We just wanted to say we absolutely loved your place....you have thought of everything....the National Geographic was a great touch.  The staff was friendly, the rooms immaculate, and we loved the grounds.  Tikal was amazing and we really enjoyed ourselves.  Thanks so much!

Sincerely,
Rhonda Green
Geoff Sader

Feb. 7 - 13, 2003.From: "Phil Scarry" <pscarry
To: lacasadedondavid@yahoo.com
Subject: A great time
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 06:58:59 -0800

I just wanted to tell you what a great time my friends and I had in El Remate and staying in your accomodations.  We were there from Feb. 7 - 13, 2003.  The service was excellent.  We felt very safe and very welcomed in El Remate.  I especially wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed Oliverio Mateo as our guide.  He was an excellent birder and full of Mayan History.  Oliverio also went so far as to show me around after hours to attend Mass twice.  You are very fortunate to have him there.  Pedro was also our driver for several days.  He as well was excellent.  I hope to return one day for another visit.

If I was to mail something to Oliverio, would you be able to get it to him?  I told him I would mail some pictures of where I live in California.  Thanks again.

Phil Scarry
p.s.  All of our trips were wonderful.  I especially liked the trip to Ceibal.

(2/27/03)
Wesmuckenfuss  wrote:
David: thanks for the help on my recent trip to El Remate. I spent Sat.night (2/27/03) at LCDDD, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The facilities were very nice, and the staff very helpful. Food was good, and I liked the way the restaurant served as focal point and sort of lounge with reading material (National Geographic, etc) on area attractions.

I had been to Tikal 20 yrs ago, and enjoyed the revisit. Went on to Uaxactun for first visit, and later to Ceibal, Tamarindito, Arroyo de Piedra, Dos Pilas, Duende, Aquateca, and Chimino. Great area for interesting travel.

I plan to return to LCDDD in future. In the meantime, feel free to use me as a reference for LCDDD if needed.

"res.evires" <res .fr> wrote: Jan 2003
hi David and everybody,
i just want to thank you so much for your kindness and you hospitality we stayed in your place on december 27 for few days, we had a big room for six, and we enjoyed ous stay very much your wife and you are very nice persons, and you helped us a lot, in finding veryd nice bus driver from el remate to rio dulce, and you drove my cousin to flores to the bank thank you also to all your staff, they are very nice people too you price are very reasonable, and your place is quiet , safe and clean good luck and thanks again
bernard chevron and co...
france

Tuesday, April 2002
Dear David,
I am sorry that I delayed in writing you a Thank You note. After vacation it is always hectic getting caught up. We wanted to let you know that we had a great time in Guatemala and a lot of that was due to your help and suggestions. your Inn was great, we enjuoyed the gardens, food, the lake, and the dining room overlooking the plants and flowers. I haev to tell you that I was a little anxious about bringing two girls to Guatemala, but would not hesitate to do so again. If we aer able to make another tirp or have friends that plan to make a trip, we will be sure to contact you. Do not hesitate to use me as a reference should you need to.  On another note, I have to tell you that I really found the wood work intereseting, and if I came back would try to visit some of the area that make hardwood furniture. At your Inn and the place we staned on San Pedro, we really liked the wood doors. Not something you see here very often... It appears that Guatemala is very focused on increasing tourism and working on the safety factor. That will greatly venefit the area, as the toruists will bring some much needed dollars hopefully.  Again, Thanks for everything, and perhaps we will see you again someday!
Blake, Patti, Carly, and Jessica
Hurst, Texas

Tuesday, November 23, 1999

WE ARE IN PARADISE!  This is how I describe the small village of El Remate, our beautiful hostal, Don David, and the Mayan Ruins of Tikal that are set deep in the jungle!

Rich and I decided to leave our little beach town of Panajachel yesterday and travel to Tikal to see the famous Mayan ruins there.  In order to do this, we had to take a 3 hour bus ride to Guatemala City and then a 9 hour night bus ride to Santa Alena.  After arriving in Santa Alena (Flores) at 5:00 a.m., we were faced with the obstacle of how to get to Ramate, where we would hopefully be staying.  As we got out of the bus, many people offered us rides...for a large fee.  We went with a collectivo which charged us 20 Quetzals per person (under $3 per person) to take us to the doorstep of Don David.  Don David is a beautiful hotel with an open air dining room, beautiful white tiled, clean bedrooms with private bathrooms and a porch which overlooks Lake Petén Itzá.  There are a lot of trees in the back yard as well as hanging hammocks.  At the price of $16, we decided to stay immediately!  As we ate a delicious breakfast in the open air dining room, we saw a parrot fly up into the tree right next to us!
---http://www.2goglobal.com/2GoChronicals/Kelly%20Travelogue/Central%20America/guatemala.htm

