Editor’s Note: The David Eccles School of Business Ambassadors traveled to Guatemala for a cultural experience during Spring Break 2016. This is a series of 12 journal entries detailing their experiences. This experience was written by Claire Harless. 

Day 2 (March 12):When morning rolled around, three of us were up and ready at 6 a.m. to search for monkeys. We drove a little boat down tiny inlets searching to find monkeys but there was nothing. We didn’t give up here; we kept searching driving farther down the river. We drove through long cattails trying to get closer to the tree line. Not too long after, we spotted one in a tree. As we continued to drive closer, we saw another. All of a sudden, they started to screech and howl at us. After seeing the monkeys, we started back home where we sat down and ate a delicious breakfast. I ate as fast as I could because I heard a rumor that if you wanted to go water skiing you might be able to. I ran down to the dock and sure enough, the Jet Ski was out and waiting.

The water was like glass. While skiing, I saw the local fisherman paddle out in their little canoes to check their nets. The canoes looked the same as what I imagined the ancient Mayans used. While skiing, I felt as if I could travel back through time and see how the ancient Mayans lived. Eventually, I had to return back to the house where we left for another boat ride.

We took the boats through tall canyons where the cliffs were at least 100 feet high. The forest surrounded us, and everything was green beside the sharp white cliffs. Eventually, the water looked so inviting that we all had jumped in. The one downfall was that when we were trying to get back in the boat, we stepped in mud that went above my knee. Finally, we were all back in the boat and kept heading down the river. The river widened and before we knew it we were at the ocean. There was so much to do, we had to start heading back again. On our way back, we stopped for lunch. We all ordered fish-n-chips, but a surprise was coming.

Our waiter brought a cooked fish but with its head and everything still attached. After lunch, it was time to leave Rio Dulce and make our way to Tikal.