Turning 25 & Visiting Tikal!

---

14th MAY 2009 - A LOVELY DAY IN FLORES ON MY BIRTHDAY!!
I woke up at around 6am but dozed until around 8am. It didn't feel like it was my birthday...not even when Nat popped her head over the bed and said "Happy Birthday" as well as reminding me that I was another year older. I always remind myself though...getting older is mandatory but growing up is optional. I opted out of growing up a few years ago!! I knew it would be strange to celebrate a birthday being away from home but I hoped I would have a nice birthday anyway.

Once dressed we went for breakfast and I ordered my usual treat of yoghurt, granola and fruit. We sat in the breakfast area chatting to Jon (the guy from Devon) for a bit before getting ready and sorted for our day at Tikal. The bus picked us up from the lakeside at 10am and so we made sure we were there in plenty of time. It was shame I didn't get chance to phone home that morning as I knew with the time difference, it would be too late when I got back. I still received loads of texts though which was nice and gave me mixed emotions...sad to be celebrating away from all my family and friends but happy to experience a birthday in a different country!! Lovely to hear from everyone though!!

The bus journey to Tikal took a while! I was really glad that we had chosen the 10am bus and not any of the buses that set off at silly o'clock. I mean...5am, 6am and 7am!! I would have been outraged at having to get up at that time!! Getting back into the early starts is going to be tough when I get home...I am disgusted at the thought of getting up so early to do something I actually want to do, so getting up to go to work is going to be a real shock to the system. I wonder if flexi time has been incorporated at my work place yet?!!

As we arrived the bus driver spoke to us about the dangers of the park. He explained how big it was and advised us to stick to the paths and said we should buy a map if we didn't want to pay for a guide. He then went on to talk about some of the animals we may encounter. I was fine at the monkeys part but when he contunued to chat about flying snakes (yes really) and jaguars, I was none too happy. I wasn't sure if it was just the broken English language translation that made it scarier but he definitely mentioned accidents happening frequently and used the word 'Death' more than once!! Imagine...having travelled the world for 8 months and reaching the home straight only to be eaten by a Jaguar in the final 2 weeks. Talk about bad luck!! I vowed to keep my eyes peeled though I doubted I would be able to stand still If I saw one as advised. I would be sprinting away faster than a speeding bullet...or at least the running speed of a Jaguar!!

Off the bus we paid the entrance fee and bought a map each as a little souvineer as well as to help us find our way about. Just inside the entrance there was a big version of the map on a stand....gutted...we could have just taken a photo of the map for free!! Tikal was 16 square km in size and was considered to be one of the most monumental cultural reserves of Guatemala. Loads of ruins from Mayan times and lots of animals too to watch out for as you know from our warnings on the bus!!

Tikal was unlike any of the other ruins we had visited. It was so spread out and located in the middle of the rain forest. Parts of the ruins were still undiscovered and lay amongst the trees. Maybe today would be our turn to become Indiana Jones and make a discovery!! The whole place reminded me of a lost world; a place forgotten in time. It was really beautiful and peaceful too. Not at all busy like some of the other ruins and at times there were only us 2 around (and the jaguars of course...ready to pounce). We did bump into a few other people along our way but not many. Pretty cool place.

We headed first to Group G on the map which were the old palace ruins. There were remains of tunnels that you could walk through and we scared ourselves a tad with talk of being trapped in one of the tunnels by a jaguar. It didn't help that you could hear the Howler Monkeys in the distance that sounded more like roaring tigers than gentle howls. No kidding...those things sounded scary and the name was not at all suited to the sound they made. Once we had explored the palace remains we set off towards Temple V.

Temple V was humongous!! 57 metres high and the steps up to the top were ridiculously steep as well as being really worn. I guess worn buildings and stone is the idea of them being ruins though!! The ruin steps had a barrier around them anyhow and weren't to be climbed. As we walked around the side and past the steps to get a better angle we saw a set of wooden steps that you could climb. These steps were steeper than the ruins and could not be described as anything other than vertical!! I mean they really were a joke and I'm not sure how there hadn't been any deaths on them previously. To be honest, if it were those steps or a Jaguar, I would have been tempted to take my chance with the Jaguar!! They really weren't safe or particularly sturdy and I doubt they had been assembled by anyone with the skills of Ted Glen. Even so, we decided to give them a shot...I mean it would have been rude not to really!! Nat who really really dislikes heights was pretty petrified but she plucked up courage and chose to set off first as she wanted me to get some pics of her on the way up. She was trembling pretty badly as she slowly made her way up. Her hands were white as she clung on for dear life. One slip or loss of footing and you would have been sent straight to dead place!! It was bad!!

