Guatemala – Isla de Flores
15th to 22nd November 2025
The bus to sleepy little Flores in the north of Guatemala left at 4.30 am and arrived at 5pm. I have kind of got used to these long bus journeys now. They are definitely cheaper than flying!
The back of the guest house where we stayed on the first floor, looking straight out onto the pontoon and the lake.
Located via a causeway to the mainland, Flores is an island situated on Lake Peten Itza, and is another colourful town full of colonial architecture, cobbled streets and a laid back vibe.
Nearly every building is brightly painted.
The island is very small, you can walk the perimeter in about 20 minutes.
Although beautiful, the lake floods the towns edges in recent years.
It is fed by several rivers but, unusually, it doesnt have a natural outflow, relying mainly on evaporation, and also the extremely gradual process of wearing away of the limestone bedrock that the lake sits on.
Unfortunately evaporation can’t keep up with the increased amount of rainfall that is attributed to climate change.
A regular heron makes the most of fish caught in the flooded pavements. He would patrol the flooded areas at all times of day or night irrespective of who was on the water or looking on.
“Pontoon Life”, as I like to call it, is just so chilled out. Diving and swimming in the water to keep cool, varied between bouts of sun bathing, beer drinking and chatting to other tourists.
A group of local lads liked to swim underneath the pontoon and grab your ankles to make you jump. They especially liked teasing Paul who responded in good measure, by pretending to tip them out of their canoe when they went past.
There were also cracking sunsets
And some great food
We went across the lake by boat to a restaurant partially floating on pontoons. I only realised this after the room started swaying when another boat came in!
Actun Kan cave, just south of Flores, has a series of subterranean tunnels.
The name in Mayan means Snake Rock.
An impressive and interesting site – these limestone caves have several different chambers and are dotted with oddly shaped stalactite and stalagmite formations – all sign posted.
More stunning sunsets 😎
This type of bird, a member of the magpie family I think, made a lot of noise!
The main reason we went to Flores was to see the ancient mayan ruins at Tikal, 40 miles to the north.
Tikal is a vast, ancient Mayan archaeological site located in the Petén rainforest of northern Guatemala.
Spider monkeys played and swang in the trees above us.
Tikal is famous for its towering pyramids like Temple IV – the tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas. At 70 metres high, it has a wooden staircase up to the top. The mayan pyramids usually have a flat ceremonial platform, unlike their Egyptian counterparts. We were a little out of breath by the top but the views were worth it.
The iconic Great Plaza, site of the political and economic heart of Mayan civilization. Flourishing from 200-900 AD before being abandoned, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site within Tikal National Park,
The area features impressive temples, palaces, ball courts, and plazas, with much of the city still under jungle cover.
Meanwhile back on the lake, Mr Heron is still fishing, the car taxi goes back and forth….
and what I like to call ‘Pontoon Life’ carries on.
I have to admit that it was pretty noisy at night on Flores.
- The pontoon squeaked with the movement of the water, right up until the day before we left, when someone shoved a load of grease on the poles.
- Many of the surrounding boats were not for fishing, they were party boats, with massive neon light arches blaring thumping music till the early hours
- Paul woke up in the middle of one night because he could hear roaring. It turned out to be the howler monkeys on the other shore!!
This what howler monkeys look like – though we never saw any of them.
Apparently they make one of the loudest calls produced by any land animal. Under certain conditions, a howler’s call can be heard from about 3 miles away. They sound like lions in the night.
We loved Guatemala 💚
