To the boarder of Guatemala we go,,,,country number 3!!!

Border crossing was really smooth, paid some fees, got a free DVD, stamped the passports and away we go to Flores!

Flores is a picturesque tourist island on Lake Peten Itza. We stayed in Hostel Los Amigos, a chilled out hostel with rooms fit into every nook and cranny. Our room was fine but our friends Dave & Bernas was an old converted kitchen with a hatch to get into it where the window used to be under the stairs....hilarious...see pic!!!!

There was another room up on the roof terrace, well not really a room but a lean-to with a corrugated iron roof and a mattress in it!!! There was a yoga practising hippy with bells on his ankles staying there....best place for him!!!!

We booked our tour for Tikal the next morning....with a lovely departure time of 4.30am. An hour and a half away from Flores is Tikal, the Mayan ruins in the rainforest. Such a beautiful place with an array of wildlife, from tarantulas to toucans, howler monkeys to wild turkeys....we even saw woody the woodpecker pecking away!!!

Our guide told us it was called the City of Sounds, and when you stand in the middle of the grand plaza and clap your hands it makes the sound of Quetzals, the national bird of Guatemala. It was very cool and just echoed around us.

The highlight of Tikal was climbing Temple IV, which is the tallest temple. When you climb to the top you emerge from the rainforest canopy and look out over the rainforest and can see Temple III & V in the distance. It's mad the way they appear out of nowhere as all the eye can see apart from them is rainforest and more rainforest!

When we stopped and were quiet (Shane says ´hard for Phillippa´, i don't know what he's talking about!) you could just hear all the animal calls and you think to yourself ´how did they build these massive structures with no machinery....and what caused the empire to collapse and the rainforest take back over....

Back to Flores for a look around, then onto the overnight bus to Antigua.