Tikal

Our journey to the ancient Mayan city began at 3 AM when we got picked up outside our hotel by our tour bus. We both dozed off on the hour and a half ride north into the national park. As we stepped off our bus into the misty darkness the eerie feeling of a once powerful empire was overwhelmingly apparent. We trudged our way through the twilight to climb the tallest temple for the sunrise. We sat at the spire of the temple in silence waiting for the first golden rays of sunlight. As the sun began to rise the calm of the jungle was pierced by the deep roar of a howler monkey. This seemed to trigger and entire orchestra of wildlife that persisted for over an hour.

Dozens of birds called in their native tongues, bringing the dead city back to life. After the sun was well into the sky we climbed down 212 foot temple to begin our tour of Tikal. About halfway down a couple devious spider monkeys thought it would be amusing to shake water from the trees and throw branches at the visitors of their claimed territory. At the bottom we immediately ran into a large family of local "raccoons" that looked much more like a cross between an anteater and a lemur. They were overly social and had no problem mingling with humans. We expected to see wildlife, but nothing could have prepared us for the abundance and variety we encountered.

After the fog lifted our tour guide, Manuel, finally could show us the beauty and intelligent design of the structures. The first temple we were led to was damaged in an unfortunate excavation accident about forty years ago. The bright side of it being damaged is that visitors are now allowed to climb and explore this particular site.

Directly beside the damaged temple was the one used for the Mayan calendar. The largest temple was surrounded by three smaller ones that used the exact angles of the sun to determine the month and time of year.

Saving the best for last, we were led into the most famous part of Tikal- the city center and sacrificial grounds. Surrounded on each side by ancient and exquisite architecture, we stood in awe. This central hub contained the most elaborate and completely excavated ruins in all of the city and we lost track of time while running through the maze of hallways and rooms that used to make up the residence of Tikal's royalty.

After an eight hour adventure (that began with us waking up at 3 in the morning) we had seen almost the entire exposed portion of Tikal and were both completely exhausted. But not so exhausted that we couldn't play a little Tarzan and Jane...

-Eric

Flores, Guatemala

Just thought I'd write a quick update- Eric and I made it to Flores, Guatemala at about 5 o'clock this afternoon after a six hour bus ride through western Belize and northeastern Guatemala. After catching a quick water taxi back to the mainland, we were thrilled to discover that our bus had air conditioning. Unfortunately I seem to have come down with a bit of a head cold that I'm attributing to three plane rides in fifteen hours. I slept a good amount of the journey but was still pretty miserable for a while there. Thank you, Sudafed! Except for border crossing which held a plethora of (illegal) fees and immigration hassles it was a beautiful and uneventful ride.

Crossing the Belize/Guatemala border is by far the strangest border experience I've had so far. When we arrived we were told all we would need was our passport and $37.50 Belizean dollars (about $18 US). There were no scanners, no pat downs, just cashiers and an exit around the corner. However, there were four men blocking the exit trying to get people to pay them money for cab rides that likely would never happen. After exiting Belize, we had to go stand in another line to enter Guatemala. I know for a fact from prior research that Guatemala does not have an entrance fee, only an exit. Yet, the immigration officer refused to stamp out passports until we paid him 20 Guatemalan quetzals. Not a huge fee but still, illegal. 

Another hour or so and we reached Flores! It's a tiny city in the middle of a lake, and reminds me a bit of parts of Italy. The biggest difference so far is that no one speaks English. NO ONE. Our waiter tonight literally knew no more than yes and no. That being said, both Eric and I ordered our food in Spanish just fine and left feeling mighty proud of ourselves.

We ran into a bit of luck today with our bus driver- he offered us a package deal that includes a Tikal tour, transportation there and back tomorrow morning, a private bus to Semuc Champey (our next destination), a night in a hotel there, and then another private bus that will take us all the way down to Antigua. That's a total of two tours, seventeen hours of driving, and one night in a hotel for US $70 each. So we're pretty stoked. That being said we're getting up at 2:30 AM tomorrow for a sunrise tour of Tikal, we're both exhausted, and I've got a cold to sleep off.

Goodnight friends! Again, thanks for reading.

-Kaelin

Shark Ray Alley and Coral Gardens

Today's adventure was snorkeling through Shark Ray Alley! Less than a mile away from Caye Caulker is the world's second largest barrier reef, which is full of marine life. We played with dozens of eagle rays, nurse sharks, moray eels, and barracuda. Not to mention the hundreds of fish dwelling in the coral gardens. The initial fear soon faded as they began to bump, nudge, and nibble our toes! 

The coral reefs stretched further than we could swim, teeming with colorful life. All throughout the sand were conch shells with live snails in them. Kaelin's favorite find of the day was a big eyed pink and blue striped fish with yellow spines on its back that we later learned is called a porcupine fish. 

