March 7th, Guatemala

Wow! Guatemala! We had an easy border crossing from Belize to Guatemala. The border town was similar to Tijuana: a little sleazy and lots of vendors. Several miles down the road, we stopped for refreshments and Tommy used the bathroom (which turned out to be in the owner´s house). Suddenly, Tommy is yelling my name: he was locked in the bathroom! The owners and we had a big laugh about this. We continued on to El Remate, where we had hoped to camp for the night but the town didn´t feel quite right and the camping site was up a very steep slope. Instead, we drove on to Tikal, the site of the largest Mayan settlement in Guatemala.

This area is so well organized but not overly commercial. The campgrounds (for vans and tent campers) was right on the edge of the park entrance, as were some small restaurants. Easy! We woke up at 5 am on Tuesday, as the really serious Tikal visitors were heading to the park so that they could watch the sunrise at the temple sites. We were less serious (big surprise!), and fiddled around for several more hours before going in.

What a place! Those Mayans were amazing! Incredible number of temples, etc. in a very small area, although we guessed that we walked about 6 miles in order to see all the sites. The park was fairly crowded with lots of tours. We were one of the few who didn´t climb to the top of the temples. seeing Tikal was a really great experience, and yes, Wilson, Tommy did get the t-shirt!

Last night we ended up in Flores, an island in a small lake about 60 miles from Tikal. We camped across the street from our restaurant, after being assured by the locals that it was safe (it was). Today we´ll head southward.

The entire Central American area could use Tom Baron down here to get these roads in better shape! The maps give one no indication if the roads will be good or bad, and when bad, they are very, very bad. We followed a bus yesterday, so that it could show us the danger spots. And, contrary to the books, livestock crosses the road. I get a kick out of the pigs but Tommy likes the turkeys best.

We talked to a family from Quebec. They are travelling, with three young children, all through Mexico and Central America. Their van is the same size as ours, and they estimated that their trip would last eight months. We also saw two motorcyclists from Germany (plates started with AA..Achen?), who had their large dog in a cage at the back of one of the cycles. I feel quite normal, travelling with TwoBaby!

Last night in our restaurant, the TV was showing the UEFA Champions League playoffs (Lyon v Roma), and flashed that Porto and Chelsea would be playing later on. We wondered if Miranda and Peter went to the game.

A few final notes about Belize: such great people who are always smiling! And everyone speaks English. There is lots to do there, for example, stays at the jungle lodges, tours to the caves and Mayan sites, hiking, diving, swimming, snorkling, canoeing...unending. Everyone rides bikes. And there are Chinese everywhere! Almost all the businesses are Chinese-owned and no one seems able to explain why. Nancy, the graveyards are above ground here, too. At the border, we saw a pickup parked in a ravine parallel to the border. Two guys jumped out of the pickup, hefted two large boxes, and ran across the border (out of sight of the guards). Our last campground in Belize was one of the nicest: it had a great restaurant, and a river in which I went swimming each day. We also met a group of bike riders who were on a tour of Guatemala and Belize (one of the guys was a Californian, who saw our California license plates). They were with an organized tour, which transported their luggage from place to place while they rode. Their truck had broken down that day, so they ended up camping in our campground unexpectedly. The British Army Jungle Force (which trains in Belize), helped tow their truck out to a town.

These little stories are part of our lives now. See you soon!