Guatemala Day 9: TIKAL

"In this remote area, one of the greatest civilizations of it's time established a city that endured for centuries. Set in the jungle canopy, the site today consists of over 3,000 structures extending over six square miles including temples, palaces, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, terraces, avenues and plazas. The Maya began building Tikal around 600 B.C. and at its peak some 1,500 years ago. Tikal was a wealthy metropolis, home to an estimated 100,000 Mayans, as well as an important religious, scientific, and political center."

This is an artists rendering of the whole park:

We had such a blast today! We started off at 5:45AM entering the "park." We didn't have breakfast or any water but we knew there would be vendors inside so we didn't worry about it. Little did we know, once you enter the park (it's really a jungle) you have a 30 minute walk just to get to the central plaza. It was HUGE.

There was a row of these "thrones." They say no sitting on them. We couldn't figure out what they were used for... The thatched huts are covering areas that are currently being excavated.

There were no vendors! By 7:00 we were pretty thirsty but the sites were so amazing that we just kept plugging along. Pretty soon we were VERY thirsty. Lo and behold, we found a discarded water bottle at the top of Temple V that half full. We drank it (mom of the year...) and it gave us the strength to continue. :)

Temple 4 was the farthest away so we went on a hike. When we finally got there and climbed to the top, we didn't ever want to come down. These are the stairs we had to climb up.

Yes, I know how good we look. Keep in mind that we have had very "iffy" showers and no electricity.

This place is incredibly awesome. The view. I can't even describe it. The Mayans knew what they were doing. Location, location, location. The top of the temple is still being excavated and Kylee wanted to go in it so bad...but it was padlocked. Such a bummer. This is the view from the top. Those buildings waaaaay over there are the other temples and the main acropolis. It's a pretty good hike.

This is the ledge at the top of Temple IV. We were the only ones up there. Can you tell how high up we are? No rails or anything. I think that we could fall off and no one would ever find us.

On our way down we "found" a little more water. YES, we could continue. We were so glad we came to the park early, it wasn't hot yet, and it was totally empty. We felt like we were discovering Tikal for the first time - all by ourselves. This place is HUGE! As we came out of temple IV we heard a big roaring sound. We were afraid that there was a lion hurt or fighting. We went toward the sound and it just got louder and louder. I've never heard anything like it, it was so loud. We knew there were Puma's and Jaguar's in the area so we were looking for a Jaguar. But no. It was a HOWLER MONKEY! Can you see him up there?

This little fluffy black monkey makes a roar like a lion. It was so cool!

We continued on to the rest of the ruins and Kylee just couldn't get enough of it. She's was bouncing off the walls taking a bajillion pictures of anything and everything. Ruins, birds, anteaters, monkeys...everything.

Here I am sitting in someone's house:

Every area was a new exploration, and it's all just out there in the open! It is so cool how the front side of a temple will be excavated and the back side will look like a mountain covered with vegetation. This is the front front of the building that has been excavated:

This is the back. What is under that? Who knows!
Same with this one...here is the front:
And this is the back:

There were piles and piles of these stones. They are fragile, they break apart like chalk.

Here they have started excavating into the side of the mountain.

Here they started excavating underground and then they just stopped...

Makes you wonder what is under all the rest of the hills in guatemala. There could be ruins everywhere and we'd never know it. However, they could uncover these ruins for the next bajillion years and it wouldn't tell them anything unless they find more of these:

Before they translated these tablets, they believed that the Mayans were a peaceful, spiritual people who studied the solar system and lived in tranquility. When they translated them, they found out how wrong they were. They were a conquering, war-making tribe that fought constantly to exert their supremacy. These kinds of things always make me wonder what else historians are totally wrong about...

Some of the temples we climbed are so high and the steps are so vertical that it is amazing no one has been killed on them. If they were in America, they would NOT be allowed!

Can you believe how high this is?! That is a sundial down there. A real live sundial used by the Mayans who predicted the world's destruction! If I had one wish, I'd love to go back in time and watch a day in the life of Tikal during 700 AD. It would be INCREDIBLE to see that city in the peak of it's glory. I want to see the kings/queens/prietesses/whatever in those days. We have no idea what it was like...or how the buildings were put to use. All we can do is guess.

We were so hungry and thirsty by 10:00 that we hit the road. On the way out we saw that some of the booths were open so we picked up some water. Hallelujah, water. We were so happy, we took a picture to remember it.

I don't remember looking this bad...selective amnesia.

We went to the hotel for lunch and scheduled our Canopy zip-line tour for 11:00. Can't wait!