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From Tikal we drove through Flores and San Andres, stopping to restock on supplies. We then headed north toward the remote Mayan ruins of El Mirador, which contains the tallest Mayan temple, El Tigre. The sun was setting so we pulled off onto an abandoned road that was blocked by some logs. We moved the logs and parked out of sight from the main road. In the morning we packed our backpacking backpacks for the five day trek through the jungle. Just as we were leaving, we saw a man and his son wielding machetes approaching. They were very friendly and didn't mind that we were on their property. They were on their way to a hard days work clearing a field, getting it ready to plant. We parted ways and hit the road.
We arrived in the town of Carmelita and inquired about the trail to El Mirador. The lady we asked happened to work arranging such trips. She wanted to set us up with some mules and a guide, but all we wanted was a map and a safe place to park the truck. She insisted that we would get lost because there were too many side trails.
Eventually we gave in and hired a cheep guide ($20 a day) to take us to these remote ruins, but we insisted that we wanted to carry all our own equipment. She fed us coffee, hand made tortillas and soup as we waited for our guide to get ready. The lady let us park our truck at her house where she said she would look after it.
Led by our trusty guide Geronimo, a five foot tall, 53 year old Guatemalan, we embarked on our journey into the jungle. Carrying only a machete, burlap sack and a Whinny the Poo bag, he hiked with a swiftness and determination, challenging us to keep up. With a very fast pace we covered about 15 miles in around four hours and arrived at the ruins of Tintal. We climbed to the top of a tall unexcavated temple where we later watched the sunset over the jungle canopy. Some of the archaeologists working at the site were kind enough to show me some of the ceramics they had dug up. It's an indication that they don't get many tourists when they allow you to hold and analyze some beautiful, ancient, Mayan pottery, many
of which still had reminants of paint and faint glyphs on them. I also was shown an interesting Mayan spearhead.
The next morning we rose with the sun, ate our standard ration of oatmeal and set off on an enjoyable 20 mile hike through the hot, humid, tick infested jungle. I opted to wear pants, choosing to be hotter but less vulnerable to the bugs while Andy selected shorts and proved to be a tick magnet. In all he had to remove over 30 ticks from himself, a few in a very vulnerable area. I only had three which was still more than ideal. Hiking with heavy packs and a swift pace, I quickly worked up a fierce sweat. Some backpackers try to shave ounces, minimizing the weight they have to carry. Not me, especially when it comes to food. We decided to carry ample amounts of onions, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocados, and eggplants, enough fresh vegetables for 4 nights of good eating. Due to our semi extravagant dinners, our guide and some of the resident archaeologists started calling me "El Chefe". On the outskirts of El Mirador we checked out a tomb in a small temple of
Los Muertos. Once we reached the main ruins we set up camp, ate a snack and took naps. After, we saw a few ruins including El Tigre, the tallest of the Mayan Temples. It's barely restored and takes a little imagination to picture it in its former glory. At the top is a great view and a perfect place to enjoy a breeze, relax and think.
What is "me", who am "I"? Am ''I'' my physical body, the representation of my genetic code in this transient, perpetually changing, aging orientation of cells? Am I my mind, my memories, the accumulation of a lifetime of thoughts and experiences? Is there something deeper, an eternal soul that wears my body as a temporary glove, who will one day cast off this shell to be reborn or transcend to the afterlife? Do I reside somewhere still deeper, in the supreme oneness some call god? I can draw the lines but can they be erased? I close my eyes and try to relax, each breath long and deep.... Is it possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness, Nirvana, detachment from the ego? My mind resists, thoughts stir as sparks fire in
Moon Rise, Sun Set
On Top of El Tigre my brain. Is consciousness simply an equilibrium of organic interactions in my my head? If reality is my senses filtered through my brain, how much control does my mind have on my experiences? What is really going on up there as I try to probe its depths? Can I find the answers hidden in its darkest niches? How far do its corners reach? An endless universe trapped in my skull. Be still, I breathe deep and exhale, be still.... My preconceptions affect my perceptions of the moment and reflection and analysis further contort my memory of the experience from the purely unbiased form. What is real, is it what I can taste, smell, touch, hear, see? What are thoughts, are they electric pulses contained in the three dimensional space inside my skull? My thoughts can affect my actions, which can affect other peoples thoughts and actions, but can solely thoughts affect other people? Is there some kind of invisible string that links us all together in an interconnected web of existence? Could it reside in another dimension we are unaware of? Quantum mechanics and string theory indicate that there are 9 possibly 12 dimensions. We know of 4, 3 of
space and 1 of time. What could the others be?
We woke around 4:30am to see the stars set and the sun rise. It was about a mile walk to La Danta, the most massive temple of the site. Like el Tigre, it's topped with three smaller pyramid structures. By the time we reached the top, the near full moon had set and the sun was still far below the horizon, allowing us a great view of the stars above. The milky way was strewn across the sky, a beautiful sight to see. The combination of standing on top of a huge, ancient, Mayan temple, the stars above and the significance of these celestial bodies to the Mayan, instilled a great sense of awe and wonder in me. Slowly the eastern sky turned a light blue then pink as the stars faded from sight and the sun peaked its head above the horizon. Venus, could still be seen above the horizon where the sun was rising. Due to its relatively close orbit to the sun, Venus can be seen near the sun just before and during the sunrise or just after the sun sets depending on its stage of
orbit and is thus referred to as the morning and evening star. After the sun had risen to a sufficient height, morning stretches and bird watching, we returned to camp for breakfast and naps. Later in the day we investigated the rest of the unexcavated and partially excavated ruins of El Mirador. For a small tip, the archaeologists let us into a locked tomb that they are currently working in . It contained a huge, red, well preserved, Mayan, stone head that was about 10 ft in diameter and still retained its red paint and facial features, representing one of the Mayan gods oft he underworld. Another group of tourists arrived riding a train of mules. These five Americans were the first tourists we'd seen in days. They were a friendly group of students taking language school in Xela and recommended some things to do when we got there. They also highly encouraged us to see the caves and turquoise lagoons at Semuc Champey. We talked for a while then went to eat dinner before ascending El Tigre for the sunset. Sitting above the jungle canopy, watching the sun fall behind the western horizon, the sky changing from blue to
a combination of orange, pink and purple, then back to a dark blue, stars slowly dotting the sky until it was speckled with millions of twinkling lights.
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Josie Thompson
non-member comment
Mirador Trip
Hi, I love your page but, you haven't had any comments yet. Please join my facebook group SAVE MIRADOR BASIN and you will see a very large community that is getting involved. We would love it if you could write about your experience and/or post some photos/video. Gracias, Josie