Caracol and more!

Last night the sky was black and the stars were shinning more brightly than I can remember for a long time, it was amazing and quiet!
We went from the cheapest yummiest meal where I was smashing my lobster open with beer bottles to the most expensive meal of our whole trip where they move silverware around for you in 24 hours... quite the change!

Caracol

Is totally different than Tikal but equally as amazing and stunning. We were one of four groups the entire day! So we had the WHOLE place to ourselves which was SO nice and incredible.... There wasn't more than 16 people total in the WHOLE site.

Our guides picked up in a big red Jeep much more appropriate than the little car we drove up in yesterday for these roads....

It was about a 30 min drive to the check point which is the Ranger station to wait for the rest of the cars to arrive to begin the convoy.
While we waited we had a pee stop and I played with new baby puppies only a couple weeks old! SO CUTE!

Then at 9:30 we started the convoy in to Caracol with our soldiers.
Tikal is only 14 miles away from Caraol and less than that to the Guatemalan boarder.
Caracol & Tikal were at war were each other frequently ...... with such a space between them I can see how and why!

On the drive in to Caracol which is 22 miles from the ranger station we saw a group of 6 Scarlet Macaws! WILD ONES! They were stunning. Dad would have flipped out I am sure!

We also saw 3 toucans and a bunch of other birds. Our guides knew LOTS about birds, it's his favourite hobby.
We also saw a toucan that had been attacked by a hawk but was being taken care of and was going to be fine in a couple days to be released. When we saw him he was laying in a box with a towel, he was very beautiful. They were feeding him bananas and papayas. lucky bird!

We were allowed to climb everything and go EVERYWHERE in Caracol. It was very cool. We even went right inside the burial chambers and tombs!

Everything there is so intact compared to any other site I have viewed. It was stunning, totally stunning. Mom and Dad would be SO amazed you would love it, totally love it. And love that there is NO other people!!!!

After Caracol, we stopped at the Frio Cave which is a very large cave but very short you can see each opening from the 2 entrances & exits.

Then we stopped at the Rio On Pools on nice days you can stop and swim there, but the sun had gone away and it was cloudy and cool. But it was nice to stop for a photo. Ben says he could have spent all day taking photos there. It was very pretty.

Then our guide took us to Big Rock Waterfall. Quite the STEEP hike down, a short walk, but very difficult! There was one other group there of like 12 people and Ben went swimming in the pools at the bottom of the waterfall.
He said the water was pretty cold but he stayed in a while and played. I wasn't feeling that great the bumpy roads had made me a little car sick so I was a bit dizzy and didn't go in, plus likely too cold for me anyways. On the way back I sat in the front of the jeep which was better.

Our guides dropped us at 5:30pm and we came back and showered and Ben is having a beer in the bar with his computer and I am having a glass of wine typing.
Dinner is at 7pm... 20 mins which is good because I am STARVING!

After dinner we are going to take a bottle of wine back to our room, lite the fire and play some cribbage!

Hidden Vally Inn is the nicest place we have ever stayed as a couple. We discussed it last night.... by far the nicest and most exspensive. It's totally awesome here and really romantic.