El Remate/Lake Itza: 7th - 12th July 2025
7th July – Monday
I am so not happy with myself. Like a fool I have allowed myself to be scammed on the internet – and how many others have I told not to fool for this one! For starters I paid the Quintan Roo tourist tax, which I don’t mind as that was legit, but I could have got away without paying it. I did actually think it was the exit Tax for Mexico, but no, at the border I had to pay 861 pesos to leave Mexico. However, what is really jarring me is that last night I was checking I had everything in order and I came across a lot of information about an entry and exit tax for Belize, so I found a website and paid a total of £30 for both. Entering Belize there was actually no tax to pay and on leaving they would not accept my online payment, stating it was an ‘immigration thing’, and I had to pay an addition £11 to leave Belize. So, basically the entry and exit tax I paid online was a scam and I fell for it 
I could kick myself. I have forked out an extra £40 odd pounds getting here that I didn’t need to. Next time I will not be so eager to have all my papers in order and do it all the actual borders instead of online – just like I tell everyone else to do
Anyway, besides that the trip to Guatemala was not too harrowing, although from the look of the bus we took it should have been. It was beat-up, dilapidated and had no seatbelts, but let’s be grateful for the air-conditioning. To begin with we were 7 people, 3 young German guys, 2 young Canadian girls, a young girl from Norwich and myself. We had plenty of space and spread out, with each of us having a double seat to ourselves. Crossing the border from Mexico to Belize, which is only 20 minutes from Chetumal, was straightforward, although I almost got a ticking off for taking a photo at the Mexican border; I put my phone away quickly and apologized before the official actually got to me, so he turned away and continued with his business. Entering Belize was a breeze and off we went. I slept once we crossed the border and woke as we neared Belize City where we had half hour to get some food and a drink. I am glad I woke as I got to see some the Belize countryside which looks and feels like a poor Caribbean Island, with run-down wooden shacks, people loitering with not a lot to do and kids on bikes enjoying the freedom of youth. The people even speak creole/English! The small part of Belize city I got to see didn’t look very wealthy either, especially around the port area where there was an was an abundance of Rastafarians to be seen. My sister later informed me that they are Garifuna’s, here’s a site with lots of interesting information about them and how they came to settle in Belize and other nearby areas: https://globalsherpa.org/garifunas-garifuna. A part of me wished that I had booked a couple of nights in Belize City, especially as it seemed far from the metropolitan glitzy city that I was expecting, it was beautiful and I expect Caye Caulker is stunning too, never mind, it’s just another reason to come back!
The Norwegian girl was heading to Caye Caulker, so she left us at the port and the rest of us got back on the bus only to find another 12 or so passengers had joined us – no more spreading out – the bus was full. It turns out all the new passengers had come from Caye Caulker. Upon learning this I was quite glad I did not go as they were all very young, the eldest, Charlie, was 29, the others all in the very beginnings of their 20s.
Crossing into Guatemala was also just easy, but as mentioned I was not happy with myself as the realisation of my internet stupidity crept over me. Once back on the bus everyone seemed to be more relaxed and happier and started to chat a lot more. Charlie was hysterical, not in that he was funny, but in the stories about himself that he kept telling everyone – they kept changing! One minute he had the most amazing boss in the world who lets him work for 4 weeks then take a few months off to go travelling, the next he runs his own building company in Australia but he gets paid for the number of bricks he lays – lol – I’m sure he was just trying to impress all of the girlies but I think they saw straight through him. At one point, when they were all exchanging ages, he told them he was 29 and had been travelling since he was 17. One of the girls said, so you’re never too old to travel – lol – I couldn’t help myself and shut them all up when I said, no you’re not, I’m 58 and travelling hard. Anyway, they weren’t too bad, all except one, who actually got off early, just before we exited Belize, much to my relief. She was sitting in front of me and talked non-stop for 3 hours. At one point, when I was really frustrated I did actually say out loud ‘for fuck’s sake, she’s not shut up since getting on this fucking bus’ her mate must have heard me because he whispered to her and she finally shut up, but that was 10 minutes before she got off. I was so relieved to see the back of her.
The journey through Guatemala to Flores was only two hours, but I noticed on the map that we were going to passed the turning for El Remate, where I am staying, which is about 45 minutes from Flores. If I went the whole way I would have had to go back on myself and I was worried about timing as check-in at my hotel finished at 7:30. So, at the border I asked the driver if he could drop me off in El Remate and he did, it was a 10 minute divert, but he really didn’t mind, such a lovely man 
The actual journey to El-Remate was something else, the roads were completely pot holed beyond belief but the scenery so beautiful and green with dense forestation, the further we went the more I fell in love with it’s ruggedness and beautiful vegetation.