El Remate
        Something special is the Casa de Don David in El Remate. This is a new hotel at the border of the lake outside Flores. It's run by an American and his Guatemaltese wife. They charge 60 to 90 Q for very clean rooms (8/98). They have a shuttle leaving for Tikal leaving at 5:30 am and coming back at 2 pm (30 Q). You can eat à la carte at noon, in the evening there's a fixed menu.
---http://www.1000traveltips.org/flores1.htm

FAVORITE ACCOMMODATIONS:
(this takes into consideration value, service, cleanliness, comfort, atmosphere and scenery)
    1.  Olonana, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya--Luxury safari camp.  Huge tent with hard wood floors and private porch overlooking the hippos playing in the Mara river.  Food, drink, game drives and walking safaris included.  Service impeccable.
    2.  The Samba, Galápagos Islands motor yacht--floating luxury in the most amazing of destinations
    3.  The Peninsula, Bangkok, Thailand--perhaps the nicest hotel room we've ever stayed in, and all for only $85 a night
    4.  Cliffside studio in Oia, Santorini--eating breakfast on our porch overlooking the Aegean Sea, we decided that this was one of our favorites.  If you are ever in Santorini, contact Manos at 09777948.46.  He will hook you up with your dream studio in the darling village of Oia.  $45 per night.
    5.  Tabo Cottages, Danao Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia--Comfortable traditional batak cottage with loft.  Fabulous views and friendly owners.  $6-$8 usd per night for the honeymoon suite.
    6.  Golden Sands Resort, Ko Samui, Thailand--great value bungalow on the beach.  $29 per night.
    7.  Casa de Don David, El Remate, Guatemala near Tikal--clean with a great setting and a wonderful open air dining room with great food.  $16 per night.
---http://www.2goglobal.com/2GoChronicals/best.htm

* DON DAVID'S BUNGALOWS, El Remate: Located about 2 miles north of the intersection of the main road from the Belize/Guatemala border and the road from Flores to Tikal, this is a perfect stopping place for visits to Tikal and Lake Peten Itza. After entering El Remate, his place is about 200 yards past the first building on the left or west side of the road to Tikal. Over the past two years I have stayed at Don's and found it charming and very reasonable. David Kuhn and his lovely wife and daughter run a very clean, small set of about eight rooms that sleep from two to six. The main house is two-story and includes the office and storerooms on the first floor with a kitchen, dining room, and the owner's living quarters on the second floor. There are four outbuilding that house nice size rooms, each with its own bath. There is no electricity in El Remate, but David uses solar collectors and a generator to power up batteries to power the 12-volt lighting. (The hotel now has electricty and fans.) Water is from a community spring that he filters. I treated it again just for caution's sake. The showers are clean and well made of ceramic tile. The buildings are well kept and the rooms are very clean. The windows are screened and we did not suffer from mosquitoes. Obviously there is no air-conditioning or fans, but being near the lake, it is not too bad. There is a slight breeze from the lake in the evening. There is a thatched raised open hut that has four hammocks strung that overlooks the lake which is due west less then 50 yards from the back of his property. Sunsets are very nice and some elect to sleep here. There is a sandy beach, quite small, about 100 yards up the road that is open to the community. There is a seven-foot fence around the hotel, and you can park your vehicle inside the fence next to your room. David's wife cooks excellent meals on request and will pack you a lunch if you plan to be out during the day. The meals are family style with some choice each day. Fresh fruit and vegetables were always available. David is formerly from Florida and much of his hotel shows his Florida background. He has made extensive use of local materials and help, but it would make most visitors feel at home. His family helped to make me feel at home. The discussion during the evening meals were very interesting. During my visits he had guests from Israel, Denmark, England, and Germany. I believe they all felt at home. The stay is about US$5 to $8 per person per night depending on the room. Three of us stayed for $22 in a room with one double bed, two bunks, and a single. Meals are US$2 to $3 for breakfast and US$3.75 for lunch or dinner. There is a community phone +502-926-0269 that you can call to make an appointment to reach David or his wife. If you tell them it is a fax call, they can handle that as well. He will take reservations. He does not accept credit cards. He does offer a fair rate of exchange for US and Belize currency and will accept traveler's checks. Hint: Take Guatemalan currency, Quetzales Q25 for entrance fee for Tikal. The federal ticket taker will take US currency, but only at a lower rate than you can get anywhere else. It is about 6 Quetzales to 1 US dollar most places, but at the gate, they will only give 5 to 1. Bruce McNellie, May-June 1997
---http://www.turq.com/belizefirst/reader_reports/Tikal.html

