Tikal and Yaxhá July 6 – 10^th

Yaxhá  and Flores July 6-7

We took this road trip with our friends John and Kathy from Mystic Moon and Tim and Paula from Hooligan.  John and Kathy did most of the preplanning and we thank them for all their effort.  Our first step after making our hotel reservations was to get bus tickets from Rio Dulce to Flores.  We chose Linea Dorada and paid Q110  per person each way, this was about $13.  The bus is a first class operation with reclining seats, TV screens and it is air conditioned.  Our bus was to leave at 3PM and we were told to check in an hour before 3.  The group took a launcha from Marios to town loaded with one suitcase per couple and a backpack for everyone.  We had been told by other cruisers to bring rain gear, umbrellas, and a good flashlight. 

Also a guide Luis Oliveros Figueroa was highly recommended but we were having a difficult time getting in touch with him, luckily we reached him the day before we were going to leave.  We made arrangements to have him meet us at our hotel at 7AM the following morning. So we finally were ready to leave on another adventure. The bus was nice and soon we were traveling along at a lively clip. The scenery went whizzing by us, and we thought we would be Flores in no time at all.  Unfortunately we didn’t count on the kindness of our bus driver who allowed passengers to disembark whenever they asked, so we made many unscheduled stops.  We sat in the front of the bus, yes we had reserved seats, but I don’t think the locals knew that, for someone was in our seat, so we just sat down in a vacant place.  The air conditioning was running at full tilt and those of us in the front of the bus might have thought we were in a refrigerator. 

We corrected this on the way back when we brought jackets.  Of course you feel rather foolish since it is  over 90 degrees outside.  We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Petén about 7:30PM. We checked in and met everyone in 15 minutes to find a place for dinner.  After walking around a short bit we decided to try Raíces Bar and Grill.  The guide book states that they serve large portions of grilled steak, chicken and fish with scrumptious side dishes in a hip semioutdoor setting featuring a deck built over the lake.  Wow, we were not disappointed and dinner was Q200 (about $25). 

Luis showed up about 6:30AM as we were just finishing up breakfast.  He explained our day for us and recommended that we stop at a local store similar to a  711 to buy some bottled water and possibly a snack or two.  There would be no facilities at the Yaxhá Park to buy anything. We boarded a minivan and were off, after stopping at the store  we proceeded to Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo.  It is on the lake of the same name and is about 48km east of El Remate.  It was reached by a dirt road because as Luis said, “It was better for the animals and plants to not have a paved road since this is part of the principle migration route for many birds.” 

Of the three areas Yaxha was the most accessible.  This area was an important social and political organization from 400BC to 1450 AD.  Scholars believe it may have been a vacation spot for Maya nobility during the classic period.  We paid our Q80  each ($10) and stopped at the map to look at the site that we would be visiting. What you immediately notice is that this archeological site has very little tourists and that it is very quiet.  You hear the birds, the rustles of the jungle, the buzz of the cicadas but no human sounds.  It is also a very spiritual place for you can almost feel the spirits of the people who had lived here so many years ago, they were proud of their history and they wanted others to understand how they lived. 

Luis was raised around all these sites; he has a wealth of archeological knowledge and a great understanding of flora and fauna.  He was always stopping to point out butterflies, plants, birds, insects, and of course the cicadas that we heard buzzing around us. He picked leaves for us to smell or rub on our skin.  We recognized allspice, the copal tree pod that smelled like citronella, and a leaf to ward off mosquitoes.  One of the interesting sites was the ball court with the stone walls that were used to bounce the hard rubber ball off.  We were told that two hoops were attached to the walls and that the object appeared to be to kick the ball through the hoop.  No one is really sure who was victorious in this game, many like to think that the looser lost his life, but others say it was just a way to keep the warriors in top shape. 

Yaxhá’s highest structure is Structure 216 which offers wonderful views of the lagoons and the forests from its summit. It is also called the Temple of Red Hands and it was the temple that we climbed late in the day, we were tired when we finally climbed the wooden stairway to the top.