Once dropped off in El Remate I was very lost as I had no data, no SIM and no money. Charlie had kindly let me take a photo of the route to my hostel but there was a fork in the road so I
wasn’t sure which fork to take. I popped into a hotel and the receptionist pointed me in the right direction, he also told me where to get money and a SIM. It’s fabulous how helpful people are, all you have to do is ask! It was a 10-minute stunning walk along Lake Itza to my hotel; I was sweating like a pig (as I have become accustomed to doing) but it was breathtaking and worth the sweat. And wow, I am so glad I chose Hotel Mon Ami (yes, it’s French). It’s an eco-lodge type of place, so I am in a cabin with a patio that contains a wooden chair and a hammock, roll on tomorrow! It was just getting dark when I arrived, an hour before last check in, so I haven’t had a good look around yet. But I love my room and am so glad I have my own bathroom because it is now pissing down with rain and the outside toilet, although not far, is far enough in the rain. I had a lovely dinner at the hotel restaurant, spaghetti with tuna and tomatoes, I think it was tined tuna, but it was still tasty and not a tortilla in sight! I have also downed three very expensive beers. I need to be careful because it’s all on tab which makes it too easy to get carried away. Anyway, I am a very happy puppy and look forward to waking up tomorrow. I think I will just chill out here and start my website, obviously a walk into El Remate will be in order, along with lots of photos and some cheaper beer
10th July – Thursday
I have been very lazy, but in some ways productive, the last couple of days.
Tuesday: I went for a walk and got my steps in. I only went a little way up the lake, along the road, to a viewing point that was closed. There wasn’t really much to see enroute, just a couple of beautiful flowers, but not many. When the road was actually adjacent to the lake, I had a good look for crocodiles but sadly did not see any. The rest of the day was very frustrating; I spent it trying to get my website up and running. The task is proving to be harder than I remember as I don’t remember what I did last time and it’s not yet coming back to me.
Yesterday was a very special Wednesday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY YASMIN, it was so lovely to chat to her on the phone. I also had a little chat with Lucas; he is doing so well at school now that he can use a laptop for writing. So proud of him, of all of them. Other than that, I spent the whole day doing my website again. To be honest there isn’t really much else to do here. Persistence has paid off as I managed to get to the point where I can now add my diary pages and photos, however I spent what felt like forever tyring to overlay text onto a picture, and failed. In the end I had to make myself stop.
I booked a trip, via the hotel, to go to Tikal on Friday. It actually worked out about £30 – £50 cheaper than doing it online, so I am very happy about that. For dinner I took a little stroll down the road to the Mayan Bar, which turned out to be a reggae bar, so the music and vibe was excellent. I had a Margaretta and 3 tortas with guacamole, very delicious. Then two local guys came in and one of them kept staring at me and gave me the creeps, so I left. I resisted the urge to turn my computer back on and finished my book instead.
Today: Everyone seems to be happily swimming in Lake, (not that there are many people here), even though there are crocodiles in it. The receptionist said that there aren’t any in this part, so I might just go for a little swim today and then wash and twist my hair afterwards. I do need to begin populating my website, but I’m not going to spend all day on it again. It’s becoming obsessive to the point that I have done little else. But I must admit, it has been very relaxing doing little else, just drinking and eating, and without these last couple of days I wouldn’t be at the point I am with the site, so in many senses they have been needed and very productive.
Later: I worked on my website this morning, and yes, I did the overlay, added a map of Mexico, added several buttons with links and my first diary page with photos. I am so happy, I now know exactly what I am doing and everything should flow nicely from now on. I just need to catch on myself, which will probably take longer than I would like it to.
Resisting website temptation, at about 2 pm I walked into El Remate town and found a wonderful little restaurant with a terrace out the back. The walkway to the terrace was a little precarious, but after crossing it a couple of times (needing the toilet!) it wasn’t too bad. I had the most delicious white river fish with salad and chips and 2 mojitos. It was amazingly delicious; I am so glad I ventured further than the hotel restaurant and the Mayan bar. I was just about to leave when rolling thunder started, shortly followed a
massive tropical downpour. I had to move into the centre of the terrace to avoid the rain and although I really wanted another mojito but I couldn’t ask the waitress to come, she would have gotten soaked! Luckily there was a little bar on the terrace full of beer; I helped myself to one and indicated so to the waitress across the rainy divide. I got a thumbs up from her, so I relaxed and enjoyed the tropical storm. It didn’t last long. On the way home I came across a little second-hand shop with a lovely blue dress on a mannequin; the dress was 3 quetzals (30 pence) so I gave them 5 I walked back with a bounce in my step and everyone who passed me wished me the time of day. I am very happy with my purchase and may even go back to the shop to see if they have anything else that tickles my fancy.
