PETÉN - Guatemala - page 514

crete campsites with thin mattresses and mosquito netting. There's a restaurant serving ve-
getarian food, a chill-out room, and a place to store valuables. You can also camp or sleep
inahammock forjustunder$3.Thenextplace downisthecolorful, offbeat, andlaid-back
Hotel Sak Luk (tel. [phone], tikalsakluk@hotmail. com), where four- or five-person
dorms with lake views and mosquito netting start at $3 per person. Rooms with private
bath, mosquito netting, and lake view are available for $13 d. Hammocks go for $2 and
you can camp here for the same price. There is a restaurant serving Italian food and you
can have your laundry done here. Guests can also use the kitchen to cook their own meals.
Language courses and volunteer opportunities are also available.
AnothercheapiealongtheTikalroadis Bruno's Place (tel.[phone],$8d),withseven
shared-bath rooms of acceptable cleanliness with fan and splashes of decor. Entrance is
through the host family's living room. Across the street is the friendly Hotel y Restaurant
Sun Breeze (tel. [phone] or 5898-2665), where clean, simple rooms with mosquito net-
ting and fan go for $10 d in shared-bath accommodations or $13 d with private bathroom.
The owner is expanding to include a dormitory. The helpful staff can do your laundry and
also arrange reasonably priced transport or guided tours to area attractions such as Tikal
and Yaxhá.
OnthedirtroadrunningalongsidetheLakePeténItzáshoretowardCerroCahuíBiotope
are a number of very pleasant budget accommodations set far off from the noise of the
main highway. Hostal Casa Mobego (tel. [phone]) is a popular place, also known as
Casa Roja. Rooms with shared bath are housed in attractive stone and wood cottages; beds
on a concrete base with squishy foam mattress and mosquito netting cost $5 per person.
There is a nicely decorated main house where breakfast is served ($5) and dinner ($7) can
be arranged with a bit of notice. There's also a book exchange, kayaks for rent, and the
staff can arrange minibus transportation anywhere you may need to go. As you continue
along the road, a few steps away is Casa de Doña Tonita (tel. [phone]), offering five
simple wooden cabins, all with shared bath and hammocks on balconies affording lovely
lake views for $4 per person. A night in the five-bed dorm will set you back a mere $3.50.
There is a nice dock out front over the lake with hammocks. Hotel Don Ernesto (tel.
5750-8375) is another budget option in this neck of the woods where you have a choice of
rooms with shared bath for $4 per person or slightly nicer rooms with private bath, ceiling
fan, and deck with hammock for $27 d. A restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Farther down the road as you approach the entrance to Cerro Cahuí is Hotel y Restaur-
ante Mom Ami (tel. [phone] or 7928 -8480, www.hotelmonami.com ) , with a variety of
accommodations from a six-bed dormitory with shared bath at $5 per personto bungalows
with private hot-water bath costing $16-33 d. The lodge is owned by ecologist Santiago
Billy,apioneer ofPetén'senvironmental movement whohasfoughtformany years forthe
preservation of the Maya Biosphere Reserve.