There’s a scene in Star Wars (the first, original, and BEST one) where you watch a shuttle spaceship fly in low over Endor to the Rebel’s base. You see nothing but a dense, dark jungle, and 3 stone temples peeking out above the tree line…
Yeah…that’s the scene. Well…that’s no make believe world…that’s Tikal National Park: a sprawling, mammoth Mayan complex tucked away in the jungles of Petén in Northern Guatemala. And one of my favorite places.
I can’t find the words to describe what it is like to stand on top of a towering stone temple and look out over the dense jungle. Up there you see nothing but a sea of green…and hear the call of the toucans and the bark of the monkeys. Yeah...you heard me...I said bark.
On top of one of these temples, it’s easy to believe that there is no one else in the world, but you and these stone giants.
I love it.
Our adventure to Tikal began early the next morning after we first arrived in Guatemala. From Guatemala City we all boarded a small plane to fly us to the Petén region in the north.
Let’s see…small plane + third-world country = white-knuckle flight.
Once we arrived in Flores, Petén, we transferred to our next mode of transportation:
Ummm...nice school bus. It was as nice inside as it was on the outside. The road to Tikal…kind of steep. Our bus…not in very good shape. Old school buses + long, steep jungle road = LONG, harrowing drive. I think at this point my sisters were wondering if Tikal was even worth it.
But we finally made it. From the entrance it’s a bit of walk to the first stone structures…which you can’t see from the road because of the dense jungle. There’s a path that winds its way through the jungle and then suddenly it opens up into a clearing…and *gasp!*…
Only about 6 massive temples have been unearthed in these jungles, along with numerous plazas, acropolises and other structures. Tikal was a HUGE Mayan city at one time. I’ve heard it said that archeologists estimate that they have only uncovered about 15% of what they believe is really out there. If that’s true…Tikal must have been the New York City of the Mayan world. Two of the temples – The Temple of the Great Jaguar and the Temple of the Mask – sit, one at each end of the great plaza facing each other. Of the two, you are able to climb to the top of the Temple of the Mask and look out across the plaza to the Temple of the Great Jaguar. When I first saw Tikal in 1997, you could climb up the face of the temple on its great stone steps. However, since then they had installed wooden staircases that snaked up the side. Honestly, I don’t know if those were any less scary…
But the view once you hauled yourself up…
Ah-MAZE-ing!!!
(That’s me with my soul-sister Kelly, and my blood-sisters Katy & Steph).
Some of the smaller pyramid structures you could still climb up using the stone steps.
Definitely not for the faint of heart! (Especially when you start heading back down...)
Tikal was awesome and we had a great day up there in the jungle. Then it was time to head back to the Cap…once again embarking on the old school bus back down the winding jungle road…and then onto the small, rickety plane that flew us back to the Capital city. It had been an adventurous day…no doubt about it.
And you know what? When I got back to our small hotel…lo and behold…my luggage had arrived! Hallelujah! A great day turned into a FABULOUS day.
