Adventures in the Mayan Jungle

Amid the "worst trip ever" craziness of this year's February/March Guatemala journey lay a "best trip ever" opportunity to travel with Cyndi and her parents to the department of Petén, which encompasses the entire northern part of Guatemala, is bordered by Belize on the east, by Mexico on the north and the west, and is home to the ancient Mayan city of Tikal...the most famous Mayan ruins in Guatemala

From Jalapa (the department in which Monjas is located ), Petén is about 163 miles, not that far geographically but in travel time, it takes several hours, so we took turns driving and made a fun road trip complete with singing, story telling, lots of laughter and frequent ice cream stops! I happened to be behind the wheel when the traffic came to a halt (due to some protests, I think). We inched along a little and sat completely still a lot with no idea how long we could be sitting there. A van came alongside us with a man motioning out the window for us to follow; it was a split second decision. Cyndi said, "Do it!" and off we went, down some backroad ("road" being a generous term) where we bumped along for several miles with no idea where we were going but hoping to eventually emerge at 1) a recognizable spot and 2) ahead of the stalled traffic. Thankfully we did, avoiding no telling how much added travel time.

The highway that leads to Petén runs through a popular area called Río Dulce ("sweet river") which is an almost self-contained aquatic community where most of the "getting around" is done by boat.

Río Dulce

**Lunch under the bridge at**
**Restaurante Ranchon Mary**

Cyndi did a great job organizing the entire trip, and thanks to her dad there are pictures to prove it! Among the many mishaps so painstakingly detailed in my last post...(haha!) was the little dive my phone/camera had taken into the toilet. In protest, the offended battery refused to stay charged long enough for picture taking during our adventure, but Gene took enough pictures for everyone and was very gracious about sharing them.

We spent the first night in Flores, which is the capital of Petén and about an hour away from Tikal.

There is lodging available in Tikal; however, for several reasons, most tourists stay elsewhere. 1) Tikal is actually a National Park and, once inside the gates, there isn’t anything except the park (which closes at 6 pm) to see. 2) Everything…rooms, food etc. is very expensive. 3) There is no access to cable and limited access not only to internet but to electricity period. Hotels have generators that run certain hours every day, but about half the time, you are completely without power. Lights out at 9:30 pm!

The reasons TO stay onsite would be 1) just for the adventure of sleeping in the jungle and waking up with the (really loud) howler monkeys! and 2) The onsite hotels are only a ten minute walk from the main temples which comes in very handy if a person is planning a Sunrise Tour, which we were.

So we did a little of both.

The city of Flores, though mostly popular for being close to Tikal, is actually a neat city on its own. It is on an island, connected to land by a causeway, and there are lots of restaurants, interesting architecture and quaint cobblestone streets.

Our hotel from the water...

Cyndi's parents stayed in one of the large corner rooms with its gorgeous view.

Day two started with breakfast on the hotel's dining terrace which overlooks the water. We watched the waiting boats ("lanchas") and decided on a trip to the Petencito Zoo, which is located on a couple of small islands about a ten minute water ride from Flores.

Petencito Zoo

Water view of Flores

After that, it was off to Tikal!

After settling into the Tikal Inn and relaxing awhile, it was time to prepare for our next adventure, the Sunrise Tour, which begins bright and early.... well, not yet bright but definitely early... at 4am. Our guide led us through the jungle, explaining interesting details about life in ancient Tikal until we arrived at Temple IV which, at 212 feet, is the tallest of Tikal's 6 pyramid temples.

We were told, "Silence at the top, because with silence you can hear the sounds of the jungle. First time, warning. Second time, warning. Third time...sacrifice!"

Sitting above the rainforest, listening to the jungle come to life and watching the majestic sunrise....

Random Nameless Granola Bar crinkling.jpg

The ancient Mayan city of Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites in Central America and attracts thousands of visitors a year from all over the world. The history of the Mayan people generally and of Tikal specifically is truly fascinating. At its peak, it was one of the most important cities in the Maya region, thriving between roughly 300 BC and 700 AD and reaching an estimated population as high as 10, 000. Then it just sort of mysteriously disappeared.

By 900 AD, the city had been abruptly and completely abandoned. No one knows exactly why, but this once great city was left to be reclaimed by the jungle and lay hidden until the mid 19th century. Even then, it was another hundred years or so before serious archaeological work on the site really began.

Tikal was declared a national park in 1955 and a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979.

Supposedly, there are 54 species of mammals and 333 of birds within the rainforest, and while I’m sure that’s true, you couldn’t prove it by me… turns out I’m remarkably inept at wildlife sightings, even with everyone else trying their best to point things out to me. Finally, it became such a joke that even our guide started teasing me. Thankfully Cyndi’s dad (and not I) was in charge of photography!

After leaving Tikal, we returned for one last night in Flores before heading back home to Monjas. I'm so thankful for great friends and wonderful adventures. Until next time, here's hoping you celebrate every adventure and enjoy all the wonder that comes YOUR way!

A couple of our way too many ice cream stops!