Travelblog LA#16: Tikal & Uaxactun – Guatemala

 

9th – 12th July, 2023

 

After being in the Flores area for over five days, I finally visited its main attraction. The world-renowned, UNESCO-accredited, former capital of the Mayan world: Tikal.

And I am not afraid to admit that it is worth the hype. The only reason I refrained this long was not because I was reluctant but rather because I did not want to visit it during the weekend, and this turned out to be a good decision. This is one of those places that a lot of rich people want to tick off their bucket list so they fly directly to the local airport, do a tour of the ruins and then leave all within the same day, but this kind of behaviour peaks at the weekend. I visited on a Monday and found it quiet, and I shared a guide with just two other people. The previous day his group had numbered over twenty.

Speaking of guides, this is one of those occasions that I will publicly endorse one. Rony – whose contact details I will include below – ended up being not only very knowledgeable about this complex but also happened to be an ornithologist, and when he found out the three of us were wildlife enthusiasts he took us on a detour through the jungle. We spotted many species of birds that morning, including:

A white-collared manakin.

A blue-diademed motmot.

And some toucans.

When we got to exploring the actual ruins, we began with a smaller plaza on the eastern side that featured two pairs of pyramids opposite each other. One of them was still – like many Mayan monuments – buried beneath the jungle, but our guide explained that this is not always because they simply haven’t gotten around to excavating yet. Often it is deliberate, as the Mayans built many of their structures from very soluble limestone, and archaeologists want to preserve them.

The other, however, has been excavated and partially restored.

Many of the plazas in Tikal feature steles and ceremonial platforms. The former being where the Mayans recorded their history and bragged about their conquests, and the latter where they made offerings. Historians have translated much of the Maya script – which is why we now know quite a lot about their history and culture – but the cities with access to more durable stone have generally managed to preserve more of their history as their steles are more legible.

Shortly after this introduction, we made our way to the central plaza, featuring the iconic pair of pyramids that many of you have doubtless seen pictures of before and will recognise. What you don’t often see in the pictures is that there are also two huge acropolises on either side of them.

And the slightly smaller pyramid has wooden steps at the back that you can climb for a view of it all.

There are several pyramids that you can climb in this complex. I think my favourite was ‘Mundo Perdido’, as it featured a complete panorama from the top, and you could see many of the features of Tikal peaking above the treeline.

After exploring some of the smaller, less excavated plazas, our tour ended and my companions got back onto a bus heading back to Flores, but I had different plans. I was heading to Uaxactun – a village further into the jungle with its own ruins – and this meant I still had a few hours to wait.

I have mentioned here before that there are some positives and negatives when it comes to having a guide or going to places independently. I have been going on more tours than I usually do in Guatemala because the prices have been quite reasonable, and – after you have looked into the logistics of things such as transport – the convenience has often outweighed the difference in cost. Tikal is a site that doesn’t have that much information, so I was glad to have someone to give me context, and I was very pleased with Rony because he gave us a bonus wildlife tour.

But, another thing I will say is to remember that guides cater group tours to a wide range of people with differing levels of mobility and interest, and when it comes to historic places, this often means that guides will skip parts. This is obviously because most people are happy seeing the ‘more notable’ features, but if you are a bit of a geek like me and want to explore everything you might want to consider ensuring you have some free time in the end. I was glad that the circumstances of my visit allowed me this as I got to see some things that I would have otherwise missed, including this incredible pyramid.

I would have also missed this amazing stucco by the central plaza.

As well as some smaller places that were admittedly not as dramatic but still lovely, and I had entirely to myself.

When the end of the afternoon came, I returned to the entrance and waited for the bus to Uaxactun. There is only one each day, and it passes by Tikal in the late afternoon. It is primarily for residents, so by the time I got on it was crammed with not only people but sacks of beans and other supplies. The conductor gestured for me to sit on a crate of Coke bottles.

It was almost evening when we arrived, and I could immediately tell this was a very tight-knit community. Everyone seemed very familiar with each other, and the bus dropped off most of the passengers outside of their houses. This meant I got to have a little tour of the village. Its central feature appears to be an old runway for a disused airport that the villagers have appropriated and filled with football pitches and other community spaces.

