We had a surprisingly decent night in our tent after all with exotic animal noises from the jungle lulling us to sleep.
Up at 6am for a quick cold shower to wash off the sweat and bug spray.
We had been tempted to do the Tikal sunrise tour, but woke up to heavy mist and felt justified in our decision to give it a miss. Heavy clouds accompanied us all day, which surprised us a little. We had such a clear sky last night, the stars were truly amazing.
We left Tikal at 7am and drove back to El Renate for a hearty breakfast, and then on to Flores. The town is on an island and although it’s quite touristic, it has genuine charm. Sadly, we both realised too late that we didn’t take a broad view of it.
A long day in the bus allowed us to try local snacks and another type of chilli crisps.
All day, the sun played hide and seek with us. It would be sunny when we got out of the bus to stretch our legs and there would be a heavy downpour whenever we got back on the bus to continue with our journey. Mostly, these were short showers, but the rain set in early evening and is now steady.
The landscape was pretty much lush hills in the distance, and agricultural fields in the foreground. Palm tree and banana plantations mostly. It was sad to see men spraying fields with pesticides. All the farm work is manual, with men carrying machetes everywhere.
It is visibly poorer here, and I’m guessing that most people rely on subsistence farming for a living. There is quite a bit of rubbish along the road, and in the communities.
Along the way, we passed men on horseback, wearing cowboy hats. We passed shops selling saddles and all things horse related.
We stopped in Rio Dulce to pick up a picnic for lunch and felt like queen and king of the castle with our tortillas, avocado and cheese (a type of salty halloumi made in Guatemala). And after a short drive, we arrived at the Agua Caliente.
The waterfalls come over limestone formations. To get to the waterfall, you enter a natural pool. At that end, the water is cool; under the waterfall, the water is hot as it would be if you turned the hot tap on to medium to high. I ventured in and kept going from cold to hot. Great fun.
Back in Rio Dulce, we took a boat taxi for the short journey to our hotel. We have a nice bungalow; very spacious and the bathroom has a great hot shower. We’re happy and clean for five minutes, and then it’s bug spray time.