Even though she hated every second, she kept climbinbg and once she was about half way up, I followed. Heights really don't bother me but even I felt my pulse raise a little as I got nearer to the top. There certainly weren't any safety harnesses if you fell and falling was an easy thing to do. I made my way slowly to the top and joined Nat with my back to the wall on the ledge. We were damn high and the view was awesome. You could see other ruins poking out of the top of the tree tops. It really was a lost world hidden among the trees. Quite amazing!! Nat was rather pale and pretty shakey. She did not like being up there at all and was panicking about having to climb down again. I tried to chat to her but I don't think it helped. She took some deep breaths and went to climb down. I offered to go down at the side of her but she said it wouldn't help...she just needed to focus!! I felt so sorry for her. I know what its like to be petrified and it really isn't nice! As she made her way down I stayed at the top for a while longer to enjoy the view. Felt like a different world!! Once I had seen Nat at the bottom and felt happy that she had got down safely, I made my way down too. I didn't think going down was as bad but it was still pretty hairy. One wrong move and I would have had it!! Thankfully, I wasn't as clumsy as I had been during the rest of the trip and made it down safe and sound. A chinese guy at the bottom looked petrified just looking at them and congratulated me on my effort. He said he wouldn't have gone up even for the best photo opportunity in the world!! Knowing the chinese and their fondness for taking photos you can understand that it really must have been bad!!

Once Nat had calmed down and stopped shaking, we headed onwards to try to find the Grand Plaza section. We bumped into an American couple and their guide along the way. The guide told us to follow him as they were heading to Temple IV and he knew a short cut. We felt a bit rude as we had not paid for a guide but followed anyway at his request. We did hang back though whilst he was chatting...didn't want to intrude of course. It wasn't anything to do with the fact that we were worried he may charge us at the end!! As we went through the forest we heard loads of rustling in the trees and looked up to see loads of Spider Monkeys swinging about above our heads. It was pretty cool to see. There were loads of them and they were rapid!! We monkey watched and hunted for a while as the guide took us to the best spots to see them from. It was also a case of avoiding monkey poo!! They pàrted with poo droppings so much it was like rain drops. They were one type of raindrop that I did not want falling on my head!!

Enough monkey business and we continued on our way to Temple IV passing Munde Perdid along the way (another ruin). We saw two guys in front of us strolling along and one of them looked filthy. His back was covered in dust and Nat commented that it looked like he had slid down the ruin steps by the colour of him. It turned out to be the 2 Aussie cycling guys that we had met at the border yesterday. Said they had been there since around 7am and Mike had taken a cat nap in one of the ruins, hence the colour of him!! The other one introduced himself as Maxi!! Maxi...come on...thats not humans name surely...its more suited to a pet of some sort!! Still....cycling the whole American continent was pretty manly so I managed to overlook the name. Still called him Max though...couldn't bring myself to say Maxi!! Too weird!!

The guys joined us and we walked with them to Temple IV. Standing 70 metres high, it was the tallest temple in Tikal. No horrid stairs on this one though. They were much more gradual and kept switching back so there weren't as many in one go. Once we were as high as we could go we sat on the temple steps and chilled there for a while. Again it was like looking out on to a place forgotten in time. So peaceful apart from the roaring monkeys and the wind in the trees. Ruins were poking out of the top of the trees again and it was nice to sit there and relax for a while whilst chatting about our respective trips. I thought it was a really cool way to be spending my birthday!!

