“Stay on the path while in the jungle or a jaguar may eat you. Don’t swim in the lagoon or you might make the crocodiles mad. Have a good time, and I will see you in a few hours,” said the boatman as he left us on our own. Arriving by boat to a tiny island in the middle of Lake Peten we knew that this was going to be a much different zoo experience than we were used to.
Passing the ticket counter to the zoo we were immediately greeted by some free roaming boars. They seemed pretty friendly. I am sure if I wanted to they would have let me touch them. However after watching them roll in the mud I decided to let them be. Walking through the zoo, some of the animals were caged and others were not. Some of the more dangerous animals such as the jaguar and the puma were separated by big pits. Going to the zoo, one needs to be prepared for a lot of walking. Terrain wise I’d say it is comparable to the San Diego Zoo (a lot of going up and down hills) in California. The main difference is there are no shuttles within the zoo and you are walking through a very hot jungle (should of brought sun screen). After about 2 miles worth of walking we were done, but there are trails that go out to about 4 miles.
The Petencito Zoo in Flores, Guatemala is a nice little diversion to those staying in the Flores / Santa Elena area. For 130 quetzales ($19 usd) you can hire a boat to the zoo. (That’s per boat, not per person.) The boat fee also includes a scenic tour around Flores Island. From the boat we had great views of Flores, Santa Elena, and San Miguel. The zoo tickets cost us 40 quetzales ($7.25 usd). Being under 6 AJ wasn’t required to pay. The zoo operates from 7 AM-5PM.