Uaxactun only has one place for visitors to sleep: a hotel called El Chiclero. Its owner was the wife of one of the archaeologists who excavated the ruins, but she was away during my stay, and her brother was looking after the place. It looked a bit rundown, and there was an entire building that looked like it used to be rooms for guests but was now just a shell. Luckily they had a place for me in another block. I could tell that I was their first visitor for a while. When they led me to my room, I opened the door to find a girl hurriedly dusting off the pillows and sheets.

I ate dinner at Uaxactun’s only restaurant, and it seemed very much like I was the first customer they’d had for a while. I didn’t have time to do anything else that evening besides shower and sleep. The mosquito guards on the walls and ceiling of my room had lots of holes, but it was too late to do anything so I had to make do. I put some repellent on my shoulders and arms and hoped I would get through the night reasonably unscathed.

The following morning I got up early to watch the sunrise from one of the archaeological sites outside the village: something that Rony – my guide for Tikal – recommended. El Chiclero had a resident dog called Rocky who followed me.

This place is believed to be an astronomical observatory because it features a pyramid overlooking three edifices. During this time of the year – close to midsummer – if you sit on the pyramid, you can watch the sunrise from behind the edifice to the far left. It was a bit cloudy that morning, so I saw this as a general haze of light rather than the sun in its full magnificence.

But I did get to hear the dawn chorus, and as the area around me brightened, I also saw more of the site. I think my favourite feature was the stucco faces on the pyramid.

Rocky remained my loyal companion for the rest of the day. He did occasionally get a little excited at the sight of monkeys – and would start barking – but when it came to birds he was relatively chill and didn’t scare too many of them away.

The astronomical observatory is one of several sites excavated by archaeologists during the 1920s and 30s. They designated it as ‘Site E’, and nearby I saw a sign for a place called ‘Site H’, so I followed the trail only to find it had many forks that weren’t signposted. After getting lost for a couple of hours, I eventually gave up and returned to the village. One of the locals later informed me that many of Uaxactun’s ruins have been reclaimed by the jungle. It was possible I had walked over ‘Site H’ and not even known it. The only other sites that are still explorable – besides the astronomical observatory – are known as ‘A’ and ‘B’.

So that is where I went next, and conveniently these two were both easy to find and close to each other.

I don’t think I have ever been to somewhere like Uaxactun. Usually, when somewhere becomes notable for tourism it becomes a story of development and if you read a travel guide printed more than a year or two ago the swiftness of it can often be startling. With Uaxactun, I feel like the opposite has happened. Either people have stopped coming here, or perhaps they built all this infrastructure because they thought it would become more popular than it actually became, and now there are not enough visitors to keep them all maintained and running.

Despite this, I am glad I came here. The ruins are not quite as dramatic or photogenic as Tikal, but they have some features that its more famous neighbour doesn’t. I have already mentioned the amazingly preserved stucco faces on the pyramid in the astronomical observatory, but there are other things such as a series of inner corridors at the top of the ‘palace’ structure in site A.

And there is also the fact that the visitors who do come will almost certainly have the entire site to themselves, which makes for a lovely atmosphere.

The site also features many placards giving information (in both Spanish and English).

And then is also the village. After visiting both sets of ruins, I went for a little walk along the airstrip, and all the locals were friendly and keen to start conversations with me.

Later, when I returned to El Chiclero, I also chatted with Antonio – the brother of the owner – for a while and found out why the place looks a bit rundown. The roof collapsed for one of the blocks of rooms a year ago, and they are still in the process of dismantling the remains before building new ones. I am guessing the pandemic has not helped as repairs cost money and I imagine there has been very little coming in over the last few years.

I don’t want this blog to put people off coming to El Chiclero as I am sure it will be amazing once they fix it up again. I came at the worst possible time: during a time of renovation in the low season and whilst the owner was away. She could have closed the place completely – and not risked her reputation – but that would have left me stranded, so I appreciate she made arrangements to stop that from happening. I still had a clean bed to sleep on, the toilet flushed, and the shower worked. The only thing I will complain about is that they need to either fix their mosquito guards or put nets in the rooms, as I did get bitten a bit that first night. The second night I was better prepared and spent some time stuffing toilet paper and plastic bags into all the holes and gaps before it got dark.