Watchers of Survivor Guatemala will probably recognize the temple from numerous aerial shots shown during the program’s run.  It features a broad central staircase and rises to a height of about 100 feet. The temples appear constructed from a very light-colored limestone which is markedly different from the stones used elsewhere in the Mayan world.  We climbed several of the smaller temples by going up the steps on the face.  You notice right away the variance in the step size and that there was definitely a path on some of the faces.  In this picture we had to snake up the face to find the safest way to reach the summit.  Of course it could be that much of the stone has eroded away and that was the reason that it was difficult to climb.  We constantly thought of those Mayan men who would carry the ruler on a litter up the temple face.  Did they ever trip? Tripping litter carriers were probably next up on the sacrifice list.

Luis explained how many of these buildings were built upon older buildings; it was like they were putting on a face lift to an older temple.  He also showed us some of the superstructure made of wood that was used in the buildings. It was so interesting just walking around looking at all the buildings, there are 500 mapped structures at this site. He even moved a barricade to let us see some glyphs that were scratched in one of the buildings.  Our group followed him everywhere but with a little more awareness of mosquitoes than he.  We would constantly stop and respray ourselves for there were places where the mosquitoes were thick. 

When we climbed down from Temple 216 we headed back for the van and off to a restaurant in El Remate for a late lunch.  Most of our group had fish while we watched some of the World Cup soccer match.  Then we headed for a roadside shop that Luis promised was good for wooden handicrafts.  Unfortunately it was a tourist trap and everything was priced rather highly.  We were told we could bargain with them but when you start so high it is rather pointless.  Soon we were 6 tired campers who headed back to the hotel, took a short nap, sat in the pool and spa for a while and then got ready for dinner.  We had several selections made out of the guide book but they were not open so we found a cute little place called, La Albahaca, which was to have scrumptious homemade pasta at reasonable prices.  The pasta was great but wow did it take a long time to get our dinners.  Maybe it was just that we had been walking most of the day and we were tired.  Back in our rooms, we all reported that we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.  We knew that the bus from the Jungle Lodge would be picking us up at 7:30AM the next morning.

Tikal July 8-9

The bus was right on time and as we drove to the airport to pick up some more hotel guests our guide introduced himself.  Jose Antonio Ortiz  or Antonio had grown up around these ruins for his father, Tono Ortiz,  worked for the University of Pennsylvania during their discovery of much of the Tikal ruins during the 1950’s and 60’s.   Tono, had discovered one of Temple VI. .  Antonio had gone to high school and college in the states so his English was superb.  He works with the Jungle Lodge www.junglelodge.guate.com as a guide.  We knew that we wanted to stay inside the park so that we could hike before the park officially opens at 6 AM.  Although we picked up a group of 11 at the air port, Antonio would be the guide for just the 6 of us.

 We arrived at the entrance to the park and saw that the admission wasQ150 or about  $20 per person, per day.  We thought that since we were staying inside the park that we wouldn’t have to pay that entrance fee again, wrong!! This time the road was paved and soon we were at the entrance to the Jungle Lodge, our home for the next two nights.  We checked in, left our luggage in a corner of the lobby, for our rooms would not be ready until after 3, took a bathroom break and were ready to hit the trail with Antonio.

First we headed past the lagoon to the museums where we passed a crocodile awaiting his next meal.  Outside one of the museums they had a Plaster of Paris model of the ruins of Tikal.  As we walked around, Antonio again explained history, plants and anything that caught our eye. 

We arrived at The Great Plaza where we found Temple I and Temple II.  Temple I which is 145 feet tall faces Temple II.  Temple I was built to honor Hasaw Chan K’awil and Temple II was for his wife, Lady 12 Macaw.   Along the way Antonia explained the stelae that are carved stone history books.  They explain the number system, who the stone was carved for, and what its significance was. Here Antonio is pointed to the Kings head; on the left of the head is the numbering system and history.  Passing by these two awesome temples we continued onto Temple III, you cannot climb Temple I because they felt it was too dangerous.  You can climb Temple II which is shorter, but Antonio was saving Temple IV for the big climb.  Temple III is 60 meters high and still covered with jungle vegetation, which gives you a good idea, what it looked like to the early explorers. 

We finally arrived at the stairway to Temple IV; it is the highest of Tikal’s temples at 212 feet tall.  The climb to the top of the temple is up a series of wooden stairs attached to its side.  Luckily there are a few short platforms that you can catch your breath if needed.  The view from the top is breathtaking; you look out on the jungle and see Temple I, Temple II and Temple III rising in front of you.  Our group of 6 stayed up on top for a while, remember some of us are older than the others but we were all rather dripping wet from the exertion.  Coming down went so much more quickly than going up, and when Betsy was almost at the end, Hank snapped a picture of her.  Look at that big smile.

