Today is Monday, March 20th. Bruce and I returned to Antigua safe and sound after a very tiring and sometimes perilous journey around Guatemala. Sumec Champey behind us let me continue with our story last Wednesday.
We arrived in Flores after several stops and a 40 minute situation where the shuttle driver was trying to collect money from one of the young men who said he paid at the hostel. After phone conversations and arguing back and forth, we were back on the road for the last five kilometers of our trip. According to our itinerary, we were supposed to be dropped off at a hotel where a shuttle driver from our hotel in Tikal was to pick us up. Of course that would be too easy. Instead, we were dropped at the travel agency and then had to walk several blocks to the hotel – our backpacks were getting heavy and we were exhausted from the 10 hour drive in an overcrowded van with no air conditioning. But hallelujah! Moses, yes his name was Moses, was waiting for us. I could have kissed him. And his shuttle was air conditioned, and comfortable. I thought I died and went to heaven. How we get used to these creature comforts! He even stopped so I could take a picture of a sunset on Lago Peten Itza.
We arrived at Jungle Lodge in the dark, but I could see it was beautiful. Our junior suite had a little porch, netting over the beds, and a bathroom with a tub. It was lovely. I wanted to stay a week.
Bruce and I freshened up after the long journey and then went to the restaurant for dinner. I had chicken crepes and Bruce had pork. The dining room had a tropical feel and you could hear the sounds of the jungle outside. During our stay we always ate at a quiet little table in the corner.
Since we are in the jungle there are many nocturnal sounds and many bugs. I decided to take a bath and while I was in the tub Bruce told me he killed a scorpion with his boot. I was thinking the small, pale scorpions I have encountered at home. This one was large and brown. Not knowing how poisonous these are, we went to the front desk and had them spray our room. Apparently, they won’t kill you but they will hurt a lot. I had dreams all night that scorpions were crawling into bed with us.
We woke to the sounds of birds and perhaps a howler monkey or two. Bruce thought it was a jaguar until later in the day he heard a howler out of control. We took a walk around our courtyard and saw a toucan. I also saw another bird but I will have to have my friend Barbara look it up.
Breakfast was delicious and then we waited on the veranda for our guide to show up. A bird person was sitting there when a white collared manakin flew in. We also saw a Rufus tailed hummingbird which was too quick for me to capture with my camera.
Our guide this morning was Lloyd. I’m not much for group tours but he was able to impart some helpful information about the ruins. There was only seven of us in the group and it turned out to be fun. Our first stop was the East Plaza where we saw some turkeys and a tarantula web, as well as some ruins.
We proceeded on to the Grand Plaza where Temple I the king and Temple II the queen were located. Temple I is also known as the Temple of the Grand Jaguar. Temple II is known as Temple of the Masks. The outer buildings were the north and south acropolis where royalty lived and were buried. The carved stones and rounded stones in front were where they sacrificed people.
We climbed Temple II and had a view of the entire plaza. Temple I is not open for climbing. The round fire pit in front of Bruce and I is used today in Mayan ceremonies.
The highest structure in Tikal is Temple IV also known as the Temple of the Two-Headed Snake. It was built around 740 A.C. Climbing to the base of the crest, we sat on a staircase high above the tree tops. There was no guardrails at the top and after a few minutes it felt a little unsettling sitting so high up without any barrier to keep from falling off.
On our way to lunch we spotted a family of howler monkeys and spider monkeys. Lloyd started making howler sounds and moments later a large male howler started grunting and growling.
After our tour we walked back to our hotel for a quick dip in the pool and to rest up because we wanted to go see the sunset at Tikal.
Bruce and I returned to the park just before sunset. We had to climb Temple II to watch the sun shine on Temple I. Can you see anything in the top part of Temple I?
It was a great day at Tikal and we made arrangements with a guide named Elmer to meet him at 4 a.m. to see a sunrise in Tikal. Elmer was an excellent guide who has been studying the Mayan as well as the Inca cultures. In the dark he brought us to the north acropolis where there was a Stella which was completely covered and in good shape. He showed us how to understand the Mayan language through their hieroglyphs. We climbed Temple IV to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy morning so the sunrise was not as spectacular as the sunset.
As we walked through the Lost World we heard a growling sound. Elmer said we were in the jaguars territory and he thought that was a jaguar. We saw several different birds and an emerald toucan but the lighting was so poor that I could not get a good photo.
It was a wonderful morning in the park. Bruce and I had breakfast and then we were off to Livingston and Rio Dulce.
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