Did I mention that El Chiclero has a museum? One of the cool things about staying here is that it is also home to a collection of artefacts from the area. The building is currently also being used to store beds until the new rooms are ready, but if you ask they will still let you in and show you around.

I am very glad I came to Uaxactun. Both the village and its ruins are lovely, and it was nice to get off the beaten track for a couple of days. More people should come here.

 

If any of you are interested in hiring Rony as a guide he can be contacted by WhatsApp on this number (+502 4910 2118). He is highly recommended by me not only for his knowledge of Mayan history but also for the local wildlife, and he offers both group tours through local agencies and private tours to various places.

 

Click on the hyperlinks for more photos from Tikal and Uaxactun.

 

Travelblog LA#15: Flores & Yaxha – Guatemala

5th – 8th July, 2023

 

Getting to the north of Guatemala from Lake Atitlan is a long journey. First, I had to catch a shuttle bus from Panajachel to a bus station in Guatemala City. From there, several night buses leave each evening, but none have functioning websites so I had to turn up early to ensure I got a seat. It is possible to make reservations on the phone, but if your Spanish is not fluent, this will be almost impossible as the people on the other side talk very fast.

I hoped that by turning up at the station early I would have a chance of getting one of their more comfortable ‘luxo’ seats on the first floor – perfect if you are travelling solo, as you can get one of the solo seats on the right-hand side – but those were all sold out, and even the second-floor seats were rapidly disappearing so I snatched one leaving at 8 pm. The bus station was a bit of a dive, which made me nervous about what the bus would look like, but it wasn’t too bad. I found myself sitting amongst a family who was friendly enough, the air conditioning worked, and my seat reclined just enough for me to get a bit of sleep before I found myself woken up at 5 am in Santa Elena.

It was only a twenty-five-minute walk from there to Flores, a small island on Lake Petén Itzá. It was understandably too early for me to check in to my hostel, so I left my bags there and decided to visit one of the attractions nearby. Actun Kan Caves.

Most tourists who come to this area stay here for two nights, book a tour to Tikal – its most famous ruins – and then leave, but I think they are missing out as there are other reasons to stay, and these caves are one of them. The admission cost was cheap and included a helmet fitted with a head torch. There are lots of caverns to explore, but the place is well signposted – a good thing as I can see how someone could easily get lost in here – and it is also home to many bats.

After that, I took things easy that first day. There were a few reasons for this. I was tired after my journey, and after several weeks in the highlands I was back in a tropical region again and had to acclimatise to the heat. I also had some work to do as my publisher had just sent me the first round of edits for Blood War – the third instalment of my Avatars of Ruin series – which is due to be published early next year, so I will be travelling a bit slower for a while.

On my second day in Flores, I went out for a while and caught a boat to a village called San Miguel on the opposite side of the lake. The nearby peninsular is home to some trails and a mirador overlooking the area.

There is also a Mayan site here called Tayazal. It is not very well known because most remains are still buried beneath the jungle, but you can see the signs from all the artificial mounds dotted about the place. I think the local authorities have plans concerning this area because I came across an excavation site and an incomplete boardwalk. It seems a place to watch over the coming years.

San Miguel is also home to a museum of Mayan artefacts. The place does look like it could do with more attention – as it is currently a bit short on displays and in a state of disrepair – but it is free, and the staff are friendly. I was its only visitor, and the attendant was very talkative and open to questions; it was almost like getting a free tour.

By my third day, I decided it was time to start exploring some of the Mayan ruins this area is known for, but with the weekend approaching I didn’t want to go anywhere near Tikal – as I knew it would be busy – so I instead went to the less explored Yaxha.

These ruins are on the shore of a lake with the same name, close to the Belize border. There are currently no transport options, so unless you have a vehicle your only option is to go on a tour. Luckily, these are reasonably priced and include a guide.

