tikal

got back from tikal, city of mayan ruins, early this morning. left on friday with four friends for long trip up to the north, about 60 miles from both belize and mexico. shuttle to guatemala city was about an hour late, pushing our departure to tikal back 2 hours to 10pm. i switched seats with someone so that they could sit next to their friend, which turned into one of the worst decisions ever. the bus, first class with bathroom and aircon, was supposed to be more comfortable and safer, according to my teacher. to my delight, not only did my seat not recline, but i also had a family of five sit in the seat next to me. my night was spent fighting a five year old who kept falling asleep on my lap, and a seven year old, who kept falling asleep on my shoulder. got to flores, well call it the venice of guatemala, around 630am and ate. then off to tikal. i was in charge of our return ticket from the ruins, but it flew out the window. so i had to argue for about 10 minutes with the driver, who produced a legible copy on the back of a food receipt. the five of us hired a guide to tourus through the ruins, which is over 1000 sq km. most of our time was spent climbing the main temples and exploring the main plaza, but our guide was knowledgable enough to be worth it. the whole morning we could hear howler and spider monkeys yelling, as well as looking for birds and spiders and snakes (only 5 ou of the 17 are poisonous, so dont worry our guide said, we can make a quick antivenom out of this plant, no wait its this plant). we got back to flores with 5 hours to waste, spent on eating, playing cards, and other mischief. the ride back to antigua was nicer, bus less crowded, and slightly more enjoyable, although it has made me question some of the future bus rides i have planned. ate at mcdonalds for breakfast, because i deserved it, yet disappointed at no bacon eg and cheese sandwich. then slept.