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Though accessible by bus and boat, the traditional villages of San Andres and San Jose , across the lake from Flores, have until recently received few visitors. Sloping steeply up from the shore, the streets are lined with one-storey buildings, some fashioned out of palmetto sticks and thatch, some coated with plaster, and others made from brightly painted concrete. Pigs and chickens wander freely. Getting to the villages is best achieved by using the lanchas (US$0.50 to San Andres, 25 min; US$0.75 to San Jose, 30 min) which leave regularly from the beach next to the Hotel Santana in Flores and from San Benito , a suburb of Santa Elena. A chartered expreso from Flores or San Benito will cost around US$9. Regular morning buses leave from the market in Santa Elena for San Andres (some continue on to San Jose; if not, it's an easy 2km walk downhill from Santa Elena). Lanchas and buses return when full throughout the day at regular intervals until 5pm. Most outsiders in SAN ANDRES are students at the village's language school , the Eco-Escuela. Since nobody in the village speaks English, a course here is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in Spanish without distractions, though it may be daunting for absolute beginners. There are currently no hospedajes in the village, but 3km to the west you'll find the luxurious Hotel Nitun (tel 928 8132, fax 928 8113, www.nitun.com ; US$40-60 including transport from Flores), which offers accommodation in thatched stone cabanas with hardwood floors and private bathrooms; the restaurant serves superb food. The hotel is also the base for Monkey Eco Tours (same contact details), who organize well-equipped expeditions to remote archeological sites. Perched above a lovely bay, 2km east along the shore from San Andres, SAN JOSE is even more relaxed than its neighbour, and also has a language school, the Escuela Bio-Itza. The village is undergoing something of a cultural revival: Itza, the pre-conquest Maya tongue, is being taught in the school, and you'll see signs in that language dotted all around. Over the hill beyond the village is a secluded rocky beach where there's a shelter to sling a hammock and a couple of cabins to rent. Beyond San Jose a signed track on the left leads 4km to the Classic period ruins of Motul . The site is fairly spread out and little visited (though there should be a caretaker about), with four plazas, stelae and pyramids. It's a secluded spot, ideal for bird-watching, and probably best visited by bicycle - borrow one from either of the villages or rent one in Flores.
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