Tremendous Tikal

My trip to the UNESCO Mayan ruins of Tikal started with a very early 4.30 pickup but it was with doubt worth it. Bleary eyed, we travelled on a little minibus for an hour and a half, arriving as the sun rose. Although there was no sunrise as such due to the clouds, the early start allowed us to avoid the crowds, and the heat that come later on in the day! 

 Our tour guide, Ceasar, took a group of us around the 6,000 year old site for an enthusiastic and well informed tour. Each temple was built around mounds of preexisiting chalk limestone, as the porous nature of this stone would not have allowed the Mayans to build on it in any other way. The shape of the temples, inspired by the buttress roots of trees allow them to support their own weight and reach such incredible heights without falling over. And they certainly felt high when you reached the top, after struggling up the steps or the specially built wooden stairs which, to someone with a slight fear of heights, seemed very unstable! 

The views from the top were incredible, overlooking the rainforest canopy with the Mayan temples poking their heads just above, as if to show the world they can still stand tall and proud. The site has been mapped out at 16 square Km, and although we didn't cover all that distance, our tour involved a fair amount of walking in the rainforest, during which time we spotted and heard plenty of local wildlife: tarantulas, coatimundis (racoon like mammals), spider and howler monkeys... It was truly an incredible experience, especially imagining a whole civilization, so different to our own but so advanced, living in the place where our feet stood. 

Penny and I are staying in Flores, a beautiful Island on the Peten Itza lake, which was once also a seat for Mayan power, although all remains of this were destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadores. The setting is stunning, and the hostal we are staying at is perhaps the best yet, with a fantastic atmosphere and scrumpcious food! 

 Love Soph xxx