July 9, 2022
We were getting picked up at 6:45 for Tikal but were smarter today and planned for earlier just in case. Of course, they were early. My breakfast consisted of leftover pie, a meat stick and a juice box--- thanks to the man across the street. We wished Cheryl and Jeff well, thanked them for their hospitality, and hopped in the van with our backpacks. We got to the border of Guatemala and Belize and crossed it without any hiccups (we'd heard horror stories of people waiting for hours to get across only to get denied-- however these stories were from our hosts who had never actually done it themselves so who really knows) As soon as we crossed we noticed a smiling face waving at us. She introduced herself as Mariela, our Tikal guide for the day. She was friendly and fun and ushered us to the van for a girls day out. We stopped at a gas station so we could all use the toilet before our two hour drive to Tikal. While chatting with the other girls in the car, there were 3 of them, we came to find out that today was Sonja's birthday. I immediately snuck out to tell Mariela (she was sitting in the car so I knocked on the window and it scared the SHIT out of her- sorry Mariela!) Mariela made a phone call and after we got in the car we took a quick detour, made a stop, and I watched as she snuck a cake in a cooler into the back. We finally made it to Tikal, got out of the car, walked in and waited for an open back truck to take us up to the top. The ruins were HUGE. The ruins were HOT. The ruins were SO WELL PRESERVED. Kristin and I climbed up, down and around. The sun was beating down and we could feel the layers of bug spray and sunscreen mixed with sweat start to slide off our bodies. Never fear- Mariela came to the rescue. She took us on a walk under the canopy cover and told us stories of the ancient Mayans as we searched for, and found, monkeys, toucans and lizards aplenty. We climbed many, many stairs to the final ruin, which provided a viewpoint that looked out over the treetops of the jungle. It was breathtaking. Mostly because it was beautiful but also because it was a trek to get there and also a little bit because the steps were steep with no barriers on either side and one could easily just topple off to their death. BUT we didn't.
Our first stop in Guatemala was a tiny island called Flores. Mariela assured us that it's very safe to walk around at any time of day, including at night. This was the place we should check out the nightlife she said. We wished her well, checked into the first accommodation of our trip with AC- woohoo! and got ready to hit the town. We showered off the layers of ruin sweat and prettied ourselves up for a night out.
Our first stop was Skybar- it was on a rooftop and had views of the city. It wasn't nearly as crowded as Mariela had said it would be but also it was early. We ordered some nachos to share and some BIG Gallo beers. Gallo is the local beer of Guatemala. Belizeans and Guatemalans argue over whether Gallo or Belikin (the local beer of Belize) is better. Spoiler alert- Kristin and I were never hungover on Belikin so my vote is for Belikin. But more about that later...
After splitting a few liters of Gallo we chatted up some locals at the table next to us. They were super friendly and offered to take us to this "disco" we had heard about. We got there and they paid our cover to get in. Once inside we wished we had been able to communicate with them better because the looks on their faces said it all. The club was hot. The club was packed. The club had sweat dripping from the walls and ceilings. The club had smokers INSIDE. The club had old men grabbing my butt. EWWW. We ordered a bucket of gallos (of course!) to share with our new friends. The five of us agreed to dance for as long as it took us to finish our beers and then to dip. We watched as one of the locals danced while covering the top of his beer with his thumb. He motioned to the sweat dripping from the ceiling and then made an X over his beer. Gross. We definitely weren't drunk enough for this party scene. We finished our beers and headed outside to bask in the cool night air (it was still probably 75 degrees). Our friends wished us well and headed on their way. Kristin and I decided to stop by another bar that was open air, much less crowded and had a dance floor. When the bar closed we watched as locals bought beers and brought them into the street to drink near the water. Genius. We followed suit. We ended up sitting along the water with a snobby brit and his Guatemalan body guard. The brit kept trying to blow cigarette smoke in my face so I stole his pack of cigs and ripped off all his filters. Unfortunately this didn't keep him from smoking but it did piss him off enough to stop smoking in my direction. Kristin and I chatted with the 'bodyguard' for quite some time all the while trying to improve our Spanish speaking skills. More people cycled through the water front and we ended up sharing beers and chatting with tourists from France, the US, the UK and El Salvador. Some of the guys jumped in for a swim but the locals told stories of crocodiles near the pier so Kristin and I opted to keep our feet on dry land. After finishing all the beers we had purchased from the bar, and then some, Kristin and I wished our friends well and walked back to our hotel. We were ready for a good night's sleep after our long, but fun, day.
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