John's take on Ancient Tikal

Tikal

In the early morning dark we climbed into a bus that had seen better days, along with our rucksacks and fellow travelers and firm friends, each taking our place in what was becoming a routine understanding of individual needs. I was tall and legs need to go somewhere, for others a window seat or a seat at the front was important.

After an hour drive we arrived at the “theme park” like entrance to Tikal.  Eva and I studied in awe a model of Tikal, the amazing ancient ruins of a Mayan city found in the rainforest in Guatemala that was once the capital of one of the most ancient Maya Kingdoms over 2000 years old.

Coatimundi

After a quick orientation on the model we set off through the rainforest with our guide, first noticing the gangs of Coatimundi; monkey like reddish brown mischievous creatures darting about all over the forest floor, with dense short fir, brown and grey noses, large round brown eyes and brown thinly haired ears and long tails.  They are great fun and a little cheeky. During our stay at Tikal we also came across the stunningly beautiful Oscillated Turkey and a Toucan who stubbornly hid in his tree. Eva and everyone else could see him so he was obviously just hiding from me.

After what seemed like an hour we arrived at our first temple and climbed a rickety old stairway with what felt like over 400 stairs to get a brilliant view from the top of a temple of the whole of Tikal, or we would have had it, had it not been so foggy.

At other sites the ruins are uncovered and reconstructed. At Tikal it’s a bit different, with many of the sites left as they were found or with one or two sides of the temples uncovered and renovated.  This gives you a sense of both what the 19^th century explorers found as well as the magnificence and sheer size of some of the temples and buildings.

Other temples and structures have been fully restored and uncovered and you understand at some deep internal level as you touch and feel them the amazing ingenuity of the people who over a thousand years constructed them.  It is a strangely deeply moving and humbling experience.