When I arrived, the guide told us about an optional trip to see a set of smaller ruins on an island in the middle of the lake; news somewhat sprung upon me, so I didn’t have much time to make an informed decision. I decided to give it a miss. It was a bit pricey, and I liked the idea of having some extra time to explore the main site of Yaxha by myself. After the others returned, I did speak to some of them, and it sounded like the journey across the lake was quite enjoyable, but the ruins on the island weren’t much to write home about. I don’t think there is a wrong or right choice when it comes to this, but I am personally happy with the decision I made.

I didn’t know what to expect from Yazha, but it was a surprisingly extensive network of acropolises, plazas, and pyramids dotted through a jungle teeming with primates – mostly noisy howler monkeys but also some spider monkeys too – which only added to the atmosphere.  

There are several pyramids that you are allowed to climb, which makes for some great views.

We also passed by the court where the famous Mayan ballgame was played. Almost all large Mayan sites have these, but – like much to do with the Maya – some of the details of this game are a mystery. It is believed that the players were only allowed to touch the ball with their hips and shoulders, and there was a strong ritual aspect. I do not have the authority to weigh in with my opinion on this, but there seems to have almost certainly been some form of sacrifice made at the end of the game, and it was the winners – rather than the losers – that were the offering. What kind of form this ‘sacrifice’ took is still debated among historians, but my guide seemed to believe that it was one of blood (or expendable body parts such as ears and noses), so the players got to live afterwards.

One of the most intriguing things my guide revealed during the tour was that this little hollow is the oldest known part of the complex. This site was in use for thousands of years – from the pre-Classic to the late-classic – and many Mayan pyramids have hidden layers because they often build over them again and again throughout the generations.

Our tour ended with us climbing Yaxha’s tallest pyramid, from which one can watch the sun setting over the lake. It was cloudy that evening, but we got to see some nice colours ignite the horizon as well as some birds.

Overall, if this is one of the lesser-known Mayan sites, then I think I have a very rewarding few weeks ahead of me, and I am excited to see more.

 

Click on the hyperlinks for more photos from Flores and Yazha.

 

Travelblog LA#14: Lake Atitlan & Chichicastenango – Guatemala

30th June – 3rd July, 2023

 

I will start this blog with some things about Lake Atitlan. I spent about four days here but didn’t do any sightseeing. The main event happened when I first arrived and watched the sunrise from Nariz Del Indio (which I covered during my previous blog concerning my hike there from Xela). Besides that, it was mostly a place where I had some downtime.

Lake Atitlan is pretty. The photos speak for themselves. I stayed one night in San Pedro in a backpacker hostel with an amazing view but lacking soul. It was also close to the noisy strip of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs stretched along the shore, so I was keen to move somewhere quieter the following morning and caught a boat across the lake to Panajachel. My travel guide described Panajachel as the bustling tourist hub and San Pedro as the calmer backpacker retreat, but this information was obviously out of date as I found the opposite to be true. I stayed at Hotel El Sol, a quiet hostel on the outskirts with excellent facilities. It was a great place to lay low for a while.

My out-of-date guide also described Lake Atitlan as this idyllic place of picturesque villages and Mayan culture, but luckily other backpackers I previously spoke to had curbed these expectations. It has become common for tourists to be mugged whilst walking the trails around the lake, so it is not a place where we can currently wander freely. Heavy amounts of Gringo Tax are slapped onto almost everything you would want to do here – including the simple things such as public transport – many of the new establishments – hastily built since the tourist boom – are an eyesore, and it has a serious litter problem. The lake is heavily polluted and almost devoid of life due to the introduction of a predatory species in the 80s that destroyed its ecosystem by wiping out the native fish.

I think it is only fair for me to mention now that it is problematic to judge the local population for these problems. We can’t blame them for taking advantage of opportunities to make money when they arise because many of them are very poor, and this is primarily thanks to neo-colonialism from first-world countries. The destruction of the lake’s ecosystem was caused by a US-based company that unceremoniously airdropped the invasive fish from a plane in the 60s because it was a species considered more of a ‘sport’ for fishing.

I am not telling these things to put people off coming to Lake Atitlan – I am glad I came here – but I want people to know what to expect so they are not disappointed. Also, I want to use this blog to inform people about Guatemala’s problems and their causes.