I returned to Flores and wandered about the streets of Flores a bit more, before returning to my hotel, packing the bike, and riding back across the causeway.  My destination was the village of El Remate, at the eastern shore of Lake Peten Itza, 35 miles from Flores, where the hospedeje La Casa de Don David is located.  I planned to stay 2 nights, going to the
ruins at Tikal tomorrow.  David, an ex-pat American from Florida, runs the place with Rosa, his Guatemalan wife, and their young daughter.  David, had actually built and started  the first jungle lodge on Lake Peten Itza  in 1,974.Local people call him a gringo perdido.  In the early 80s. when the civil war started, tourism dropped way off, "going out like a light" as David said. He held on for a couple of years, but the cash outflow was more than the income, and finally in 1984 he sold the hotel  for $15K US dollars.  When the civil war wound down in the late 80s and early 90s, David and Rosa
started up their current place, La Casa de Don David. Currently it has 6 rooms and he is building 4 more (now 14).
There were couples from Israel, Holland, New Zealand, and Germany staying at Don David's.

Monday October 14

I got up at 4am, in order to get to Tikal, and the top of Pyramid 4, by "sunrise".  I had Rosa make me 2 sandwiches the night before.  The road was paved the 18 miles to the park, but for the 3rd time this trip my PIAA lights came in handy, as I encountered several horses standing in the middle of the road.  I say "sunrise" because the jungle is generally shrouded in fog, and one cannot actually see the sun rise.  What one sees instead from the yop of Pyramid 4 is the fog slowly lifting and
disapating, and then surrounding temples slowly materializing out of the mist.  The pyramidal mound which forms the base of the pyramid, has not been rrestored, and one has to scramble up a series of ladders, and over tree roots and rocks to reach the stone temple at the top.  The final ascent to the top of the temple roofcomb, was via a vertical steel ladder up the side of the temple.  I stayed at the top for several hours, watching the fog and mist come and go, as the surrounding temples disappeared and reappeared.  Toucans flew among the treetops far below us, and several troops of spider monkeys played in the treetops at our feet. In the North Acropolis of the Central Plaza there were several huge, well preserved masks on the fascade of one of the temples.  I stayed at the ruins from 5:30am till 3pm, wandering the jungle paths, exploring the hidden rooms and courtyards of the numerous plazas, and climbing the pyramids for great views of the surrounding ruins and jungle.  There were a few short showers during the course of the day, but for the most part it was sunny, hot, and humid.

As I was putting my riding gear on to return to El Remate, I heard what sounded like a motorcycle approaching, and shortly two bikes pulled up, a Honda NX650, and a Kawasaki KLX 650.  Shaul and Lior were Israelies who had bought the bikes in San Francisco, and were touring through Central America.  Amazingly, they had left San Francisco 2 days after me, and from
Mexico City on, had followed roughly the same route as I had through the Yucatan Penninsula, Belize, and into Guatemala. From Tikal they were also going to be heading south through Guatemala, and then south through Central America to Costa Rica.  In Costa Rica they were going to be joined by several other friends from Israel, and they planned to sell the bikes
and buy a jeep for therest of their trip through South America.  I told them where I was staying and they said they might stop by later that night.

After dark that night, David took us out to the back yard with flashlights to catch Tarantulas.  They have small circular tunnel-like burrows among the rocks at the edge of the garden, and they hung out just outside their burrows.  One had to quickly block the hole to prevent them from retreating inside.  Then David would pick them up and show us their
formidable looking pinchers.  Then he would set them down, hold his hand or arm alongside them and they would climb up his arm.
---http://www.micapeak.com/stories/DougRuth/96-10-19.html

Arriving in El Remate I pulled up at Casa de Don David, where I would be staying tonight in preparation to make my assault on the grand-daddy ruin of Tikal in the morning. I got a nice room on the lakefront for Q75 ($12) and strung my hammock out front. Don David informed my that dinner of Spagetti would be at 7:00 these evening if I cared to join the rest of his guests. Sounded fine. David is originally from Texas, but came down to the shores of Lake Peten Itza in the 70's to build a vacation cottage. Well, it soon became a guest lodge and he found himself down here running it year-round.  In the 70's David said it was all the rage for Americans and Europeans to buy a VW bus in the US and drive it down into Central America camping out all along the way. In the '80's the Guatemalan civil war forced him out for a few years, but he's back now, married to a Guatemalan woman and the place is a den of activity again. These days David says he sees few folks driving vehicles down from the North anymore, prefering to fly down and travel by local buses- but Im thinking that perhaps the next golden era
of Central American road trips will be those on  dual-sport motorcycles. (Im certainly  doing my part...).

