You know that feeling when you just start something and you realize you have a loooong way to go? Well that hit me about 3 minutes into this hike. We had barely left Carmelita and I thought ‘we have a lot of walking ahead of us!’. It had already been a long morning, albeit it an exciting-ish one, but that ‘what have I got myself into’ had just sunk in. However, let me start at the beginning.
After finally finding the van that would take us to Carmelita we set off. There were two young French guys by the van when we got there which turns out was the complete group, just the four of us. We would later meet our guide, cook, and mule handler when we got to Carmelita. We headed out of Flores and stopped at a market for a few minutes after we crossed the road exiting Flores. There the driver hopped out and got some fruit before loading it in the back and us setting off again.
We drove about an hour before the smooth road turned to the bumpiest gravel/dirt road I have EVER been on. I really did think the windows were going to fall out of the shuttle, if not crack from all the bumps! Five minutes on a bumpy road is not bad but two HOURS is not the most fun! We stopped about 25 minutes outside the village of Carmelita and had to sign in (I think to the national park) and also provide our passport information. I don’t think they actually checked our passports but we needed to provide some of the information from them in the form we all filled out (just make sure to carry your passport!). After the forms it was on to the village.
Carmelita is a small village and sort of the end of the line. Basically the road from Flores ends at the village and from there it is the starting point of the hike and all walking to El Mirador! I think there is only one bus a day from Flores to Carmelita and the shuttle (what we were on) is extra for when tours are taking place. I think if there is space they will also allow locals on the shuttle. On the way there it was just the four of us doing the tour but on the way back we had two archaeologists and some locals.
The shuttle dropped us at the Cooperative Carmelita Headquarters and there we changed in to our hiking clothes/shoes (if not already) and also made sure we had everything. It was a bit late if you don’t but the two French guys didn’t have bug spray and were able to purchase it there. Once we were ready we gave our big bags to the guide (to get set up on the mule) and just kept our small ones with us (we had water, camera, GoPro, and blister plasters in ours). We went into the house next door and had breakfast (beans, eggs, Plantains, and juice) before setting off.
Trek to El Tintal (17km) – Vamanos!
Right as we set off our guide, Ambrosio, begins to tell us some history of Carmelita. The community used to harvest the Chicle resin from gum trees. This resin was used to make chewing gum. When the demand dropped about 25 years ago due to it being produced synthetically the community’s focus changed to protection and management of the 530km² natural forest. When you are walking you can still see the Xs on the trees when they were marked to keep track of when they were last tapped.
Our guide didn’t speak English (you can add on a translator for extra if you need to – not sure of the price) but Hector and the French guys all spoke Spanish so Hector translated for me. The trek to El Tintal took about 5 hours or so. We stopped a little outside El Tintal to have lunch (tuna sandwich, apple, biscuits, and apple juice) before completing the last part of the hike for the day. We had left around 10 a.m. and arrived around 3 p.m.
The path on the 1st day was wider than what was to come, we also lucked out and didn’t have any rain. You could see where all the mud would be if it had rained and it would have been MISERABLE to traipse through all that mud. It would have easily been past out knees! I remember it being very hot, since some of the path was not under the canopy, but the bugs not being that bad. Bonus… no snakes on day one!
When we got to El Tintal Campamento we dropped our stuff while the guide figured out which tents he wanted us in. We also collected our bigger bags from the Mule. The tents had very slim mattress in them plus blankets. We all rested in the hammocks that were set up around the camp and played cards for the rest of the afternoon. This camp is an ongoing live archaeological site with archeologists and workers so it was very busy. I think they were finishing up that month before they headed onto El Mirador. We had a small section to ourselves but there were a lot of people walking around.
There are ruins all over the area so when you are trekking through the jungle expect to see lots of different ruins and not just El Mirador on day three. El Tintal was another large city outside of El Mirador as was Nakbe (you have to add on a day to stop there). El Tintal was a large Pre-classic Mayan city but also held importance during the late classic period. Most of the area has been looted and largely un-excavated. Many of the sites are joined by ‘Sacbe’ which translates to ‘white way/stone road’ and was the Mayan’s road system. It is cool that part of the way (mainly day two, three and four) you are walking out what was once (and you can still see part of it) their road!
A little before sunset our guide asked if we wanted to walk to El Tintal Pyramid and hike up to see the sunset! That was a resounding YES from all four of us! It was about a 5-10 minute walk through the camp to the pyramid. A lot of the pyramid is still covered in dirt and so it sort of looks like a dirt mound however, there are some steps and a rope to help you get to the top!
Seeing the sunset and hearing the jungle settle for the evening made all the walking worth it. You hear the birds singing, the roar of the Howler monkeys, and the calls of the spider monkeys before they all settle for the night. It is magical! You won’t believe the howl that Howler monkeys make. It is so loud you think it could be a dinosaur! In the distance you could see El Mirador and how far we actually had to hike the next day. It looked like a very long way! We just sat there admiring the beautiful sights and sounds around us and didn’t realize how dark it had gotten, we ended up hiking down in the dark with our torches and walked back to camp.
At camp the cook asked if we wanted to shower before eating. We all said yes and headed to the showers. You have to get a big bucket filled with water and then a small bucket to gather the water to dump over your head. The water was cold but felt so refreshing!
The cook had been preparing dinner and it was all ready when we sat down. We had chicken, rice, cucumbers, and tortillas. You could see where she had lit the fire and was cooking on the open stove with just a metal covering. After dinner we all headed to bed. We had agreed at dinner that we wanted to set off right as the sun came up. That meant a 5:30 a.m. wake up time so we could be walking by 6 a.m.!
Lots of Love,
Buffy xx
