The Caves of Santa Elena

Most people fly up, go to Tikal, and fly back to Guate that evening or the next morning. Tikal is great, and after going 12 times, I'm still not tired of it, but you really can see everything you need to in 4 hours with the right guide.

If you've got a few days, there are a lot of activities in Petén that are a lot of fun, but most tourists don't know about. A couple weeks ago I took 21 people from our two villages to Santa Elena for a trip out. It was for people in our Bible Studies who have been doing their homework, memorizing verses and bringing their Bibles. We wanted to have an incentive for those people who are committed. First we ate at Pollo Campero. Not only is it inexpensive and air conditioned, but not a single person had ever eaten there.

A tuk tuk can get you there (Q5/person.) You will see a store that sells bottled water, and it is there you pay. All the people laying around are part of the same family that gets paid to watch the cave for the government. Admission is Q20/person. You'll also want a flashlight (Q7) and a guide. It is great that once you enter the temperature drops down to what Peteneros call cold.

The formations are natural and the guide will show you around the semi-lighted area for Q50. After you are done you exit where you came in. This part is huge and worth it, however, for real fun, you can pay the guide and extra Q100 to take you to the other side. Make sure you have fresh batteries, as it can take 1.5-2 hours to make the 1.5 kilometer trip. The cave is muddy, slippery, and full of bats. There are a couple places you have to crawl on your belly, and if you have a back pack you won't fit. Other places you slide downhill on your nalgas.

Once you come out you will be filthy and the guide will take you up over the hill you climbed under. There is a place to rinse off your hands, but good luck getting a tuk tuk back. If you do get one to pull over, make sure he has plastic covering the seat and pay him double so that it is worth the cleaning he'll have to do later. If you like walking, it is only about 3 miles from Flores and is a pretty safe walk, so go for it. You'll probably get a lot of strange looks from the people in the market.

Now everybody play "¿Where's Gringo?" Only the guys in the group wanted to make the trip all the way through.