Day 7 - Maya Yaxha and Flores

We saw White Headed Turtles in the lake as we were going to breakfast.  I had been looking for the crocodile when I saw some small reptile heads poking out of the water and then going back under.  

 

 
White Headed Turtle
 

While I was getting my breakfast I glanced onto the lake and the crocodile was swimming slowly towards the shore.  I got my camera and was quickly followed by the others.  He was very big, apparently 3m long.  He just positioned himself at the lakeside and stayed there for at least half an hour.

 

 
Crocodile

 
Crocodile in the lake

 
Crocodile swimming near the hotel

 

 
Video of Crocodile

It was very hot today and we went on our final excursion to another Maya site called Maya Yaxha, near the border with Belize.  This was really nice.  It was smaller than Tikal, where we went yesterday, but older and the temples were built in about 150BC.  The population at its height is estimated to have been 50,000. It was very quite and peaceful as they dont get many tourists.  We only saw 2 other groups while we were there.  The temples have similarities to the ones in Tikal.  We climbed to the top of the tallest where we had some fabulous views of the lake and surrounding countryside.

 
Acropolis East Temple

 
 
View from the top of the Acropolis East Temple

 
View from the top of the Acropolis East Temple 

 
At the top of the Acropolis East Temple

 
Tree with poisonous (red) bark

 
Temple in the main square

 
Storage buildings

 

 

In the park we saw Spider Monkeys and Howler Monkeys as well as a black squirrel, several birds and butterflies.  The Howler Monkeys were incredibly noisy and just above us in the trees.  There was a male, female and baby.

 

 
Female Howler Monkey with baby

 
Male Howler Monkey

 
Male Howler Monkey

 
Howler Monkeys - turn up sound for this


 
Female Lesson's Motmot

 
Collared Aracari Toucan

 
Collared Aracari Toucan feeding on seeds in a palm tree - 
Howler Monkeys can be heard nearby


 
Butterfly

 
Pale Billed Woodpecker

 
Spider Monkey


 
Squirrel jumping between branches 
(just missed part of his head)

 
Butterfly

 
Parrot type bird?

 
Eagle or Hawk

 
Air plant growing on the side of the tree.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to pick up one of the couples who did not go on this excursion.  As we had a bit of time to spare our tour guide took us to Flores Island.  It wasnt on the itinerary but he thought we should see it.  It is a lovely residential island in Lake Petan and is reached by a stone bridge.  The houses are very colourful and the island is very pretty.  The lake has risen by about 2m in the last 15/20 years, through global warming, and some of the lakeside roads and paths were flooded.  Houses are in danger of being flooded soon if the lake continues to rise.

 

 
Lakeside road that is flooded due to rise in lake

 
Decorated canopy outside row of houses

 
Houses on Flores Island

 
Houses on Flores Island 

 
Decorated flats on Flores Island

 
Houses on Flores Island 

 
Looking over Lake Peten

 
Lakeside on Flores Island

We did manage to get a Guatemalan ice cream on the island which was very nice.   

The last 2 days have certainly been the highlight for me as the region is quite rural and very quiet.  I am sure that mass tourism will eventually find its way here as the scenery is absolutely beautiful and it is rich in wildlife.  It is nice to have seen it before this happens.  We have all really enjoyed Guatemala and the tour gave a good balance of history, culture,  geography, life in the country and wildlife.

We were then taken back to the airport for our flight back to Guatemala City for our final night in this amazing country.




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