OK. Update!
We went to Tikal. It was pretty rad. We aren't relly into ruins and after seeing a couple in Mexico, we actually skipped a few that we were considering, but Tikal was definitely beautiful and our favourite part was the large area of protected jungle around the archaeological site. While walking around the area we got to see howler monkeys, spider monkeys, many birds, and a racoon looking critter I can't remember the name of.
After Tikal, we drove south on highway CA13 to Lago de Izabal to check out Finca Paraiso. They have an extremely hot spring that feeds into a river just above a waterfall. It makes for a nice warm shower. The waterfall and surrounding area seemed nice, but the camping was a parking lot next to the highway and the children were tenacious beggers. When they stick out their lip and stick out their hand they expected you to give them something. We didn't give them anything, but it still got a little intense with the kids gathering around us because we were the only tourist there in the evening and morning. The next day when a little tour bus showed up they all went looking for greener pastures.
After a night at Finca Paraiso, we set out for Semuc Champey. Our map showed that it was a "highway" the entire way. But the road quickly went to dirt through a strip mine area with giant dump trucks driving however they pleased. Then we turned onto highway 6 and it quickly turned to mud as wound our way over the mountains. It took a couple hours longer than the mapping app expected(standard) but we made it before dark so it was all good fun.
Semuc Champey was cool. We hiked the trail up to the lookout for a great view. Then we went for a swim in the refreshing pools. A beautiful place for sure.
From here we headed to Guatemala City. We were having a vibration in the front end of the truck and I figured the big city was our best bet for getting it figured out. After some Walmart parking lot wrenching, I figured it was the wheel bearing. We got it repacked with grease, tightened down, and we were on our way to the beach.
I had been going kinda crazy with the lack of surf from the past couple months away from waves, so I was pretty excited to get back to the Pacific. We found a couple nice camping spots and some waist high beach break to play in.
We were planning on taking some Spanish courses in Monterrico and camping on the beach there next to a restaurant for a few days, but we ran into some trouble. We try to be safe, so before driving out on the beach we stopped by the police station to ask if it was OK to camp. They all said "Si. No problema." But once it got dark some local guys came by and said the beach was private and we had to go. They were hanging out at what looked like an abandoned beach house and one guy went up on the balcony and started ripping pieces of stucco off the house and throwing it at our truck, so we left. No one got hurt and we only sustained some small damage to the camper and awning. A guy drinking at the bar next door saw the whole thing happen and invited us to stay with him that night. Marco was a very nice guy from Guatemala City who has a vacation house in Monterrico and was very upset about what happened to us. He went with us to the police to help file a complaint.
We left the next morning and are now taking Spanish lessons at Lake Atitlan.
Guatemala has been a land of dichotomy from our experience. Comparing the extremely friendly, welcoming people we meet, like Marco to the hostile experience we had the night before, but in many other ways too. The roads seem to be in pretty good shape then completely fall apart around the next turn and the biggest impression was felt driving from the central mountains where communities were living in small wood shacks along muddy roads and farming small plots in the steep mountains to Guatemala City. It's only a day's drive away and they have huge shopping centres and malls with high-end brand name stores and many new BMW and Mercedes in the parking lot. It's been a trip.
