Treking Tikal

Yes, ... we´re happy to be here. We´ve been in Flores several days. It´s a small island in a freshwater lake (Lago de Peten Itza)in the north of Guatemala. Madeline Island echoes in our memories over and over again because of our numerous island experiences during this trip.

Yesterday we took a tour to Tikal, a Mayan ruin lying deep in the jungle. We chose this tour because, other than our earlier venture to Cerros Ruins in northern Belize, we haven´t made any other treks into the jungle. Our tour bus left at 5am to beat the heat and the rush of tourists that we experienced during our visit to the ruins in Tulum, Mexico.

Our tour was one of the first of the day in the park so we spied creatures immediately ... a Tucan outside the restaurant where some group members ate breakfast, beautiful occillated turkeys by the parking lot (they resembled peacocks and Cesar, our guide, said they were captured for their meat and also their feathers which were used in headdresses), and Pizote-Koatymundis, a mammal that looked like a cross between a raccoon and an anteater with a long striped tail that stood straight up and waved and undulated behind it.

Later in our tour we saw Spider Monkeys frolicking in the branches above us--so much fun to see them in their natural habitat--and we heard the infamous Howler Monkeys (an eerie sound).

A Laughing Falcon pair showed themselves to us while perched high overhead and, at the end, a baby crocodile lounged next to a pond by the Visitor´s Center.

The tour began with Cesar handing out fresh Allspice leaves, a potent remedy against the Evil Eye of others. Next we saw a hughly magnificent Ceiba tree--the Tree of Life. Its root system alone grows taller than a standing human, its trunk--smooth and naked--rises straight into the sky, and its branches spread out horizontally at the top with moss and vines hanging down. It was fabulous!

We remembered that La Ceiba, Honduras was named after this incredible tree that stood by the sea there. Unfortunately, that same tree was later cut down to allow further expansion of the city.

Cesar showed us another tree with a fruit called "horse´s testicles." These large, rounded fruits split in half when they hit the ground and contained a milky liquid similar to Elmer´s glue--very sticky. "Monkeys love this fruit," he told us, "They just wait until the sap dries and the seeds turn brown and hard, then they scoop out the meat without getting messy."

Our four hour tour included three ruins we could climb. I climbed two and skipped the third because, after one high stone stepping climb, I realized that my thigh muscles were too worn out--still are!--to continue. Once I got to the top of Mundo Perdido (Lost World) I was tired AND fearful to climb back down. It was steep! You don´t realize how steep until you stand at the top and survey your surroundings.

Cesar reminded us that ruins were built as places to observe and connect with heavenly bodies. Thus, Tikal was designed to represent the Little Dipper (and, he said, the three great Pyramids of Egypt correspond with Orion´s Belt). Buildings on earth were constructed to line up with the path of sun or stars or moon as they traversed the sky. Quite an amazing feat of engineering!

Our guide revealed near the end of our tour that he and his family were victims of the Guatemalan civil war, his father shot in the back of the head when Cesar was three. "That," he said, "Was how I learned English. My family ended up in the US as political refugees."

We arrived back in Flores at 3pm and went back to our room for a nap. Our bodies and minds were worn out. Today our joints and limbs are still creaky and sore. Frances is experiencing a roiling stomach and napping in bed right now, hopeful that we can still catch our bus to Chetumal, Mexico early tomorrow.

The clock is ticking.... Several days ago in Rio Dulce we bought needle and thread to repair our well-worn packs. We, too, are wearying of our travels but none too excited to return to the extreme cold and snow that await us at home.