After Temple IV we headed to the Grand Plaza section passing Temple III which was almost totally covered by rainforest. Temples 1 and II were at the Grand Plaza as well as numerous other ruins. It had definitely been the most sacred area of the Mayan settlement. Again it was like a lost world with only us 4 wandering around it and climbing up and down the ruins. Not sure how Mayans manged it as some of the steps were so so steep and Mayans were known for being very short. Everyday must have been a challenge for them and I would put money on it that their toilets were located on the ground floor for when they needed it in a hurry. No chance of getting up those steps quickly!! We learned about the sacrifices that went on and saw some of the slabs used to cut out the hearts and chop the heads off. Sounds lovely doesn't it?!! Nat and I were disappointed that there were no fake axes to recreate the image for a photo!! Typical tourists that we are!! We walked around and explored the Grand Plaza and then wandered further through the forest and checked out group H before heading back to the carpark to wait for the bus.

It had been a really cool day so far. Mike and Maxi were 2 of the most interesting people I had met travelling. Never mind Ewan McGreggors Long Way Down on a motor cycle. Those 2 should be filmed doing what they're doing. So laid back too as they told their stories, like it wasn't really anything special at all to cycle around 90 miles each day across so many countries!! Max wanted to carry on forever and said he may not stop at America. Wouldn't surprise me if he didn't go on and cycle the rest of the world!! They were so normal too...not arrogant or idiots..one of them even had a beer belly!! Typical Aussies!! Really funny too and had a similiar sense of humour to us. Laughing about a group pf Americans who they had seen climbing down the awful set of stairs earlier. Apparently their words were "Yeah...smashed it bro...we smashed Tikal" as they jumped up and down and high fived!! Typically American...love it!!

Maxi said the hardest part of their trip had been when they had taken part in a 5km fun run. he said it almost killed them!! Though they were cycle fit, they hardly walked anywhere and so they had to use musles they hadn't used properly for ages. I laughed a lot...can cycle 90 miles per day easily but struggle to run 5km. Unreal!! I really was gobsmacked by their stories of their trip so far. They really were leading a different life! They were carrying tents and had camped every night often for free after the local people had taken them in. Granted, they sometimes told a porky pie and said they were Pilgrims to gain a camping spot!! They ate the same pasta meal almost every night and swore by garlic as it makes everything taste good apparently. They hardly washed (little pongy I must say) and wore the same set of clothes for around 2 weeks before changing to their other set. Yes, they only had about 2 sets each plus some warmer stuff for the winter months. Too much to carry otherwise and I could see their point after our efforts in new Zealand. 2 weeks cycling and sweating in the same clothes...ugh!! You couldn't dislike them for it though as they were doing such an amazing thing!!

Really laid back guys too...worse than certain members of my family who are practically horizontal (mentioning no names Uncle John). They didn't have a map or a route plan or a cycling bible like we'd had. They took each day as it came and worked from a photo of a map they had on their camera. Crazy!! Laughed when I saw the camera case too...made from Polysteriene!! Apparently, it was a project Mike had been planning for a while after losing his. I must say it was a good effort and pretty sturdy though personally I would have used a waterproof material. There would definitely be an opening for him on Blue Peter with those camera case making skills! If he could do that with some polysteirine, image what he could do with a couple of kitchen rolls and some PVA glue?!! Max was the most laid back of the 2. He talked about cutting his own hair and how he always burnt his ears so had left 2 tufts of hair over his ears to save money on suncream. True to his word, he had 2 earmufs of hair!! Brilliant!! I loved chatting to them and could have listened to story after story. They really should think about writing a book...would definitely be a best seller!!

Back at the carpark, we went to sit with them by their tents for half an hour before our bus came. They had so little stuff and yet were so content. Really was a lifestyle choice they had made and it suited them. Laughed loads and was amazed at how they kept in contact with home. Pushed a button each night, which sent a message to the internet and showed their families on google earth where abouts they were in the world!! Genius!! I didn't even know such technology existed!! Would have been perfect for my mum to stop her panicking!! As 5pm came, we said goodbye and left them to eat their daily pasta whilst we headed to the bus for the journey back to the hostel.

The bus journey felt long again. Chatted to a dutch guy for a while who asked how old we were. Made me remember it was my birthday as I had to say 25 for the first time ever!! Really funny when he asked me when my birthday was during a random conversation about life goals. When I said 'today' his face was a picture and he shook my hand like I had just achieved something great!! At one point the driver shouted a spanish explitive and slammed on. I thought a dog had run out in front of the bus or something but soon realised he had failed to see or slow down for a speed bump. I shot out of my seat and hit my head on the roof!! Who said I wouldn't get given the bumps on my birthday?! I was glad it was just one bump though and not 25...hurt a tad!!