Overall we were astounded by the wonders the Belize Barrier Reef had to offer. We barely scratched the surface with a three hour snorkeling tour, but were amazed by the experience we had. If anyone is in Caye Caulker, we highly recommend Mario's Marine Tours! 

This is only day two.

-Eric

Caye Caulker

We made it! Getting through customs at the Belize City airport was a breeze and we reached Caye (pronounced "key") Caulker within 90 minutes of landing. Not bad considering we had to take a cab from the airport into Belize City and get on 45 minute water taxi to the island. Caye Caulker met us with white sandy beaches and the sweet smell of fruit. As soon as we got off the dock we set off to find a place to sleep. A very knowledgable and friendly, albeit toothless local gave us directions to a hostel we had heard about online. We made it to "Bella's Backpackers" a few minutes later, paid a measly US $7, and set up our tent in the corner of the lot underneath a few palm trees. Our hostel seems to attract quite a diverse crowd- mainly full of Aussies, Europeans, Latin Americans, and Canadians, but few Americans.

With a place to sleep secured, we began to explore the 4x1 mile island that is Caye Caulker. Almost immediately we both realized that neither of us had eaten a full meal since before we left Portland, so we set out to find a place for dinner. Following our noses we found a bar and grill that instead of having stools or seats, supplied swings! Sold.

After eating we both felt much better and walked around the beach front for a while. Neither of us realized how early it gets dark here and so, thinking it was much later than it actually was, decided to call it a night. We were, after all, exhausted from traveling and hadn't gotten much sleep the night prior courtesy of Las Vegas airport's impressively hard floors. What we were not aware of when we checked in to our hostel is that there is a night club about 50 yards away that plays very loud music. Until three AM. All in all not the best night's sleep, but better than nothing and completely worth finally being here!


-Eric and Kaelin

Packing Lists

Both Eric and I did a lot of research before planning what to pack for this trip. I have quite a lot of experience with the minimalist packing style, but this was a tough one. The challenge of this trip in particular is that we'll be in at least five different climates and multiple different environments within three weeks. This includes hiking through jungles, relaxing on beaches, staying with locals in Mayan villages, night life in developed cities... Which means we are going to need everything from rain jackets and thermal wear to fancy dresses and button ups. After a lot of consolidating we THINK we've got it pretty figured out. Here goes!

Kaelin's Packing List:

x1 hiking boots

x1 flip flops

x1 zip-off pants

x1 denim jeans

x1 denim shorts

x1 running shorts

x1 leggings

x1 rain jacket
x1 fleece jacket

x3 t-shirts

x4 tank tops

x1 white button up

x3 dresses (1 maxi, 1 swimsuit cover up, 1 "fancy")

x2 bathing suits

x1 towel

x7 underwear

x3 bras (1 sports, 1 strapless, 1 t-shirt)

x1 boot socks
x1 belt

Eric's Packing List:

x1 hiking boots

x1 flip flops

x1 zip-off pants

x1 denim jeans

x2 shorts

x1 thermal undercloths

x1 rain jacket

x3 t-shirts

x2 tank tops

x1 white button up

x1 swim trunks

x1 towel

x7 socks

x7 underwear

x1 belt

Other Rather Important Things...

Two person backpacking tent

Fleece sleeping bag

First aid kit

Bug spray (deet & non-deet)

Sun screen

Water bottle x2

Waterproof phone case

Backup 4GB SD card

Binoculars

Passport x2

Reading material

Semi-professional photography camera

Water filter

Map of Central America

Latin American English/Spanish dictionary

Paracord

$1 dollar bills x20

Carabiner x2

Sunglasses x2

(I apologize for the terrible picture quality. I couldn't get my nice camera in the picture and also take it at the same time, but believe me, I tried.)

The main thing when it comes to packing light is making sure that everything (or most everything) matches at least three other things. Or in Eric's case, has sheer practicality. I'll make sure he matches. You'll notice that both of us brought mainly clothes that are solid colors or simple patterns. To conserve space even more, we're both wearing our jeans and hiking boots onto the plane. This leaves us with a good 1/3 of our backpacks free to fill with coffee, hammocks, and whatever other awesome Central American souvenirs we bring back! :)

WE LEAVE IN FOUR HOURS!!!

-Kaelin

T-minus 96 hours!

The final countdown to our Central America trip has begun! In just four days we will be departing Portland, Oregon for Belize City. The past two weeks have been extremely stressful and full of just about every possible challenge imaginable. Stolen wallets, phones jumping off ten story buildings, passport applications, car trouble... You name it, we dealt with it.

Our theory is that the universe was testing how badly we wanted to make this happen. But we prevailed! This blog is for all those interested in keeping up with our adventures. We will be gone for about three weeks, and internet access will be sporadic. Within the next few days we'll post a list of exactly what each of us packed, and then at the end review what we did use, what we did not, and what we wish we would have brought for those interested in doing a similar trip.

Thanks for reading!

-Eric and Kaelin