actually spit something into my mouth, that was disgusting haha. The ruins were of course massive and climbing them turned out to daring at some parts, due to their steepness. The jungle surrounding the area was lush and full of animals, especially howler monkeys and toucans.

The day after we went to an animal rescue center, I like the idea of volunteering at a place like that. We also went zip-lining which is basically sliding on a cable from one point to another. We went from one tree to the next and it was very enjoyable, maybe a bit short but fun while it lasted. The same day we went to the local market, here we could purchase all kinds of wooden figures which is the areas specialty. I found them all to be very fascinating, but the ones I wanted were too hard to travel with, that's life.

The journey led us to Rio Dulce thereafter. Rio Dulce is a sleepy town right onto an inland bay. The hotel we stayed at was without a doubt the best so far and while staying there we basically just relaxed, went swimming, kayaking and played pool. After 2 days of relaxation we sailed for three hours through pretty rough water in a speed boat to get to Belize, the whole ride felt like being in a roller coaster which made it very amusing!

Were now down to the last three days, these days we have spent in Belize. Belize is much different than anticipated and the country actually seems to function well. The people here are very nice and they all speak English although the spoken language really is Creole, which is very broken pirate like English. Our hostel was located straight at the beach and I and two other boys got the best hut right at the shore line. The place was owned by a Canadian and he was a really nice guy, but the place needed a helping hand and the facilities weren't very good. Things like running water weren't common, which was too bad because besides that I actually had a really good time. We did a lot of kayaking and swimming, but yesterday was the best day yet on the whole trip, I think.

Yesterday just six of us agreed to go on a river rafting trip in kayaks. The drive out there took three hours and was through beautiful landscape, real jungle and Mayan villages were the pigs ran free and everything seemed so idyllic. The rafting trip took a total of 4 hours and it was goooooood! I get amazed every time how beautiful things are here and then there was also the "waterfalls". I think me and my buddy tipped over at least 5 times due to the falls, it actually hard to describe so I'm hoping that I can get a hold of the pictures for the next update so I can show it! The falls were between 1 foot to the highest of 13 feet, the really gave a good adrenalin rush which is always a great feeling! The hike out from the river was also quite the experience that was really like hiking though the jungle. It was tough, slippery and there was sharp plants and insects everywhere, also a cool thing to try.

Right now they should be in Tulum, back in Mexico 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.