Traveling While Introverted

From Lake Atitlán, we traveled by shuttle bus to Guatemala City where we stayed for the night. Early the next morning, we flew to the Department (Guatemala’s version of states) of Petén. Petén is the largest department in Guatemala by area, but one of its least populated. It consists mostly of dense rainforest and agricultural land. Petén is also the flattest and lowest lying department in the country, which means that unlike the other places we visited so far, the humidity and heat of the tropics rests on you like a thick blanket. When we got off the plane to walk into the airport, we sighed heavily realizing that we are, officially, meeting tropical humidity.

Our ultimate destination was the city/island of Flores, not to be confused with Flores the region. From the airport we took a shuttle to the island and then we had to take a tuk-tuk to our hotel. The island rests in Lago de Petén Itzá, the third largest lake in the country. What is interesting about the lake is that it has no surface outflow, so it floods constantly. When we stumbled on the flooding, we were a little bewildered. However, we spoke to a local and she said that the flooding is a common occurrence and nothing to be too concerned about.

Our hotel, La Posada de Don Jose, had a lovely porch with a view of the lake. In the video above, you can see how close the water is and how you can just hop in if you want to. (We didn’t, but it was very tempting.) Much like the other hotels we stayed in, the hospitality was perfect. Having air conditioning felt like a real luxury and necessity in this part of the country.

While we were on the patio, writing the Lake Atitlán blog entry, Adam couldn’t help but notice all of the birds. He counted 10 different species in the few hours we were on the porch. Normally, this would be included in Adam’s corner; however, his entry will detail his jungle and ruins hike in a place called Yaxha (pron. ya-sha). Adam wasn’t able to capture all the bird life, but here are few of our best photos. Yahm was especially enamored by the little ones on the telephone wires because they shimmered like sardines.

When it was time for lunch, (read about it in Yahm’s corner), we decided to explore the town. Flores is the smallest town we’ve visited, but has a particular charm to it that we both loved. It took us a bit of time to figure out what it reminded us of, but then we realized it: it’s a bit of New Orleans in terms of food and architecture mixed with the vibes of Miami. There is something very Spanish-in-the-Americas about Flores that we hadn’t experienced yet. Though this part of the country advertises itself as the heart of the Mayan world due to the numerous ruins that abound, the mountainous areas to the south we started in felt and seemed to have a larger contemporary Mayan presence.

Unlike other places in Guatemala, cats roamed the streets rather than dogs. Look at these handsome babies! Yahm had to use every ounce of will power not to smother them with pets and kisses.

Since we only had 2 days in Flores, we only had a taste of what this town has to offer. Still, we decided that when we come back to Guatemala (which we will!), we will spend more time exploring and eating. Our next and final destination on this trip is Rio Dulce, which sits on the Caribbean Sea, wedged between Belize and Honduras.

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