Hello from Guatemala! And Happy Mothers Day to all you nervous mothers constantly checking the blog to make sure we are alright!
Yesterday we made an early trip to Tikal (530 am departure) We booked the trip through the hotel we are staying at here in El Remate called The Casa Don David. The hotel booked our group with a local English speaking guide named Luis. So far on this trip we have been on countless guided tours, and Luis wins my vote for best tour guide. He is full of energy, fun, and information about the flora, fauna, and ruins of Tikal. It was refreshing to hear multiple beliefs about how the Maya's lived rather than our guides stating their personal beliefs.
If their was one word to describe Tikal it would be breathless. This is due to the feeling you get from the top of a pyramid or temple when you look around and endless rainforest rolled out in front of you all the way to the horizon with peaks of other temples proudly jutting out above the canopy. The feeling of breathlessness may also be partly due to the 100's of stairs it took to reach the top. It was like doing the StairMaster in a sauna.
Every temple and pyramid we climbed had is own purpose and character. Some had a wide plateau at the top, where it was comfortable for our group lounge and in Laura's case do a handstand. Others had a narrow ledge where I would be hugging the rock as to not roll down the enormous drop. The most breathtaking of all the temples was temple number IV. As Luis said "you have not done Tikal until you have climbed temple IV". This is the temple that appears in the Star Wars movie. From the top you have a view of all the other temples in 120 degrees. This is the tallest of all the Mayan temples. At the time of the Mayans from this temple one would be able to see the activity as far as some of the ruins in today's Mexico. We did not get to climb all the way to the top as it was being restored and further excavated at our time of visit. Even as far up as the 1st ledge, this was the highest that we climbed today.
Tikal is located in the lowlands of Guatemala. At first this seemed strange to be as it appeared that we were surround by hills. This is when I realized that these mounds are not hills at all, but Mayan ruin sites waiting to be uncovered and holding their secrets under the thick vegetation that covers them today.
Most tour groups are given a quick in and out tour of Tikal. Thankfully this is not how Luis runs his tours. He leaves early so we can experience the wildlife in the morning before the animals go into hiding from the hot sun. Then toured us around over 5 sites explaining each unique purpose and the careful planning the Mayans used to build each one of these sites. As a result, instead of only climbing temple IV's 53 stairs (very steep) we climbed over 500. Some of these were in the form of wooden ladders build to reduce the risk and impact of climbing the original steps, and others were the stone work of the Mayans created centuries ago.
The thing that intrigues me the most it the though of what Tikal is going to look like in 10 or 50 years when the temples have been further excavated and new sites have been discovered. Through pictures there have been 1200 sites estimated to be within Tikal, most of which are waiting to be uncovered.
Carolyn
