Tikal! What can I say, it’s so much more than anything you can imagine!

9 years ago on March 5, 2001 I came to Guatemala by myself and decided to camp out on Tikal’s grounds. Never in a million years did I ever think my life would change forever that day! But, so it did.

Next to me camped out a Guatemala guy with perfect English. Within minutes he started talking to me and I thought, great another Latino hitting on an ultra blond Gringa! However, when he started talking he was so interesting that he captivated me from the start.

9 years later, this guy and I have been married for 6.5 years, living in Guatemala and have an offspring that had to see where his mommy and poppy met!!!

So our Tikal place was revisited. Since it’s such an amazing place, this requires a few posts.

As you drive in you are bombarded with signs, but for the first time ever you actually want to experience what every sign represents:

Jaguar Crossing

Snake Crossing

Pizote Crossing

Turkey Crossing

Flores is one of those super adorable cities that can’t be missed if you’re visiting the Tikal Mayan ruins. As a matter, I fully recommend that this is the place you stay at rather than the National Park of Tikal simply because it’s sooo damn cute and colorful with guaranteed great views of the lake!

One thing to be warned about, bring as little clothes as possible because it is SO HOT!

We took a 4 day trip up north to visit this cute little city with our son and also head over to Tikal, where my husband and I met 9 years ago while camping next to each other.

The city is like a little gingerbread city, tiny, walkable in about 10 minutes from one end to the other, if you don’t suffocate to death from over heating.

Plus, the views of the lake are amazing and almost all hotels have great views.

The best time to truly enjoy this town would be early in the morning around sunrise before the scorching heat gets you or around sunset.

But take my advice and don’t miss this precious gem if you’re in Peten!

My mother in law came to visit us for a weekend and since we love to take advantage of people visiting us, we decided to do something we’ve wanted to for a while, but have either been too lazy or didn’t find the proper opportunity to do it.

A super popular thing to do on a Sunday morning is to go to a lovely hotel for brunch. I know this is so US, but hey, when in Rome…

So we made some calls and found that the majority of the hotels all charge ludicrous prices and don’t include stuff like coffee, tea and juice, yet justify a price tag over $20 a head. We finally settled on Soliel Hotel.

Funnily enough, I called this place 3 times and every time was given a different price, but all below $20 and with coffee and tea and juice. When we arrived, we were pleased to find what we were looking for and only $10 a person!

I have to say, it was a wonderful experience. We decided to sit outdoors, in the breezy veranda with a fountain. Yet, all the Guatemalans sat inside!

To top off the lovely stuff-yourself-til-you’re-blue-in-the-face experience, we listened to some relaxing music by the piano player!

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Who is Maximon? Well, it’s a really thwarted icon actually, and not one that I fully understand.

He loves good rum (but is quite pleased with “Venado” cheap brand), loves cigars, and dressing in colorful scarfs and cowboy hats. He’s a throwback to a Mayan god – he’s an indigenous representation of Saint Peter – he’s a deification of Pedro de Alvarado (a conquistador who brought Guatemala into the Spanish empire and made it nominally Catholic).

Yet I have to say, there was nothing at all religious about our experience. After we hopped off the pickup that charged 10 quetzal for all of us, very reasonable, we were led through a dirt pathway to some beat up shack. No native women were permitted inside and sat on very uncomfortable cement curbs and blocks outside. By the looks of their reaction, they were there all day while their men inside were having a ball.

We entered and were told again that we have to pay. This has nothing to do with our guide who so far has said nothing at all, but at least he got us here. It was 10 quetazal each, since I only had 100 quetzal and there was 4 of us, I ended up not getting any change back. Because the little man who hovered over me so closely, that I got drunk just from his breath, took it bowed a few times and smiled. Apparently, this would not only cover the entrance fees but also allowed us to take a multitude of photos!

All the while, there wasn’t a peaceful moment in the room with the shaman like men dancing, bartering and requesting money for every wink of an eye and every movement. If it wasn’t so entertaining and chaotic, it would be highway robbery. But trust me, this is a once in a lifetime experience and so far worth every single penny!

The icon itself is moved every year from one home to another around the village. It’s usually done by a huge ceremonial parade and the people who get to house this ‘religious’ doll are honored. Of course they are, they become so wealthy and so drunk, they should be grateful.

At the end we were scooted back on a pick up and driven back to town, all in one chaotic mess when we were still trying to figure out what the whole Maximon thing is all about. Right as we were about to part with our quiet, but directive guide, our boat captain miraculously appeared at our side. So I decided it was time to go and took out the 10 Quetzal, the guide told us in the beginning, only to find out now its gone up to 100!

How does that happen? I mean 10 q is low, and we knew that, but without any warning and after another 120 q spent on the actual Maximon activity itself the price skyrocketed. For sure we weren’t paying that and managed to bargain down to 50q which he took happily. As we started walking towards the boat, our captain started telling the guide to give him half! The chaos never ends. The little man, humbly but effectively, folded up his money and walked away!

And I’ll say this again, this is an experience NOT TO EVER BE MISSED!