The Mayan Ruins of Tikal

Tikal was quite a trip!! Jessa and I had to leave on a 6:30 a.m. flight to Flores Guatemala. So the alarm went off at 4:30, but I had been awakened about 10 minutes earlier from a bad dream. In my dream, Jessa and I were frantically trying to get to an airport but people kept stopping us and so we could just not make it. I think I was a bit anxious about the flight. The taxi came at 5 to take us to the International Airport for our flight out. Upon arriving at the airport we found out that OUR flight left from another airport because it was in country that was located “just around the corner.” We were told not to walk so we jumped in another taxi to get us there. This taxi driver asked directions from the security guard and about 5 others along the way. He had to ask directions so many times we began to wonder if he even lived in the city or let alone spoke Spanish! Jessa and I were getting nervous that we might miss our flight because it was approaching 6:00. I was in my dream!!! I had mentioned the dream earlier so we had to laugh at how it had come true. We finally made it to the airport and were the LAST to arrive. The plane held 33 passengers and two flight attendants. I was considered a flight attendant and therefore sat facing the other passengers on the flight.

We arrived in Flores, Guatemala and were met by Nixon, our tour guide, to take us to the Tikal Inn Hotel and the park. ** Side note- Guatemalan names- People in Guatemala are named so very funny things. For instance, Nixon is not a Spanish name at all. Some of my other favorites are Wellington, Estephanie and Hazel. These names are very hard to figure out when speaking Spanish. My name is a whole other ballgame.** Tikal Inn is located within the Tikal National Park and is one of 3 hotels in the area. It was about 1 ½ hours from Flores and we were brought directly to the location. We dropped our stuff, used the restroom and immediately went into the park. It cost 50Q to enter (for foreigners) and only 15Q for locals. I tried to convince them I was a local, but they did not believe it, so I paid my money (about $7) for the day.

The park was incredible. Nixon took us to many of the temples. We were able to climb to the top of some. We explored through the Gran Plaza and saw the locations of many sacrifices. The Mayans had carved many symbols throughout their temples. The magnitude of these buildings was indescribable. People looked like ants when looking down from the top. From the top you could see out as far as the horizon and it was above the tree line. We were really blessed to have an extremely clear day because it is rainy season here in Guate so the chances of rain daily are fairly high.

One of the most interesting parts of Tikal was the other people that were visiting as well. Jessa was in heaven because most people spoke French!! I, on the other hand, was quite confused. We actually spent most of our time exploring with 2 girls and a guy from Quebec, Canada. The two girls, Gabrielle and Stephanie, had been working in some hospitals in Honduras as an exchange from their medical school in Canada and Felix had just met them to travel. It was great to met new people and it was really funny to see how we would communicate. It was an interesting mix of French, English and Spanish! The five of us returned to the park after lunch on our own to explore the sites one last time. We saw the sun begin to set from the tops of the temples. We heard the howler monkeys scream is ways that sounded like Jurassic Park. We saw the spider monkeys jump from branch to branch. All in all it was a LONG, but EXCITING day!

The plan was to get up and watch the sun rise from Temple IV the next morning, but the Tourism Dept of Guatemala changed the prices of park entrance from Q50 to 150 overnight for us extranjeros! So instead Jessa and I relaxed by the pool and had a lunch with the Quebecians (??) before returning on the flight home at 5:00. The only other mishap that occurred on this adventure was that a girl on our shuttle from Tikal to Flores lost her passport. In the end, she was able to switch plans and she had her passport to leave the country the next morning! Yet again, another amazing trip in Guate for me and "little miss lucky"!