Over dinner I made the acquaintance of a British couple  Nigel and Dianne who were English and Scottish respectively. They had been to Tikal today and were raving about it. They adivised: dont miss viewing the sunset from high above Temple IV (the tallest pre-columbian structure in the Western hemisphere). Others I have spoke to said be sure and get there
early as that´s when the birds and animals are most active. So it seems as though it will be a long day at Tikal tomorrow.

May 12 El Remate  (Tikal) mi: 38187
I was up at 5:30 and on the road to Tikal within a few minutes thereafter. It was just starting to get light out. At the entrance gate I paid my Q50 ($8)entrance fee and then entered Tikal National Park. It was another 15 minute ride thru the jungle before I arrived at the ruin site around 6 AM. Mine was the first vehicle in the lot. I proceeded directly to the grand plaza and scaled Temple II which put me right about the height of the jungle canopy. As I sat down with my feet dangling over the side of the temple´s back wall I could hear all kinds of exotic birds calling as well as the demonic sounding howler monkeys roaring in the distance. I then pulled out my binoculars and as I gazed out into the jungle canopy I could hardly believe what I saw. The tree branches were packed with all kinds of exotic birds, many of which I couldn´t identify, but some were unmistakable: I spotted a pair of Keel-billed Toucans in the branches of a nearby tree. Just spectacular. One launched into flight and it was truly amazing to see this topheavy bird with a nose as long as its body fly. It looked like if it stopped flapping its wings it would sink like a stone. I also saw numerous large amazon parrots and even a large Pale Billed woodpecker, pecking away high on a tree trunk. Also, numerous Black Vultures, and a few Oscellated Turkeys. Walking around under the jungle canopy I  spotted a howler monkey as well as a few spider monkey up in the tree branches. There were many mischeivous raccoon-like Codamundi´s milling around as well. But by 8:00AM the jungle began to heat up and it became a ghost town with all the animals seeking cover from the heat. I checked out a few more structures in the Grand Plaza and then made the 1 km journey over the the Temple of Inscriptions before seeking out shelter and sustenance at the site´s restaurant. In the midday I checked out the site´s two fine museums and by 4:00 was back out to finish my tour of the ruins where I would try to be up atop the pyramid in El Mundo Perdido (The Lost World) around sunset. I climbed upTemple IV (the big one: 64 meters) Very impressive views of the grand plaza and Temples I and II. From there I headed over to the pyramid, arriving about 15 minutes before closing time. At the base of the pyramid, several campers were discussing the possibility of spending the night at the top. For Q50 apiece, the guard agreed to overlook this blatantly illegal activity. Soon they were all on their way up with sleeping bags and camping gear in tow.

Just before sunset I headed back down and made my way back to the entrance. I wanted to be back on the road before dark and back at Don David´s for dinner at 7:00. I made it just in time. After dinner I consulted David´s Birds of Guatemala book to ID all my sightings. I know I´ve forgotten a few but just to have seen the Toucans and Parrots was more than I had even expected.
---http://www.warp.org/~rob/journals/980508.html

We stopped at Don David's, a Floridian who married Rosa, a Guatemalan, and moved down to Guatemala 25 years ago, and now runs a nice guest house.  We lucked out and got their last room.  By 1:00pm, we were under a grass roof palapa relaxing  in hammocks sipping ice cold lime-aide as we looked over the beautiful blue Peten Itza lake feeling the cool
breeze blow over us. In between and after lunch and dinner, we spent the rest of the evening
talking with other travelers staying here.  David brought out some large insects that he had picked up around here, and pinned in a box. Of these included a 5 inch male elephant beetle and the female counterpart, a peanut head beetle, scorpion, stick bugs,  a whip spider, etc.  He usually takes people out and shows them the tarantula spiders in the yard, however, he was tired after travelling today, and promised he would tomorrow evening.
---http://www.roadkill.com/~davet/worldtrip/journals/970823.txt

Overnight trip to Tikal (Guatemala)

If you can spare the time, don't go on an organised trip. We were easily able to do it for less than half the cost by ourselves - it was very straightforward (ask Wally at Tropicool Hotel), bus to border, bus to El Remate (at the turn off for Tikal), stay over at Don Davids (great place on the lake) and take bus at 5.30 am from Don David's to Tikal to return by 2.30, in time to catch bus around 3.30 or 4.30 back to border - all for less than $35 versus the $85 the tour companies charge! Tikal is great to see for the site (great wildlife etc., such as toucans, parrots, and little furry animals as yet unidentified by us!). You can really imagine what it is like to discover ruins, as everything is hidden in the jungle. There was less to see than we had expected though and overall we felt the ruins in Mexico were better.
---http://www.appleonline.net/nic.dent/JABS/overall_plan.html