El Remate
Thursday, April 29, 2010, El Remate
Yesterday we went to the bus terminal to confirm that there was indeed a collectivo to 6h00am. The guys told us that he was leaving the center of 6h00am, not the terminal. One of them, trying to explain where in the center, but his explanations are far from being understood. He decides to call the owner of collectivo and it proposes to pick us up tomorrow morning at our hotel at no extra cost.
So the morning we get up early, and we waited outside the door, but, 6:20, we know that nobody will come. We're going to the terminal and it reviews the guys yesterday (the one who made the call). He apologizes, but we did it we missed our bus line. We must wait for the next bus to Sayaxché then liaise away with Flores. Coban in Sayaxché price is 50Q, then a ferry free (or at 2Q lancha for those who prefer lancha) and the bus on the other side of the river to Santa Elena (Flores) costs 20Quetzales. The ride is good, a lady talk to us about the price of bus and told us that the bus to El Remate 10Q costs nothing more.
Video El Remate, Flores and Tikal
The collectivo stops at the terminal in Santa Elena and here we see the beaters running towards us, it almost scares us;) reminds us that some Asia seconds. They offer us all Tikal and El Remate when we say, they offer us the path to 30Q. They are too numerous and too interested, we decided to go for a little something next to the canteen. One almost wants to sit with us to wait, but he said that, anyway, we will take transport to 10 quetzals and let us eat in peace.
After Almuerzo to 10Q, we are asking the woman if the price is well 10Q pp for the trip to El Remate. With reluctance she had to answer us, so we asked how much it cost, we do not think she would have responded. It does not perhaps make enemies ...
assumption is thus in search of collectivo, but we still follow the touts. They finally let us go. We demand an outside vendor which is collectivo for El Remate, she tells us. We'll see the driver, he said 20 then 15 but no more low. We ask him: "OK, yours is 15 but where is he to 10Q," he tells us that we must pay for 10Q get land at the junction 2km from El Remate. It moves a little and pretend to look at our guide and we waved. It's OK to 10Q!
We start from the terminal 30 minutes later we alone in the collectivo. He goes to the market which is his true place of beginning. It is therefore full of passengers. There is little collectivos to El Remate, very little, but there are many agencies providing transportation to Tikal and they make a request stop at El Remate, but difficult to negotiate the price with them.
It was believed that El Remate see some shares had 10,000 + people, so what a surprise when the driver told us that we had arrived! all travel guides agree that El Remate Flores is cheaper than, yes and no! The rooms are not as cheap as we expected nothing less than 50Quetzales for two. In addition, the eateries are not so numerous and Tiendas sell their product quite expensive, especially water! Bottles, and even the 4L of water are two times more expensive than elsewhere, yet the village is only 29km from Santa Elena. With all this heat, we decided to buy a 20L water. This large format is the normal price of 15Q, while 4litres is 10Q and 1.5L bottles to 8Q. Even if you throw the three quarters of our 5 gallon, we're still better off.
We find a place to eat, the meal is 18Q.
For rooms, we go around and stopped our choice on the Hotel Bruno's 50Q for the night for two, with fan functional and cool room. Several hotels are more expensive or hospedaje and others without walls! Nice, but not too practical!
Friday, April 30, 2010 El Remate
hot! Today, we decide to visit the area, the lake, and we thought going to the park, but we find the exaggeration came from 40Q. We therefore choose not to go, it was a great expenditure of 150Q for Tikal then ...
Initially, we thought to spend the night at a campsite near the site and take advantage of the ticket from 15:00 and all day tomorrow. It was the original plan, but changes his mind. We will visit one day only. Here is the real scam for transportation, 50Q is back and forth in all small hotels. And that of Flores, it is possible to find the ticket to return to 60Q much more distance. We only go anyway, because we do not know if we should return at 14:00. We want to keep some freedom anyway.
Saturday May 1st Tikal.