11th July – Friday
I woke early this morning and was on the bus to Tikal National Park at 5:30. There was only one other guy, David (probably the same age as me), on the bus and we got chatting immediately. Once at the park we met up with a larger group of younger travellers and ended up doing the tour with them. Most of them were not very friendly, especially the young girls. However, Tim from Australia and the lads from Israel were very warm and welcoming and on occasions I ended up to chatting with them. The Isreal lads had recently been to Jamaica and visited a few weed farms there, they said it was an amazing place. At the end of the tour, while we were having a beer, they skinned up and shared with me, David and Tim. I wasn’t going to for fear of pulling a whitey, but I did in the end and was fine 😊Tim is on his last month of a year’s trip across Latin America and was very informative about places such as Panama; he gave me his WhatsApp number.
Tikal was very impressive, but not as impressive as Angkor Wat, and even the Israeli lads concurred on that one. However, the temples were stunning in their own right, several soring into the sky, the tallest one being 70 meters high. We were allowed to climb up and rummage around a couple of them, which was awesome, however, the getting down not so awesome. I really don’t like coming down stairs anymore, especially step stone ones. The views from the top of the observation tower and, I think, temple 4, were stunning, we were above the trees and could see for miles, all of it green with the tops of the three tallest temples in view. Our guides were very lovely, a man and his niece, both were very informative and entertaining and, through their often quite animated stories, they reinforced the information I had read about the Mayans when at the Mayan Museum in Chetumal. They also informed us that only 15% of Tikal has been excavated. Being such a huge site, I was exhausted by the time we finished, but we had done 4 hours of walking, climbing up temples and rummaging around the ruins.
We also saw quite a few monkeys, most swinging from tree top to tree top hunting for figs. I’ll never forget, at breakfast, I thought the dinosaurs were coming to get us! Later the guide explained that the sound was made by the howler monkeys, and that they used their sound for the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
David did my head in on the way back. He spent most of the journey lecturing me on how God created the universe! I am so glad I didn’t ask him if he fancied a swim and drink later in the afternoon. I didn’t swim as I had burger and chips to counterbalance being so stoned (I only had 4 puffs!) but I did drink a lot of beer. Overall, it was a very good day and I highly recommend a visit to Tikal.
12th July – Saturday
What a lovely last chilled day. I got up early, nothing new there, had my coffees and fruit, yogurt and muesli for breakfast. I washed that down with a banana smoothie. I spent a short time on my website then went for a walk to the Bikini Bar, which G-Maps said was open but it was closed. On the way back I stopped for chicken, rice and salad. The guys there told me, in Spanish, it was 20Q but the lady charged et 300Q. I got the feeling she did not like me, but I liked her food, so no complaints. I hiked back to the hotel, had a swim in crocodile infested waters (I was reassured they were none on this bank) and then did a little bit more on my website – I’m getting the flow of it now.
The swim was lush; the Lake is warm and there were lots of little fish that swam with me. I didn’t leave the safety of the jetty as the current was quite strong and I was a bit nervous. But I do wish I had gone in a few ago, it’s a shame I left it to the last day. After my swim I had just settle down to do some work on the website when the owner insisted, I change my sunset boat booking to a bird watching one, so off I went with him, his cousin and cousin’s wife. I decided not to tell them that I have some basic French and played ignorant and just enjoyed the trip without much interaction from them. The owner took us to the part of the Lake where there are crocodiles, but alas I didn’t see any, but we did see a whole host of birds, including and eagle and a vulture. We also saw several pelicans in a tree and a bird they called a frigart and said that it is usually only seen at sea. It was beautiful, with a split tail and I think it was hunting the other birds because they flew away every time it approached them. OK – just research and was a frigart we saw – amazing – so beautiful. And it was hunting their eggs. We also saw lots of little birds that stood on and ran across the lily pads, I’m sure they said they were mini herons, but I am not sure they were. Am I tempted to become a bird twitcher – no, but I really did enjoy the hour we sent on the lake. A wonderful end to a wonderfully relaxing, yet productive, week.
