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It is very difficult to describe just how wonderful Tikal is. It compares to Cichen Itza and to Palenque though it is as different from either of those as they are from each other. The diversity of Maya civilisation should not be so surprising as it did go on for the best part of a thousand years - and, of course, the culture persists. I don´t think it was ever a static thing and communications between the various centres were, I think, different from the kinds of communications we take for granted. Not better nor worse but different.
Anyway, the monuments are monumental. They have dug up the big stuff. The very, very big stuff. It is possible to run from temple to temple, climbing the steep and rickety wooden staircases provided like it was some kind of theme park. We were just too hot for that. But we did see nearly the entire site although it is absolutely huge. We arrived at around 10 30 in the morning and caught the 5 pm bus back to Flores.
All these massive high temples stick out of the jungle, so you can see them from a distance but you tend
to get right up close to them before you even notice that they are there. I doubt if the pictures I have taken do them justice.
We were surprised to see so little wildlife in the quieter places we visited first. This is because it was all hanging round the central plaza where the visitors drop their snacks! The coatis are very, very cute. They have long ringed tails and wiffly noses. I took several photos. They are practically tame. There are black crows with white tails and fronts, very red birds with yellow tails, flying mango birds of various varieties and we did see two types of toucan. One small type (probably collared toucan) who hang out in fruit trees and a hornbilled toucan (guiness bird) who hangs out in the carpark.
We also saw a couple of spider monkeys.
I am not sure how such a place can be adequately described. All I can say is go if you possibly can. And.... take water. By lunchtime I was beginning to wonder why we hadn´t brought tea bags as the water we bought in the morning was hot enough to make tea. Sort of. Fortunately there
were plenty of stalls selling soft drinks (which also grew progressively warmer as the day progressed).
I think the animals come out more in the afternoons. Certainly we saw more between 3 and 5 than we had during the rest of the day. Except the coati.
Didn´t have much energy in the evening. Took a long shower. Got one of these huge litre and a half bottles of beer with two glasses and watched the remains of the sunset. Found dinner. Went to bed.
Today we are doing little but my phone photos have finally uploaded!
Tikal is definitely one of the ´must see´places in the world.
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Heather
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I really enjoyed your Tikal post! It's funny to hear that some of toucans hang out in the car park! Not what you expect to hear from the jungle! My blog is looking for travel reviews, photos, etc, to share. If you have the time, check it out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email me at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com. Continued fun on your travels! Heather :)