We leave at 5:00 to Tikal in the organized transport. We pay our entry 150Q pp (25Q for Guatemalans). At this price, no map and no museum included. Both museums are pp. 10Q and 20Q card (negotiable, I think). We start with the remote sites and then conclude with the main square. As there is little detail engraved still visible, it focuses far less than what we expected. The Great Pyramids in the jungle are awesome, too bad that few details have survived. A little before 14:00, we are ready to go. It is the thumb and as we are this weekend there are some Guatemalans with their own car and we quickly caught. Perfect, plus there are the AC!
The cold shower was welcome after so much heat.
Our Photos El Remate, Flores and Tikal
Click on photo to view other
Sunday, May 2 Flores
The next morning, c is negotiating with collectivos. Nobody wants to take the normal price. So we walk the 2km to get to the junction, collectivos are more frequent. It was confirmed with a man that is the price of 8Q, and it is so that we meet. We must pass three transports us who refuse to take at this price is double for foreigners. The man which we asked the price seems sorry for us. We are lucky then, a more honest driver eventually take us. There is no other foreigner, which helps us get the right price;)
We finally arrive, we seek a room. Found at the hotel Fiesta, in Santa Elena, a chamber 60Q. We realize our mistake of the evening when we return. The sun to type all day and the room is not able to cool. Even long after sunset, the thermometer reads 41C! It sleeps little at night, it is tempered sweat.
The next day, we seek another location. We find ourselves in a popular backpacker, Los Amigos on Flores. There are rooms in all price ranges. There are dormitories of 25Q to 40Q per person. We choose the dorm 25Qpp because it is cheap and also because it is open to the outside (we thought it would be thus cooler). We chose this hotel because there is wifi and it will be useful in the coming days.
are still a few days, it is the social with other travelers, but especially try to search on the net and send messages. It is surprising the world go here! Many passengers in this hotel while the others are empty!
We have a crazy in our dorm. The day of our arrival, she slept and was not lifted. The next day, I notice that employees seem to argue with, I understand that she had stolen the lunch bag of a tourist. Then I see her take a crate of bananas in freshly delivered. This is not the banana (which is worthless) worries me, but how it was stolen. It seems suspicious and we have in our dorm. We put locks on our important stuff, but our two bags were outside not in the same locker. It continuously seeks Dany its soap and when he goes to ask her if she would not have seen, she said: "I took it, for me, I have more" good, OK, but it would have been nice to tell us. We talk a bit about our concerns to the owner who does nothing. (In fact, it has not done much, it's just weird). We see her getting up in the late morning, she decided to dress and to clean up his backpack (we think). Two girls arrive for their tour of Tikal and ask us what happened with their bags? The lady from England (about 45 years) is still in bed, but now carries their clothing. It has the top, underwear, over clothes, searching and questioning her, she goes out of his pants things (which she had hidden). You look in the trash, it has consumed some medicine and laid the others. In addition, she tore the backpack, fumbling inside. We all come the owner who decides to throw him out, he told her she must leave immediately. She gets up and over the pillow, there are other things, it is idling, or not do, she said she thought someone had left his backpack to the other ... it did is not all there. We tell ourselves that it must usually take medical treatment (for a serious psychological problem and she forgot to take). Since she does not leave and we find this time of food from the restaurant, we again come proprio accompanying the release. It is a little wrong, you wonder if there is not an embassy or a place to help this woman.
We later learned that she came here eight months ago and it was normal, now she has no backpack, it is practically his passport. Women from the hotel saying she smoked a lot of cracks and that's what made him like that. Later that evening, the two girls the review, to a small Tienda and this time she seemed quite normal and with people she knew!
We have long hesitated to take a shuttle to cross the border to Mexico. We found little info and information guides are very encouraging, saying that it is tedious and complicated. And we know that here you have to negotiate prices on buses, which irritates us. We hesitated a long time. We met two French who visited Bonampak and Yaxchilan and we say that the first is nice with the paintings. It interests us and is right next to the border. They also tell us that it complicated to go there and they took an organized tour. On moving to this destination, but the shuttles and tours are expensive ($ 110 U.S.). It will therefore be in our habits and we'll manage for ourselves.
Flores
By Dany Thibault Maryse Guévin and
Travel Backpack Around the World 2006-2010
Photos, videos, and budget travelogue (travel)
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