TIKAL

On Sunday, November 15th, Mike and I headed from San Pedro cross the lake to Panajachel where we were met by our favorite driver, Alfredo Garcia. Alfredo whisked us east to Guatemala City where we checked in at the airport for our evening flight to Flores. After an hour in the air we landed, crossed the tarmac, grabbed our bags, and were met by a driver from the Tikal Inn.



We checked in with dear friend and archaeologist/naturalist Roxy Ortiz. She told us to get a good night's sleep and meet her in the lobby at 3:45am for our sunrise tour. Challenge accepted!

I love walking into the Maya site in the dark with headlamps and hushed voices. Roxy kept up a steady stream of facts and background color, pointing out treasures like this huge tailless whip scorpion



and tiny angel wing mushrooms.



Even before a gentle rain started, the air was full of moisture, which you can see in this photo we took with a timer and flash on Temple II.



As it started to get light we spent our time stalking around in El Mundo Perdido (The Lost World) and the Plaza of the Seven Temples instead of climbing to the top of Temple IV with the other dawn trippers who were waiting in silence in the fog. The fog gave up secrets to us, thanks to Roxy.



Agoutis, monkeys, white tail deer,



and birds like toucanets, crested guans, parrots, montezuma's oropendolas, and toucans. She knows their haunts and their sounds - I'm not sure we would have seen a single one of them in the dim light and the fog without her.



She knows the special places too. This was my 5th visit to Tikal and my 3rd visit touring with Roxy; she brings the buildings and the jungle and the culture of the ancient Maya to life. Can you see the ancient face gazing out from the left side of this building?







She talked to us about these ancient symbols



and about a time when workers were recreating the symbols around the front of the structure; the archaeologist she was working with marred the cement shape with his hand (see below), angry that they were making copies and years forward people would confuse them with the originals. She fit her hand in his hand print, remembering the day.



Standing on Temple IV with Temples I, II, and V in the background.



The beautiful ocellated turkeys climbed the structures, too, to dry their feathers as the sun peeked through.



Back at the Tikal Inn we enjoyed breakfast with Roxy.



 Our room, #13,



had comfortable new mattresses



and nice views.





Agouti



Egret



While Mike napped I checked out the museums





and revisited the ruins with a stop at this giant La Ceiba tree, a sacred tree of the ancient Maya who believed it connected the heavens with the earth and Xibalba, the underworld.







I went on a critter hunt.

Spider monkey



Montezuma's oropendola



Ocellated turkey



Tadpoles



Teeny frog (that's the toe of my shoe on the right)



Coatis - bunches!







And bats. Apparently the ancient Maya shared my taste for turquoise.



After lunch



Mike and I enjoyed another stomp around together. That's Temple I in the background - the Temple of the Grand Jaguar.





3 more views of Temple I







After a dip in the pool and dinner we fell into bed early. The next morning, 2sday, Roxy headed to Flores to shop for the hotel and dropped us at the bus station, boxed breakfasts in hand, to take the 7am Linea Dorada bus which left promptly at 6:45 (!), cost $24 each, and arrived at the dock in Belize City less than 5 hours later.

Tikal just never gets old. HAPPY TRAILS!

You can find the complete photo collection for this trip HERE.

MORE FROM SAN PEDRO, OUR BELOVED TI WACHOOCH & GUATEMALAN FAMILY

So here is the last 2015 post about San Pedro La Laguna, a mix of scenes from around town that didn't quite fit anywhere else with a focus on our wonderful home there and the family who lives on floors 1 and 2, Mynor and Josefa and their awesome boys, Manuel and Antonio.

When Guatemalan presidential elections don't result in a majority for 1 candidate, the top 2 have a run off; that occurred while I was in Guatemala this fall. It was an unprecedented year in Guatemalan politics that included months of protests which resulted in a peaceful coup after the vice president was arrested and the president lost immunity and his throne for fraud and embezzlement. The wife of a previous president (who divorced him in order to be eligible to run) lost by a landslide to a popular television comedian with zero experience in government doings; all Jimmy Morales needed was the perfect campaign slogan, seen below: Neither corrupt nor a thief.



San Pedro is a place of stark contrasts. Here's an attempt to upgrade the entrance to a home with a cement launch pad and a bit too much help from the neighborhood dogs.



And here's the new fútbol stadium. Really.



More about town: Virgen Poderosa (powerful virgen) bus heading to Guatemala City



A valiant worker





and lots of coffee - so beautiful this time of year.





This neighbor is picking coffee a few doors up from our place.



Avocados, plenty.



Buying roasted peanuts



and flowers



and breakfast.





There are such lovely old people to watch



and kids with kites,



some of them very small and perched in precarious positions.



There are dogs



and bunnies



and poinsettias taller than the walls: Christmas cheer protected by the Latin American equivalent of barbed wire.



Breakfast at El Barrio with 2 travel forum friends, Joe and Steve.



So we love exploring but we love our home base in San Pedro even more, almost beyond words. To start, the views in various directions are fascinating and/or gorgeous in the mornings,









through the days,



in the evenings,



and at night.



To spice up the walls inside, I hired a local carpenter to make lots and lots of frames for me.



I scrounged boxes around town for cardboard backing and bought a hammer and tacks at the hardware place just up the street.



I framed several terrific pieces of artwork by Beca students, prints, diplomas, and more than a dozen photos.



I hung curtains and bought foam from this store to stuff into chair cushions, all made at home in Oregon from Guatemalan textiles.





Mike helped me drill holes and mount the frames on the walls along with a small collection of huipiles (traditional woven blouses) from around the country. I covered the couch cushions and my friend Maria added embroidery for us. Home away from home complete!!











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Likely the single best thing about this home is that we share it with interesting people. Here Josefa (left) gets help with the weekly laundry from Maria.



Mynor's team plays their 1st basketball game of the new season.



His team includes his cousin and the carpenter who built our windows, doors, and wooden furniture.



And the food! The food! A meat fiesta on the patio.





A traditional meal in the home of Josefa's parents.



(This blog post is making me hungry. You, too?)





Relleno









A favorite: pepián



The kids are really fun - bright and creative and full of good energy. Here Antonio (right) and 2 cousins add little shells they found on the shore to the fish tank as St. Francis of Assisi stands watch.



Photo booth time - an idea that just keeps on giving.



Tea time in the box the soccer gear was sent down in. Thanks, Anne!



Sticky foam



And never underestimate how many hours of aerobic exercise growing boys can get from Dollar Store glow sticks.







On our last morning in town we went to this juice stand for a treat with our Guatemalan family. Highly recommended!





Left to right Manuel, Antonio, Mynor, Josefa, Mike, and me.



We packed up and said goodbye for now. I will miss this view so much but not nearly as much



as this view. ¡HASTA PRONTO!



You can find the complete photo collection for this trip HERE.