Mexico ... and a few other places

[amaroo]

Tikal was a major Mayan Kingdom that dates from the 6th century BC to 10th century AD. The site is massive with thousands of structures untouched and consumed by the jungle .... the photos I’ve posted are only a tiny fraction of what lies beneath the jungle.

The inner (elite) zone covers 400 hectares ... the outer (residential) zone is another 1200 hectares. Estimates of >100,000 people lived in the kingdom.

It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

The drive from La Lancha is around 1 hour ... it is possible to stay within the Tikal National Park. This would be ideal for watching the sunrise over the ruins. 3 of our party of 4 were not keen on a 3am departure .... so I lost the vote and compromised with a sunset visit.

I don’t think it matters what time you go - the place is spectacular all day long!

Tikal National Park

Tikal - Wikipedia

 

[amaroo]

Try imagining the buildings painted in bright colours - yellow, red, black, and white, no grass or trees. The ground was paved in white limestone....



Classic scene from Star Wars



Entrance to Mayan cold storage (fridge)



Must have been something to see in its day!

 

[amaroo]

Wonderful TR; Mexico and Guatemala are rapidly climbing the bucket list.

Cheers. Don’t forget Belize - a piece of the Caribbean in Central America.

We’ve just ticked off another state in Mexico (Chiapas) ... beautiful country!

 

[amaroo]

After a hearty Guatemalan breakfast it was time to make tracks to Belize. All transfers between the three Coppola resorts are included.



We will take a La Lancha car to the border ... after crossing the border a Blancaneaux Lodge car will complete the journey. It is compulsory for tourist to change vehicle / driver at the border.



Good example of the El Niño / La Niña cycle and Lake Petén Itzá



Some roadside traders as we make our way to the border



The border



Extra special treatment for the vehicles crossing the border.


Customs and immigration.... we were required to complete a rather large form and hand over $3 USD per person. The process was painless but the queue was longish.

As I stood in the queue - I was thinking when did I last do a land border crossing? First time for the kids though.



Might come in handy for someone watching and wanting to catch a taxi from the border.



Welcome to Belize!

 

[JohnM]

Hmmm - looks familiar .

 

[amaroo]

Blancaneaux Lodge ... we stayed in Francis Ford Coppola’s Villa.

 

[amaroo]

The property is beautiful and the gardens are very well maintained.

The property was originally owned by a Frenchmen (Blancaneaux) who worked for the British... the Brits gifted him the property. Coppola purchased the property, built the lodge and kept the name..

 

[amaroo]

Blancaneaux has a river flowing through the property.... Coppola installed a hydro plant and is totally self sufficient. They also have a massive garden and produce all their own F&V





There is an endless list of activities one can do in the area including horse riding - the lodge has its own stable.





All round beautiful property.

 

[craven morehead]

Blancaneaux has a river flowing through the property.... Coppola installed a hydro plant and is totally self sufficient. They also have a massive garden and produce all their own F&V

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There is an endless list of activities one can do in the area including horse riding - the lodge has its own stable.

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All round beautiful property.

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What a spectacular place !!

 

[amaroo]

What a spectacular place !!

Indeed. We had the best time, I’d recommend all three properties without hesitation.

 

[LadyC]

Have you sighted any of the Amish folk in Belize yet? I saw many of them whilst I was there, apparently there is a big community of them.

Looks like you have seen some amazing sites. Tikal is such an amazing place - still so untouched. And I am sure I did similar ziplining - including the superman which felt very wrong at first but ending up being great fun.

 

[craven morehead]

Indeed. We had the best time, I’d recommend all three properties without hesitation.

I had never seriously considered any of these places prior to this TR now I have some thinking to do !

 

[k_sheep]

Wow, there are no other tourists in your photos. Great timing, or where they really empty at the sites?

 

[JohnM]

I had never seriously considered any of these places prior to this TR now I have some thinking to do !

The mind-expanding benefits of being on AFF .

 

[craven morehead]

The mind-expanding benefits of being on AFF .

Most definitely, I could not agree more JohnM my wife is constantly astounded at how much time I spend reading all these TR's etc

 

[amaroo]

Have you sighted any of the Amish folk in Belize yet? I saw many of them whilst I was there, apparently there is a big community of them.
.

Yes, total spin out - was not expecting to see a slice of Pennsylvania in Belize!

Passed this guy on one of our outings...



Interesting story - there are two groups - traditional and progressive. The progressive use modern machinery and are responsible for >80% of large parts of the agricultural output of Belize, particularly poultry and dairy .... apparently they are very successful business people.

They settled in Belize in the 50’s after moving from Canada to Mexico and finally Belize ... the Government gave them land and promised they would pay no taxes and would be exempt from military duties. In return they feed the nation.

The locals we spoke with love’em and reinforced the line that they feed the nation. We didn’t have time to visit, but apparently their village looks like a picture postcard of the classics Amish scene you see in the USA.

The Mennonites Of Belize – A Brief History

 

[amaroo]

I had never seriously considered any of these places prior to this TR now I have some thinking to do !

All three countries have been fascinating. The history, landscape, culture, people, food ... are ingredients for a great holiday!

Mexico cops a bad rap by some... totally unfounded IMHO. We’ve spent 3 weeks visiting 6 States as independent travellers... hired two cars for a total of 11 days and driven around 2,000kms without any drama, fear or incident. It’s been great!! Like all countries - it’s best to do some basic research and avoid the areas that have conflict.

Wow, there are no other tourists in your photos. Great timing, or where they really empty at the sites?

Some sites like Caracol and Edzna are off the beaten track and have fewer visitors .... others like Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Palenque, Uxmal were bursting at the seams. It helps to stay local and hit the sites before the masses arrive on buses. The daytrippers travel in huge numbers, it’s best to arrange your itinerary to avoid them...

 

[amaroo]

First cab off the rank in Belize was (ATM) Actun Tunichil Muknal.

Amazing experience.... no photos allowed.

This YouTube clip will have to fill in the blanks....

Driving towards ATM

 

[amaroo]

We stayed three nights at Blancaneaux Lodge. Instead of posting every meal - here are some of the plates we enjoyed.

There are three restaurants, the quality is very high. Given Coppola owns a couple of Napa / Sonoma wineries the wine list is a little restrictive, luckily he produces some pretty nice drops.

 

[amaroo]

After a few cups of freshly brewed Guatemalan coffee .... it was time to set out for another magnificent Mayan ruin - Caracol



Caracol is located near the Guatemalan border, it is a very bumpy 1:5 hr drive from the lodge.





One of thousands of buildings/temples that are yet to be restored...... probably never will be.