So, whilst Atitlan was not quite the cultural adventure I was craving in this part of the world, it was where I based myself during an overnight trip to a place I found very rewarding in that regard: Chichicastenango.

My journey to Chichicastenango was also an occasion where I got to experience something else that is a part of local life in Guatemala; the chicken bus.

I have avoided these so far primarily due to concerns around safety. There have been incidents of gangs hijacking them and robbing the passengers over the years, but this usually happens in the area surrounding Guatemala City, and my trip from Panajachel to Chichicastenango was without incident. There were two transfers at the townships of Sololá and Los Encuentros, but it was surprisingly easy, and there was very little waiting. Once I got off one bus, people pointed me to the next one across the road, almost ready to leave. Some rides were quite bumpy, but that was part of the experience.

I was a little apprehensive about finding somewhere to stay here – as the few places listed on Booking.com were expensive – but I found a hostel called El Mashito, which was basic, clean and reasonably priced. I caught my first hint of the local customs when I saw their shrine room by the courtyard.

And this is one of the reasons why Chichicastenango is so interesting: it is a part of the world where Mayan animism has fused with Catholicism and created a set of unique traditions.

My next point of call was to have a walk around the nearby cemetery which was very colourful, and whilst there, I heard some sounds and saw smoke wafting from nearby so went to investigate and found myself stepping into a ceremonial site called Plaza Baktun.

I was hesitant to approach at first. For those who don’t know; I am spiritual, an animist, and have had a lifelong interest in shamanism, so I feel a strong affinity to traditions such as this and am very drawn to them. But I am also aware that in foreign places, I am a visitor and, to them, I am just another gringo so I did not want to annoy them. One of them, however, turned to me and made a gesture that made it clear that I was welcome, so I came and watched for a while. They were even kind enough to let me take some photos.

Two things were going on at once. First, a man had arranged petals, eggs, and other items into a floral pattern: an offering he eventually set alight. He then chanted as he stoked the flames, pouring spirits and other things onto it occasionally.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the space, an elderly lady – whom I guessed to be a shaman – was performing spiritual cleansing on the members of a family. She did this by blowing smoke onto them and spraying spirits over them from her mouth; this is a practice I have encountered before during vodou ceremonies I have attended and also witnessed among shamans in the highlands of South America.

Later that day, I also visited a few other sides, including another ceremonial space called Pascual Abaj on a hill overlooking the town. I had the place to myself but could tell someone had used it recently by all the offerings of flowers and the embers still smouldering from one of the platforms.

On my way back into the town, I also visited the fascinating Museum of Masks. I read later – in another museum – that these are worn by townsfolk during festivals throughout the year. That is something I would very much like to see.

This town certainly made a big impression on me, and I find it strange that most of its visitors do not explore this side of it. On the day that I arrived, I didn’t come across a single other gringo, but that changed the following morning when all the shuttle buses arrived for the thing this town is famous for; market day.

Don’t get me wrong. This was interesting too, and I did spend some time walking around all the stalls filled with arts, crafts, street food, and other such things – but after everything I have just shown you – it was one of the least memorable things about my time there.

That morning I also – for the first time in many, many years – attended Catholic Mass within the Iglesia Santo Tomás.

Well, some of it at least, because it was just as long as I remembered it. It was a very colourful ceremony, and the music was nothing like I have heard elsewhere, but after about thirty minutes I left.

And when I did so, I witnessed another curious scene outside; people were burning incense and making offerings on the steps.

I later did some reading and found out that this is because the colonials built the church upon the foundations of an old Mayan temple, but the steps leading up to it are original, so the shamans still use it. There are eighteen steps, each representing a month in the Mayan calendar.

Despite this only being an overnight trip, I think Chichicastenango will be one of the places in Guatemala that made the biggest impression on me, and it was a great way to finish my time in Guatemala’s southern highlands.

After returning to Panajachel, I spent one day decompressing at Hotel El Sol before my journey north to Flores, where I will visit Tikal and other Mayan ruins.

 

For more photos from Chichicastenango, click here.