It's been an absolutely crazy three weekends. Tikal, Semuc Champey, and Lago Atilán back to back to back. Instead of writing novels and adding a picture or two, I'm going to just attempt to sum up these beautiful events with pictures that will be the closest to doing them justice. It's impossible to truly explain how incredibly beautiful each of these things has been.
First up,
TIKAL.
First up,
TIKAL.
Our day began at 3:15am with alarms on our phones, groggy heads, and grabbing sack lunches packed the previous night. At 4:00am we were on a bus on our way to the airport at Guatemala city for a 6:30 flight. Though it was early, the views were beautiful and our little 33 passenger plane was so sweet! (We got the best service and flight team that I've ever had! Cookies, chips, beverages, and a sweetheart bilingual stewardess!)
Upon arrival in the little airport in Peten, we met up with our tour guide and driver for the day and continued on with more bus rides. We passed by a beautiful lake that is among the biggest freshwater sources in Central America.
Getting to Tikal and starting our hike was nothing short of glorious. Jungle hikes with our English-speaking guide eventually got us to the sight of our first ruin, 'Compound R.'
Compound R was actually my favorite by quite a bit. Approaching through the jungle, this temple looked like a strangely-shaped hill (which this entire site was before excavation; white people like to say that they 'rediscovered' it, though the indigenous Mayans never forgot about it's existence or location, it was just abandoned for various reasons (mainly agriculture)). Walking around the side showed that the other half of the structure had been excavated and slightly restored so the contrast between pre- and post-excavation were clear.
Compound R was actually my favorite by quite a bit. Approaching through the jungle, this temple looked like a strangely-shaped hill (which this entire site was before excavation; white people like to say that they 'rediscovered' it, though the indigenous Mayans never forgot about it's existence or location, it was just abandoned for various reasons (mainly agriculture)). Walking around the side showed that the other half of the structure had been excavated and slightly restored so the contrast between pre- and post-excavation were clear.
We then proceeded to hike for a good few hours, learning and climbing and exploring a few different settlements from different Mayan eras. We learned where the rich people slept, we wandered little paths, we took in views and climbed different temples and structures. Our guide tried to teach us to translate the Maya code on the stilla (stilla -- imagine oversized upright gravestones beside alters for sacrifices; the Maya code is also one of the most complex writing systems in the world, taking lots of people centuries to decode (presently we've got about 90% of it)).
The limestone creations were incredible and, unlike Egyptian temples, built out of solid rock. Each 'epoch' (generation, or roughly 20 years) added a new level.
The limestone creations were incredible and, unlike Egyptian temples, built out of solid rock. Each 'epoch' (generation, or roughly 20 years) added a new level.
We laughed a lot. We took a lot of pictures. We climbed a lot of things. Though we'd been here a month together, this was one of the first things we all went and did together.
Good times.
Good times.