TOWERING TIKAL

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The overnight bus to Tikal was okay, we both managed to sleep better than expected and were soon arriving into Santa Elena. We were not sure where to get off as Santa Elena and Flores are so very close to each other. Flores is an island joined by a causeway to the mainland. In the end we went to Flores first and then back to Santa Elena. We got straight off the bus and Tim went to get our onward tickets to Belize the next day. With that organised we found a tuk tuk and gave him the address of our hotel, it is 6.30am and already hot! The night porter did not speak english but we managed to confirm he had received our booking from the agent in Copan which was a relief. We had to wait until 7am to check in though so we just waited for the staff to arrive. She checked us straight in and after a quick shower we waited for our bus to Tikal. It was late by about 45 minutes but eventually we were underway.

Tikal is one of the prize Maya sites, it has some of the best preserved and highest temples. Set in the heart of the jungle the write up for Tikal in LP sounds impressive so we knew we could not miss this. Before we started this trip we had never even heard of Tikal so our knowledge is ever growing as we hop skip and jump around the world. The journey to the park was much longer than we expected at just over an hour. It was yet another bumpy, hot and dusty route and by the time we got there the heat of the day was immense, it was only 10am. We bought out tickets and planned a route following the advice on the map with the full day we had. We started on the outskirts of the park and the plan was to work our way through the ruins finishing at the apparently breathtaking main plaza. Our first encounter was on a small scale with some temples and religious symbols that had been reclaimed from the jungle. Interesting enough but we soon set off again into the jungle. It is jungle by the way you can hear many movements and noises from the trees and it is home to may species of animals including the jaguar, howler and spider monkeys not mentioning the odd croc or two in the lake. The map became a little confusing though as the next area listed was showing two temples but all we could find was two piles of rubble. We scratched our heads and wondered around and then finally realised that even though the map showed them in their full glory they had yet to be uncovered and restored. We felt a little cheated by that and found similar situations along the route we had chosen to take. It is truly amazing (must find a new word) how they manage to reconstruct these buildings when you see how the jungle has completely strangled and swallowed them into the vegetation. There are rocks everywhere and like Copan you could really go on forever in places like this. The maya people settled at Tikal in 700BC and the city prospered over the following hundreds of years. Whenever people talk about the maya they talk about the classic period which is when many of the maya cities reached a large population and stature. Tikal at this point would have been home to 100,000 people, covering 30 sq km. In 1848 over 2500 years later the Guatemalan goverment sent an expedition into the jungle to find the lost city. Pretty impressive thing to discover I can imagine if a little unnerving to be packed off into unchartered jungle!!!

We passed from untouched ruins to small partially reconstructed temples. Climbing a few to check out the views but they were not overly impressive on a wow look at that scale yet............

Eventually we arrived at the IV temple which promises great views of the surrounding area. You cannot climb the actual temple stairs anymore due to safety but the park has constructed wooden stairways so that you can still reach the tops. After the 5 minute climb up in the sticky heat we arrived to a cool breeze and a wonderful sight. Acres and acres of jungle, that is all you can see for miles it stretches on and on and it suddenly dawns on you that this is most definately in the middle of a jungle. The only other time we have seen jungle as dense and massive was in Sri Lanka some years ago at Sigharia rock. At this point we were getting quite excited about seeing the main plaza too as out of the tops of the many trees we could see the peaks of the temples there. We enjoyed the view for a while waiting for our sweat to subside (no such luck) and soon we were heading back down. After stopping for a much needed refreshment at the bottom we set off again for the main plaza. As we walked underneath the jungle canopy the path in front of us opened out into a lush green grassed area. As you look up from the ground there are two towering temples opposite each other with other large building complexes on the other two sides. It was getting towards lunchtime and people were picnicing in the shade. The heat was really ramping up now and both of us were feeling quite tired by it. We were determined to climb the one temple that you can though and arrived dripping and panting at the top, lovely!! The view was well worth it though and as the centre of this once great city sprawled before us we sat and wondered just how much more we can find to impress us on this trip. The fact that it is over 2500 years old and only partially restored is a great achievement for the workmanship. Can you imagine our houses being expected to stand for all that time, we struggle with high winds!!! We spent a while wondering around the residential and official quarters before heading off the climb our last temple.

Temple V is set off from the main plaza, I´m not sure of all the significances of the many many temples that are here. There are so many of them and the info about them is sketchy. The maya were very religious people though and as we found in Copan it was based around the solar calendar. The wise people would use the gods for control of the masses and to keep an order in the city. We found our last temple and boy was it high. The wooden stairs were extremely steep and it was a very hot and sticky climb again. Finally reaching the top I turned to find Tim looking slightly disturbed behind me. I forget how much he hates heights and he sensibly clung to the wall edge as there were not even any barriers up top like the others. The view was very good though the best of them all we thought as we looked out across the peaks of the plaza and onward to the jungle. It was nice and shady too so gave us a chance to cool down. Neither of us were pretty keen to start the journey back down the stairs though. We both gave a sigh of relief when we hit the bottom!! As the buses left every hour back to town we took a brisk walk out of the park and enjoyed the much sought after shade from the baking heat. There are more areas to explore at Tikal including the lake but for us it was just too hot and we both felt we had seen what we wanted in the 4 hours we were there. If we were to do it again though I would prefer to get up there for the first walk of the day at around 6.30 you can only do this by staying in the park. I think it would have been much cooler and definately not so many crying kids. Wherever we go we seem to find the petulant child that just wants to scream its head off!!!!!!

we hadnt eaten all day so we took the hour journey back to Flores and found ourselves a restaurant by the lake. We had a couple of refreshing beers and then realised we would need to get some cash. The ATM Tim found was locked and the restaurant did not take credit cards. We paid for our drinks and moved onto a bar that did. It was a much nicer setting and we sat back and enjoyed a few more beers and some much missed argentinian steak. I was most disturbed when it first arrived with Kraft cheese slices melted on it, how can you do that to good steak??? They were quickly removed. The sunset was simply the prettiest either of us have ever seen. Honestly it was the fullest, clearest and most orange (is that english) we have experienced. Both tired and weary and with another 6am start we headed back off in a tuk tuk back to Santa Elena. It is only a few minutes ride but out tuk tuk managed to break down. Tim ended up sitting in the front while the guy told him to stop and start it. I am stood on the pavement readily enjoying my fast melting ice-cream. The tuk tuk burst into life and Tim with the devil in him decided he is going to drive the short distance left. The driver finds this quite entertaining and happily sits in the back with me. Well.....chug, chug, ahh it has gears, chug chug oh were running smoothly now.....oh steer round the corner at speed....excellent idea..chug chug..ahh change gear. The driver is now leaning into the front assisting as I amuse myself at both their expenses. Tim comes to a very abrupt holt outside our hotel where the staff look slightly bemused at the fact the driver is not in the front. Funny end to another long and interesting day. Off to bed and off the Belize the next morning.................................

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Photos

Sneak preview of the grand plaza
taken from temple IV

Residential area
Grand Plaza

Temple inside the residential area
not easy to climb in 95 degrees