First day of travels -- crossing the country and entering Guatemala to the west. While the day may have started out a little rough and had some slight confusion, it all worked out in the end.
Crossing the border was an interesting experience. We took a bus from Belize City to Flores, but when we reached the boundary we had to exit the bus and go through the immigration building. First we had to check out with Belize and pay an exit fee, then check in with Guatemala and pay an entrance fee. Once we did that we walked across the border and returned to our bus, which had crossed during this whole process.
After that it was smooth sailing to Flores. Here's a map of Guatemala for all of you who aren't familiar with the area:
We chose Flores because of its nearby location to the archaeological site of Tikal. However, it turned out to be so much greater than a pit stop!
Flores is a little town located on an island in the middle of a lake. It is absolutely beautiful to behold. And its small size creates a quaintness about it that makes you want to stay there forever. It has cobbled, winding roads lined with brightly colored houses. Just about every street contains many small shops that sell souvenirs that are mostly handmade.
Being in Guatemala was such a different experience than Belize! For one, not very many people spoke English. In Belize, English is the official language, although Spanish is also widely spoken. But in Guatemala, Spanish is the official language, so only a handful of people spoke English. This was a semi-touristy town though, so there were people who at least knew some simple phrases of communication. And luckily for me, the friends I was travelling with knew some Spanish. Thank goodness, because my French skills were no good here! I did like that about the town though. It was kind of cool to be surrounded by the unknown. I even picked up a few helpful Spanish phrases!
Another great aspect about being in Guatemala versus Belize was the cost. Belize uses the Belizean Dollar, which has an exchange rate of 2:1 to the US Dollar. Therefore, something that costs $10 BZ is only $5 US. That was always nice. However, in Guatemala, their currency is the Quetzal, which has an exchange rate of about 8:1 to the US Dollar. So in this case, something that costs 40 quetzales is only $5 US. This took some getting used to when scanning prices, but once we got the hang of it we loved it!
An average meal would cost between 35-55 quetzales. What we really appreciated though, was happy hour. Typically drinks would be priced around 20 quetzales, but during happy hour they were usually half price at 10. One of the best parts of our day was relaxing at a restaurant overlooking the lake after a busy afternoon, having drinks for less than $1.50.
Overall, I just loved the atmosphere in Flores. It was so peaceful. I really felt at home there. I would love to go back again some day, and I would LOVE to bring my mom with me. I know she would love it just as much. Especially the shopping. So many stores, so little time! The people are great to bargain with too, so you can get so many great deals on wonderful items.
Flores was definitely a great highlight of my trip.
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