As our big family Christmas present this year, we took the kids to Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins at Tikal. (just an aside here for those of you who, like my kids friends, believe that the Mayan people are extinct. The Mayan empire died out for sure but there are still large communities of Mayan people living in Central America. They have a distinct look and culture and most still practice the ancient Mayan religions) So, on the 26th we all piled in the car and headed out to Cayo. We had found a fairly inexpensive resort in San Ignacio where we could stay and they do a day tour to Tikal that we could get in on. The resort was very quaint. More like camping than resorting. The cabanas were cute and very, very clean which was the important thing for us.
The kids had one cabana and we had another which was also great for all involved. The first day, after signing up for our tour, we took a walk to the river. The road we walked along was nicknamed 'iguana's lover's lane' by one of the other tourists. It's true! There was at least one iguana in each tree lining the shore of the river. I can't see that there was much lovin' going on, though. There seemed to be an over abundance of male, and we didn't see one female, iguanas.
The next morning, the dining room opened early just for us and by 6:30 am we were on our way. Within an hour, our hosts had us through the border loaded into a van in Guatemala and we were on our way down the road headed for Tikal. It's a two hour drive from the border to the ruins and the scenery is beautiful. Guatemala (as I've probably said before) is a beautiful country.
After entering the park gates and driving up to the ruins, we discover that there are no english guides available for at least an hour. There is, however, a lovely little Guatemalan man that speaks english only slightly better than we speak Spanish (un porcito) and we agree that we will be fine with him. His name is Naftali and he is very fun. It was actually more fun, I think, to have to work at communicating than it would have been had we found an English guide. Naphtali took us straight to temple iv so that we could climb it and see the view before the crowds started to gather. Later we were very grateful for this foresight! The temple is being worked on but we were still able to climb the millions (OK maybe not but it felt like it) of steps to the top. It was amazing!!
That was the last climb of the day for me. Alfred and the kids did others but I am not fond of heights and once I'd conquered that climb I no longer felt the need to prove myself! I'm sure you'll concur when you look at the next pic which is of the next climb we came to. I should point out that the Guatemalans are really not much better than the Belizeans when it comes to safety measures!
The ruins are the most elaborate and well restored of any we've seen. Originally the city of Tikal comprised all the land 16 km in all directions from the centre. All of that was paved roads and buildings. The guide we had said that to see the ruins properly and in their entirety it takes about three days. There are hotels on the site and people do stay there and take the time to really see it all. We are not that obsessed with ruins nor could we possibly retain more info than we got. It was totally overwhelming. We did buy a couple of books at the gift shop that explain everything so we can go back over it at our leisure.By the time we made our way to the town centre (so to speak) there were hundreds of people everywhere. This is when we realized how smart our guide had been. It would have been a crowded, frustrating mess trying to get to the top of temple iv in that crowd but seeing so many people milling about this part of the city gave us an idea of what it would have been like back in the day. It also helped to put the size in perspective. The last pic I have for you is of the main plaza and the last word I have for you is this: if you ever get the chance go to Tikal.
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