After Tikal we have a couple of nights booked a short distance away at Hotel de don David in the very small town of El Remate on the opposite shores of Lake Peten from Flores. This has been recommended to us by  different  people we've met on our travels,   The rooms are in garden bungalows and from the terrace restaurant, wild birds are fed from bird  tables suspended  from a trolley system which is cranked out by the staff so there is always plenty wild...

We have booked a room for a couple of nights at the Tikal Inn Hotel. This is inside the national park and a few minutes walk from the entrance to Tikal ruins.  Our room is in the garden a few minutes walk from the main building and we see monkeys above us as we walk to and fro. On  the  afternoon of arrival we have a  quick look around the nearer of the temples and there are only one or two other tourists. Next morning, we head out early after  breakfast to...

We are fresh and clean after  showers at Kangaroo hotel. The next day, Gary shuttles us across the river and drops us off near to the bus station. We have arrived early in the hope of getting a seat as the bus is often overcrowded and  we don't want to be standing for the three hour journey. However, maybe  because it's a Sunday, there are not so many passengers and we manage to get two seats, albeit several rows apart. Only 4 or 5 are standing in the aisle. ....

We haven't had a wrist watch on all week. Time is marked by the arrival of meals; 7:30 breakfast, 12:30 lunch and 7:30 dinner punctured by servings of fresh fruit at 10am and 4pm while the number of days remaing onboard are displayed by the diminishing row of cans of toxic water. We bought 6, one for each night to have with our evening gin . Sadly, tonight only one can remains. We have sailed all the way up Rio Dulce today and are anchored in Lago Izabel. ...

For two nights we are anchored beside the tiny twin islets known as Tom Owens. There are reefs surrounding each islet and it is here that we plan to swim. The smaller is little bigger than a tennis court but has a fairy tale house completely covered in concha shells. The larger islet is about half the size of a football pitch and contains a small hotel and a dive centre. The boat is anchored a couple of hundred metres off shore in a depth of two metres of c...