August 2 Flores and Tikal

August 2
After our crazy bus ride we arrived 10 hours later at 5 am. Sleep deprived Carrie and I got into a shuttle to take us to a hostel with 3 other people. We picked a spot in Flores out of our bible the lonely planet. A family run hotel for about $10 per person a night. Extremely nice place with a balcony and view of the gorgoues lake. Yes another lake. We decided to put our luggage into the room and pay later. Care and I hurried to get ready for Tikal Mayan Ruins for a day of hiking and seeing the architure.
The man who took us to the Ruins said 100 Q each round trip. Of course Carrie and I fell for the round trip and paid. On our way to the ruins we met a guy from Cal Poly and a girl from Germany. Both were students in Antigua, GUA studying spanish. We all instantly bonded and spent the day together. We were all dropped off and told by the man that took us in the shuttle that he would be back for Carrie and I at 2 pm. we had breakfast (of course the famous beans, corn tortillas and coffee) and went to the ruins. We paid 150 Q each, which is about $25, which is a lot. normally that is a oneway bus fare. Since the ruins are a once and a lifetime event we paid and so incredibly happy that we did. The ruins were extremely hot and humid. My whole back was full of sweat. From around 8:30am to 1:30 pm, we all climbed the stairs of the ancient, amazing ruins. The ruins are so historic and gorgeous! You feel like you are apart of a movie or a dream. Wait until I post pictures. I randomly ran into a friend from highschools friend that goes to UCSD on top of one of the temples. She told us where to go in Panama. Crazy, such a small world. She said that she wishes she could travel back to Panama with us, but is all out of money. We also saw monkey´s in the trees which was so cool.
After a few hours in the sun, Carrie and I got lunch and waited for our ride. Again, we where ripped off. Never, never pay round trip for anything in Guatemala. Lesson well learned for a second time. After cusing at all the shuttle people in Spanish, we were able to take a shuttle ride back to our hotel for 50Q which is a lot. At least we did not get all our money stolen or passports stolen. We were mad at the time, but laughed it off later.
Our friends rode with us and came back to our hotel. They freshened up and went to dinner with us. Even though we had a few problems during the day, we still had a great time and established some new friendships. Care and I are going to take a hot shower tonight and finally get some good rest. Tomorrow we plan on taking a 5 hour shuttle ride to Coban, Hondoras to experience some more fun. Maybe some islands or more ruins. Guatemala is a pretty awesome place and I recommend it to all of you, but be careful of bargining. It is so beautiful. It is also the rainy season in Guatemala right now. Good thing Care and I brought only one sweater, thinking it was going to be super hot and humit. Tip 2, check weather and season before going.