Tikal

Another interesting day! But the 'interesting' bit I could have done without!

We had a good night's sleep punctuated by jungle noises - quite loud at times, presumably monkeys but this is a renown birding area so it could have been birds. We saw howler and spider monkeys yesterday at Palenque but I have not heard the howlers here yet.

It was wonderful to have a sleep-in this morning although I was awake around 6 a.m. or thereabouts anyway. But no rush!! We have a tour at 9:30 a.m. so we can enjoy a relaxed breakfast.

Our lodge is in a beautiful jungle setting; the staff are very good and most speak reasonable English. It's the usual jungle set-up: generator between 5:30 and 8 in the morning and again in the evening to 10 p.m.

Eulogio was our guide for the Tikal archaeological park. He was very knowledgeable and very well-spoken.

Tikal is different from other sites we have visited for the sheer height of the temples that tower above the jungle canopy. This was a very important Mayan city with a population of about 90,000 about 695 A.D. but was abandoned about 950 A.D. and swallowed by the jungle for a millennium until 1848; but major excavation work did not start until 1956. It was declared UNESCO protected in 1979.

The Gran Plaza is a highlight with the Temple of the Great Jaguar (Temple I) and the Temple of the Mask (Temple II). The tallest pyramid at 70 m high is Temple IV (Temple of the Double Headed Serpent) which one can climb via a wooden staircase for views of the tops of 3 other temples rising up out of the jungle. Hopefully this is the last Mayan temple I have to climb!!!

I particularly liked the Lost World Complex (Mundo Perdido) with the Great Pyramid of the Lost World. It was very peaceful here as we seemed to have a lull in the crowds at this point.

Again, like yesterday, the jungle setting made this a very pleasant site. We had a lovely wander and saw howler monkeys, agoutis, ocellated turkeys, coati; we even got a sighting of a relative of the quetzal (the national bird of Guatemala, as well as its unit of currency).

And we saw a huge Ceiba tree. The ancient Maya of Central America believed that a great Ceiba tree stood at the centre of the earth, connecting the terrestrial world to the spirit-world above. It is also the national tree of Guatemala. I was especially pleased to see this tree as it featured in one of the books I read for this trip - The Years with Laura Diaz.

The Gran Acropolis with residential buildings was the final part of the site we visited; we had not seen this setup before. We had mainly seen temples and houses of the nobility, not those of the ordinary people.

It was 1 p.m. when we finished - just time enough for lunch and a quick shower before we had to check out.

Given our plane wasn't due to depart until 8:50 p.m., we elected to take a lift into Flores, 65 kms away (the airport is just out of Flores). With our bags secured at a hotel there, we set off to enjoy the town which is on an island joined by a causeway to the mainland.

Flores turned out to be very pretty and a little investigation found that the cost of drinks was a fraction what we had been paying out at the Jungle Lodge where we had been staying (Q50 vs Q9 for a mixed drink)!! We 'snagged' a great spot on the water to watch the comings and goings before strolling on further.

Lots of gringos here.

We whiled away the time meandering around the streets. A food market was in operation near the waterfront and there were lots of yummy and colourful looking foods on display. We had to try a piece of cake as there were some enormous and wonderful looking cakes on display. We had a slice of piña (pineapple) cake - huge!! Only Q10 (just over a dollar; $US1.33 to be exact).

Nice sunset over the water.

Taxi then to the airport where our suitcases were MANUALLY checked, can you believe it?! What a performance.

Mundo Maya airport has to be one of the dullest, characterless airports I have ever been to. Our flight to Guatemala City is scheduled for 8:50 p.m. (it actually leaves about 25 minutes early).

We are duly collected but, on arrival 45 minutes later in Antigua where we are looking forward to having a shower and going to bed, we find our B&B does not have our booking; there's no telling who has stuffed up and at 11 p.m. I'm in no mood to really care. Between our driver and the receptionist, there are many phone calls - presumably to other hotels and the agency that made the bookings. A place is thankfully found, eventually - not far away. Sadly no hot water but room is nice; the receptionist is somewhat sour however.

And we have to move again tomorrow (we have 3 nights in Antigua). Hmmm .... our city tour is booked for 9 a.m. Not much time for sleep.