We got back to the hostel at around 6.30pm and headed straight to the eating area. I didn't fancy going out as it had been a really long day so we decided to eat another vegetraian meal at the hostel. I ordered Veggie Lasagne and a banana yoghurt drink which Nat kindly paid for as part of my birthday present!! Very tasty and so filling!! Whilst waiting for our meal she also presented me with a card and gift that she had carried around all day in her bag looking for the right moment. She said she would have given me it at the top of one of the temples but the first one had been too scary and the second we were with Max and Mike and she didn't want to embarrass me!! Bless!! No idea how she managed to buy anything as we had not spilt up even for a second over the past few weeks!! Either she can do magic, there are 2 of her or she was just very sneaky!! Either way, it was really nice!! She bought me some earings which were lovely and gave me her copy of American Phil's contact card as she guessed that I may have misplaced mine!! How thoughtful of her!! She also got me a spanish card though neither of us knew what it said. Really funny. It had 'Amigo' on and so we knew it was for a friend but other than that it could have been a valentines card, a congratulations on your new job or anything!! It played a tune too but it definitely wasn't happy birthday!! I will make it my job to translate it when I am home!! Really glad Nat was there with me to share my birthday and she made it as nice as she could for me knowing that it's not great being away from home.

After food, I checked my emails and facebook messages...got lots more birthday wishes and some nice messages which made me even happier. Really had enjoyed my day!! Emails done (I gave myself a night off from blogging) I sat back on the sofas with Nat, Jon and Isaac (an American guy who had just joined us. We all chatted for about half an hour or so and I tret myself to another yoghurt drink. No alcohol at all....on my birthday!! You may ask who I am and what I have done with the real Debs but I just didn't fancy it especially as I knew that I had an overnight bus to catch later that night. After around half an hour, the staff brought out a big ice cream bowl with a candle in the top. Isaac had seen Nat give me my birthday gifts and so had asked the staff to make me a treat up as everyone should have a candle to blow out on their birthday. Those who were around sang happy birthday and I made a wish as I blew out the candle. I almost cried as it was so nice for him to do that for me when I had only met him 30 minutes ago. Another plus for the Americans...going up in my estimations!! Really really touched and made me realise how special travelling is. Just small gestures like that make all the difference to your day and I had a bigger smile on my face than usual! I have met so many people along the way and each one (good and bad) have only added to the experience I have had so far. I have met so many cool people along the way and chatting to new people every day and making new friends is probably the thing I will miss most when I get home.

Despite ice cream being my most favourite thing ever, I had already eaten a big lasagne and drank 2 thick yoghurt shakes. I was stuffed but I didn't want to seem ungrateful and so I tried to squeeze it in. I really did need a valve attaching to my stomach to let some food out though. New stretch marks were forming with every spoonful I put in and I had to admit defeat about half way through the bowl. Now for those that know me well, you will understand that leaving some ice cream did not come easily. I was really pushed to my limits! It will probably go down in history as the one and only day of my life that I did not manage to finish my ice cream!! It is not a mistake I will ever make again!! Still, it didn't go to waste as Jon and Isaac tucked into what was left and polished it off. Made me feel better about leaving some anyway!

After chatting some more, 9.30pm soon arrived and Nat and I went to the room to get our stuff together. It was a good job too as the taxi was early. We said our goodbyes to the guys and headed in the taxi with 2 other girls to the bus station. It turned out that the bus didn't even set off until 11pm and so we had to sit around at the station for an hour. I spent my time chatting to Nat and thinking about the day I'd had. Really had been lovely and so different to any other birthday I have had or probably will have. 11pm came and we boarded the bus. Not a minibus like we had been on previously and so I had high hopes for being able to sleep most of the way despite the seats not reclining. What I did not anticipate was the driver taking the bends like Colin Mcray. I flew out of my seat and into the aisle numerous times and at that point I was so glad of my decision not to drink earlier. I did eventually manage to doze though!! 25 years old.....next stop....Guatemala City!!

---