Trapped in Tikal

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A little difficulty getting to and staying at the Guatemala's most famous Mayan ruins made finally seeing them that much more rewarding.

As I said in my previous entry, after the splendour of Semuc Chempey, the town of El Remate on the Lago Peten Itza was a bit of a let down. I'm not sure if it was just because it was the low season for tourism and the place looked like a ghost town, or whether we just had high expectations due to all the hype we had heard from other travellers.

The Hostal El Mirador admittedly had a wonderful view. We were close to a cerro (nature reserve) and there were some decent restaurants. Somehow the place lacked enthusiasm or soul. Either way we decided to stay in Tikal for the second night.

We made the mistake of trying to hitch a ride along the main road to the parc a little too late in the afternoon. We probably should have been out looking for a lift by 2h00pm, but by the time we got down there it was more like 3h00. We hoped to get to the parc for 4 or 5 so we could get tickets that were good for the next day (if you buy them after 3h00 they stamp them with the next day's date.)

We finally hailed one of the last local buses going in that direction. We jumped on, breathing a sigh of relief, and got a whole 50 feet before the bus broke down! Out we climbed and, about 10 minutes later a packed collectivo came bumping down the road. We gratefull squeezed in like sardines and began our journey once again to Tikal. The driver stopped at the gates, which are about 17kms from the parc entrance, so we could buy our tickets then let us off in the main parking area.

Important Info for anyone visiting Tikal and going by the Lonely Planet Guidebook

The book talks about a public campground with cabanas where you can pitch your tent or rent a little place pretty cheaply for the night. THESE CABANAS DO NOT EXIST! They must have torn them down recently. We got to the site and discovered this with no way of getting back to El Remate and no tent to pitch outside. So we tried to rent a hammock at one of the cheaper inns. They had none left. Even the cheap rooms were booked. We ended up with the option of having to pay $86 (670Q) for a room in the fancy hotel or sleeping on the ground outside.

In any other circumstance, sleeping on the ground would have been a feasible option, but we were in a nature reserve. We splurged for the room and in the middle of the night as I listened to the crazy animal noises coming from outside and watched the massive bugs creeping all over the walls of our porch I was really glad we did.

If you're going to try to stay at Tikal for the night, get there and buy your tickets at three on the nose and try to check yourself in right away. Otherwise, try to reserve ahead of time. There are always a ton of big groups, especially in the high volume months from June to August.

The next morning we woke up at 5h00am so we could get into the park when the gates opened at 6h00. Figuring that the comedores around the parc would work according to this schedule, we planned on stopping in for breakfast at one of them around 5h30. None of the comedores were open. Luckily, we had a couple of bread rolls and a can of tuna fish in my bag that we had bought the day before, planning to have lunch in the park. We hastily slapped together some tuna sandwiches and made our way down the lush green path into the massive parc.

We had tried to tour the grounds the night before after the 6h00pm closing time. In doing this, we discovered why they don't really need to have a security guard keeping people out. Once the sun goes down it gets really dark, really fast. The nocturnal animals that live on the reserve are not the type you really want to be tangling with. This was enough to keep me out.

But doing the little bit of exploring before hand helped us figure out which way we wanted to head first. Another piece of advice: spend the 10Q on a map. Totally worth it. But you don't have to stick to it if you're not interested. There are a ton of random little paths that lead into the jungle to smaller unrestored ruins and just generally run different ways. Make sure you don't get yourself lost though. The place is pretty damn big.

If you're a birdwatcher, be sure to bring your binoculars along. The species here are spectacular. The colors are vivid and bright. Toucan, green parakeets and McCaws were just a couple of the species that I could name off the top of my head. Oh, and wild turkeys and peacocks!
They strut and flap along in the underbrush next to the path. The best time to see most of the animals is either super early morning or at dusk. We even glimpsed a spider monkey, my second monkey sighting in as many days.

The temples here are as tall and as steep as they come. The park admin have even forbidden tourists to climb temple one since two sightseers died while either climbing or descending the steep, narrow steps. Some are so narrow you can only fit your toes on it. Most of the other temples are equipped with modern staircases (read: ladders) with handrails. There are lots of others with massive stone steps you can haul yourself up too. Each one is quite a climb, but you get to the top smiling and sweating and panting with the most unbelieveable views as your reward. Endless green jungle stretches for miles, the tops of the other temples, palaces and structure groupings poke out of the surrounding flora. We even stood on the palace where they shot one lone little scene for one of the Star Wars movies. Still haven´t been able to figure out what the name of the planet was. We think it was in the Empire Strikes Back and it's where the rebel base was camped out. Dantooin? Endor? If anyone can tell me...

We watched the end of the sunrise from Temple IV. People used to bribe security guards to let them camp out on the top of this temple to watch the sunrise. They say you can't do that anymore, but if you can get your way into the park after dark as easily as we did, you should have no problem. If you get caught they apparently won't let you back in. We just figured we'd say we got lost on the way out. Very plausible.

Unlike Chitzen'Itza (maybe not the right spelling, but you get the idea) in Mexico this place hasn't been completely theme park-ized. By protecting and preserving the surrounding plant and wildlife, they've managed to keep some of the quiet, awe, mystery and sanctity that surrounds these relics. Mind you, we weren't exactly visiting in peak season when the droves of tour buses come and go from Flores everyday.

There isn´t a day where there are none, however. And we jumped on one with two empty seats for the ride back to Santa Elana. Very cushy! From here we moved straight onto a bus headed for Poptun.

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