We had two options to get back to the Lodge and we voted to spend the Q 10 to take a truck back to the beginning; it was a 45 minute walk and we were all hungry.  We knew that the Lodge was holding lunch for us and we wanted to get there quickly.  All our meals were included in our stay and lunch could have been called dinner for we all ordered the pepper steak which came with salad, vegetables, and dessert. 

Our rooms were ready so we grabbed our luggage and headed to our room 16A.  It had two double beds equipped with mosquito netting.  We took a short nap and then headed for the pool.  We had to meet Antonio at 4AM the next morning to hike in the dark to watch the sun come up on Temple IV, we all went to bed rather early.  We also knew that the electricity would go out in the late evening so we were ready with flashlights.   

All too early our alarm went off and we dressed, grabbed our backpack and headed to the restaurant kitchen for a cup of coffee.  Another family of 4 were going with us, so about 4:30 we were on the trail, walking the 45 minutes in the dark to the stairs of Temple IV.  It was very cloudy or misty so we were doubtful that we would really see the sun appear.  We did sit there and enjoy seeing the mist disappear and then reappear; we also heard all the sounds of the jungle waking up.  We had a white nosed coati come up the Temple but the picture was rather misty so I enclosed a picture of one we saw later in the day.

We stayed up the monument for over an hour and then we headed down to visit the Plaza of the Lost World.  Here you can really see how the jungle has covered these buildings.  Hank’s picture shows the hill and the uncovered stones of the monument.  All over you see these green covered pointed hills and you realize they are all building that have yet to be explored.  The Lost World pyramid has a foundation dating as far back as 500BC; it served as an astronomical observatory. 

We looked at the Plaza of the Seven Temples and headed for our last major climb, up the ladders of Temple V.  This temple is 58 meters tall and is accessible by going straight up 9 ladders, that were actually steeper then the original temple steps but the ladder had something to grab onto.  Hank took a pass since his knee was starting to bother him. It was slow going and rather scary.  When we reached the top, yes the view was awesome, but the area was somewhat cramped.  Betsy took a few pictures and when Kathy mentioned that she was thinking of going down; she was out of there!  Going down was just like a regular ladder, you went backwards.  When we were all down we looked back up at the beautiful temple.   

We wanted to include some pictures of the birds and a spider that we saw in the park.  We enjoying watching a Keel billed toucan, a tarantula and an ocellated turkey.  These are all part of Tikal’s Natural Heritage.

We headed back for a big breakfast that started with a Bloody Mary.  Hank and Betsy were going to take it easy but John and Kathy had signed up to go back up Temple V with guide Luis and Tim and Paula.  We decided that we would rather watch the spider monkeys in the trees by the pool, visit the two museums and finally check out the handicraft shops.  The museums had some very interesting pictures, but because of thief, no real important relics were in the museums.  We did meet Maria Isabella who ran a little stall and made all her hangings with her back strap loom.  Betsy purchased a hanging that shows the national bird, the Quetzal, which is also on their money.

On our last night we all gathered in the dining room for farewell dinner.  We toasted John and Kathy for they had climbed Temple IV three times; while the rest of us had only done it twice.  We took a moment to decide what beef meal we were going to have.  Eating two dinners at the Jungle Lodge were probably all you really could do because we found that they were missing many things on the menu.  If you wanted a hamburger, they didn’t have buns; at breakfast if you chose the breakfast that included muffins, wow we haven’t had a muffin in a while, no muffins only toast.  If you selected an item that stated tortillas, no tortillas; it got to be a joke.  Please don’t get me wrong, the food that they did serve was great and the last night was no exception.  We loved the Jungle Lodge and would highly recommend it along with our guides to everyone.  The jungle bus took us at 7:30AM back to the town of Flores and dropped us in front of the bus station.  Linea Dorada had a small office with an enclosed waiting room and toilets.  You were able to check in your luggage and walk around town, which is just what we did.  The trip back was nonstop and we arrived at Rio Dulce where the launcha from Marios picked us up.  While we had a great time it was fun to be back home to our own bed.