Begining the tour at pre dawn, we all gathered outside the entrance, hot and humid already, the group was broken down into smaller collections per tour guide. the only way to see the sunrise in Tikal is by doing a tour, otherwise the park doesn't officially open till 8am, way too late. so the bonus of not only seeing the sunrise, is to experience the jungle, in little numbers, as it wakes up. meaning for those first crack of dawn hours, all the monkeys, birds and animals start to roam and howl.
Tikal like most Meso American sites are only half uncovered, the whole surrounding region still boasts ruins that are undiscovered and untouched. an El Derado for everyone. so as we set off, our destination was to trek right through to the end of the park, climb Temple 4 and sit and wait. walking through the dark jungle for 20mins is breathtaking enough, not only trying to watch your step on the mud slick paths but keeping a sharp eye out for wildlife. we heard many howler monkeys calling each other and many beetles .... no jaguars.
Reaching the base of Temple 4, we were told by a guide ..."4mins to sunrise, 200 steps to go", well it certainly hammered us rushing up there ... jelly legs. but catching your breath at the top to see the first sunrays burst through the clouds in 3 weeks made it magical.
Sitting and listening to the jungles below, watching for an hour we soaked it all in, the guide explaining how lucky this was, as for weeks it had been overcast for the sunrise. the previous day we had travelled with the tourist group from Palenque over the border, so we were excited to see a few friendly faces along the tour that morning, great people to share the experience with. shout outs to Gideon and Libby for their enthusiastic and enjoyable company (hope you guys have a safe trip through central america, check in via email)
Climbing down the temple (man made stairs on the side from excavations) we began the tour, which proved to be most valuable. just to get into the park this early is worth the price of admission. many things were explained, layouts of temples in regards to celestial patterns, and rituals. one fact the stuck out is that like Palenque and Machu Picchu, the inhabitants simply abandoned the site, allowing the jungles to reclaim them, until rediscovered. in Tikals case this was via Gum Sap Collectors, using local trees for gum back in the 30s. they came across a temple and as history rites, archeologists flocked to the site. we moved through the major complexes, each being explained, and for some temples, we had the opportunity to climb and re appreciate the views. this was especially the case with temple 5 (the shot of the left had side stair case) which was purely restored from a jungle engulfed mound. the bonus of these sites is that, being all limestone, new blocks can be patched in for others, and after a month of rain, wear and tear, the take on the colour and form of all the old stone, no visible signs of restorations. this is a constant double edged sword though as, being limestone, the ruins are more likely to crumble and decay quicker that others, and Tikal itself is so large, restoring alot in the weather and jungle conditions present is a losing battle. .... see it while you still can.
5 comments:
Hi Shaun & Mark, Sounds like you have been doing things quite "tough" lol, I mean seen "wild" animals ? he he. Gees the jungle thing would make me just a bit wary. Any tarantulas?? Yes can just imagine all the creepies, but hey I suppose that is half the fun eh! No pirañas in the river?? he he take care. Great pics.
That was definitely the fun of it, "being out in the jungles" away from the chaos of reality, it wouldnt be real if the bugs / birds / monkeys etc wern't there. i loved it, and i'd take it any day over the american port of Cancun.
Pirahnas i think are only in South America, Amazonian way. Tarantulas? yeh we came across a tarantulas hole, and saw one inside, a huge hairy leg ... got a shot i'll post, but nothing as far as a crawling pic. other things to note were giant crickets, 10cm long that flew with bright red wings from black bodies, chainsaw beetles (their calling sounds) howler monkeys and eagles.
S.
more soon as we spend the last night in Cancun with an internet connection. just had Lobsters on the beach, pure money splurge, im broke.
Magic photo's Shaun. Hope you enjoyed the lobster?! Safe trip to SF
hi Shaun & Mark, not happy firday night i sat and did a note to you 3 times and some how (seniors Moment) the baldy thing never was sent god knows what i did. Anyway its no good repeating what i wrote because i cant remember!!!8#2! what i do remba was did you count the steps on tikal main temple? anyway you must be on to sf now and then to yosimite nat park what a change pics were awsome good at times to just wing it specialy when they work...
be safe can wait for more
debs
Thanks for the notes guys, got a few more posts to make today, which you guys will read tomorrow.
Answering Qs, yeh we are off to SF this arvo, we did the smart thing and pre booked our seats online through United this time and got printouts from our hotel .... no missing this flight, but i keep thinking what about the people who just turn up early, their still no guaranteed a seat.
Stairs up the temple? well in Tikal there is no main temple, as such, although the one we climbed to see the sunrise was named Temple 4. climbing it involved going up manmade stairs to the rear, 200 of them. but before that you had to walk through the jungle to the rear of the park in the dark for 20mins.
S.
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