A world of mystery to explore

After Antigua I headed up to Flores to visit the great ruins complex of Tikal. On the way though I stopped briefly (in transit) in Guatemala city, late at night. I jumped in a taxi and between bus stations noticed a guy with a shotgun standing on the street. This hasn't been unusual outside banks and the like but this guy was stood outside a very cheap family restaurant. I asked the cab driver (in my pigeon Spanish) why there was a guy with a shotgun outside and he said 'well you know it's a violent place'. To which I said 'yes but it's a restaurant!!' and then he said 'yes but they need it'. So, friendly place then?!

Anyway the next morning I arrived at Tikal where I was spend a night in a tent that I rented from a campsite there, which I was too tall for and even when I lay diagonally across it I still had to bend my legs slightly when lying down.

I was expecting massive ruins that were over run with tourists and tour groups but was pleasantly surprised to find the place was, if you go late in the afternoon or early morning, deserted. It's incredible. So so much has yet to be uncovered and the complex is HUGE. I watched some local maya people for a while doing a ceremony in the center of the grand plaza one night, which shows the place is still very much an active centre of worhship. There was a fire going and they were burning all sorts of things and praying to the four cardinal points/temples.

The first evening I climbed up one of the big pyramids (not the tallest by far but it offers great views - the big one in the lost world complex) and sat down for sunset. I couldn't actually see the sun because it was too cloudy but nevertheless the sky turned red and there were no people to be seen. All I could here was the sound of the jungle around me - and it really is jungle. I boiled myself some water using my little gas stove and had perhaps one of the best latte's ever made in the history of man... Thankyou to whoever invented instant latte!

The next day I got up early and did the same thing - climbed that pyramid and sat down to enjoy the sunrise by myself. After an hour or so though a tour group climbed one of the nearby pyramids and spotted me. I got told off so made my way down and started exploring some more. Later in the morning lots and lots of tour groups come but it's easy to avoid them and, for most of the day, I felt like I had the whole, huge, complex to myself. I'd stop now and again to watch spidermonkeys in the trees or a humming bird drinking pollen or a pair of hornbills hopping through the trees. There's so much wildlife there.

I had wanted to get a guide but bought a little book instead because it was going to be too expensive and I'm so glad I did now. Having the place to myself and being able to take my time was so so good. OK so I didn't perhaps learn as much as I would have with a guide but I learnt other things from the book that a guide would never have told me and the peace and quiet was well worth it. After a tour from a guide I'd have had far less inclination to go around myself afterwards to all the same places and spend time there.

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