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Guatemala - Tikal, Howler Monkeys and Active Volcanos
A 2.30am start to get to Tikal, a Mayan ruin to see the sun rise was definitely a highlight of the trip to date. The site itself is in the middle of the jungle and by 5am we´d arrived and climbed one of the temples to see the sun rise over the site. Lack of sleep combined with the sound of the howler monkeys (which sound like Orks from LOTR), birds and other wildlife made it a fantastic experience. Getting back to our hotel to find the owner had thrown our bags out was not so fantastic but thankfully the local hostel came to our rescue and let shower and spend the day there. We then took a nightbus to Antigua, in the south of the country and spent a couple of days in the city. Antigua is in the middle of three volcanoes, one of which - Pacaya - is active so the next day we joined a tour group to climb it. As we got closer, the clouds drew in and a massive storm began but we were already there so decided to climb it anyway. The advice we´d been given by the hostel to wear jeans not synthetic trousers (as the heat from the volcano causes these to melt) was not such great advice in torrential rain! It was still pretty amazing though and the scenery was outstanding although on returning to Antigua we discovered our group had been awarded the title of ´the idiots who climbed the volcano in the storm´! Anyway, definitely worth it and then food, dry clothes and a 3am start for Honduras...
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