Riding into Guatemala from Honduras
Entering Guatemala - Update 37 (July 2023)
Honduras to Tikal, Guatemala
It was just a short ride through the lush countryside to reach the El Florido, Copán border office. The two countries shared the office and it was all very friendly, quiet and calm. And the customs official for Honduras spoke English, so he was helping me out at times, for both countries. The only fuss was having to walk down the road a couple of times to a small shop to get some copies of my documents and then pay a modest fee for the motorbike to enter Guatemala. I also received a sticker that had to be displayed on the motorbike windscreen while it was in Guatemala.
Riding in Guatemala was pretty routine. The standard of driving throughout Central America has been safer than South America. There are still some crazy maneuvers going on but there are quite a few less. And people stay closer to the speed limits. It is still super hot and rainy much of the time.
My next night was in this hotel in the town of Cobán. The hotel owner kindly suggested I park my bike inside. My room was just behind the plants on the right.
This river crossing at Sayaxche appeared out of nowhere. I was now carrying the Guatemalan Quetzal. It was less than the equivalent of $2 US to get across from memory.
Everyone is just going about their day. People like the motorcyclist in red are always friendly and will give me a big smile and compliment me on my travels and the motorbike. I don’t understand them word for word but the message gets across.
This guy was powering the ferry, I think there was also another operator with an outboard motor on the other side.
While I was staying in Copán Ruinas in Honduras a lady had told me about the Mayan ruins at Tikal in Guatemala. They were a bit of a detour but I decided it would be worthwhile and booked some accommodation. A lot of people stay in Flores and then travel to the site but I decided to stay inside the park at Hotel Tikal Inn. There was a fee to enter the park of about 25 USD for foreigners. It was then about 20km ride to the Tikal ruins and hotel. To visit the actual ruins you just showed your receipt and then they gave you an arm band that gave you visiting rights for the day.
While I was sitting in the hotel lobby, I heard a familiar accent from a couple checking in. They were the first Australians I had spoken to since Santiago, Chile some nine months earlier.
My hotel room for two nights. I was glad I stayed in the park. The hotel was relatively expensive and a little tired but that wasn’t unexpected given its location. There is no electricity supply, so it was all solar or diesel generators. But it was very peaceful and full of jungle noises at night.
I was up early the next morning. A lot of people go on a sunrise tour that starts about 4am and you climb one of the ruins to watch the sun rise over the jungle. But I had the tip from the hotel manager that it was typically just cloudy and misty at this time of the year and there often is no visible sunrise.
So I took his advice and started at 6am when the gates open for general visiting and did a walk in a more remote area of the park. This would also be my best chance to see a jaguar. It didn’t happen unfortunately but I did have the jungle to myself for almost two hours before I came across other tourists.
These Coati were hanging around just outside the hotel. The entrance to the ruins was just a few minutes walk from the hotel.
The tracks were pretty easy going.
The first ruins I came across were a type of residence. I think they were a series of “apartments”.
I spotted a few Spider Monkeys (I think?) in the trees. They tend to make quite a noise climbing through the trees and dropping fruits or branches to the ground below.
Many of the ruins are still in pretty good condition, given the city was first started around the 4th century BC and finally abandoned around the 10th century.
Tikal is known for its pyramid style buildings that rise above the forest canopy.
The person in the top left hand corner is a motorcycle traveller and was still sitting there when I arrived. He had been chilling there since dawn. It was a pretty cool place to rest. This is his YouTube channel Jacob Lum.
I spent much of the morning exploring the ruins. There is a lot to see. I stayed in the park for another night and then the next day back tracked for a while and headed for the Mexico border.
Las Peñitas, Nicaragua to Honduras
Update 36 (July 2023)
Tikal, Guatemala into Mexico
Update 38 (July 2023)