Vacation With 'Rents: Tikal, Peten

Vacation With the 'Rents: 2 of 4 Posts

After we had spent a day eating, resting, and getting oriented in Flores, it was time to head out and explore one of the most famous parts of Guatemala- the Mayan ruins of Tikal! All I can say is "wow". It was pretty fantastic and definitely worth the trek up to Peten to see it. After driving about 2 hours from Flores, we started the morning walking through the jungle-forest with a guide. One of the first things we came across was a truly GINORMOUS tree called a ceiba. It's the national tree of Guatemala and the inspiration for the tree in Avatar. Its three parts- the branches, trunk, and roots- reflect the Mayans' belief of the gods in heaven, their connection to us, and the underworld. I'm probably butchering that explanation a bit but you get the idea. All in all, it was a pretty sweet tree!

THE CEIBA TREE

Just a few short minutes later, we stumbled across some wildlife! These little guys are called coatimundi, and they had absolutely no fear of humans. They definitely were posing for the camera... We didn't get to see an elusive jaguar, but it was still neat to see the coatimundi roaming about without a care in the world.

so glamorous

The trees and animals were cool, but they are not what make Tikal famous. A few minutes later, we finally started to stumble upon the Mayan temples and pyramids! The picture below is of the first ones we saw. The front half was restored by archeologists, but the back half has remained untouched since the end of the Mayan empire. What a difference, right?! The next picture that looks like a hill is actually another temple that has not been restored at all, meaning that it is completely covered by earth. What an effect time can have!

front vs. back=excavated vs. untouched

Look, it's a hill. No, it's a TEMPLE!!!

As the tour progressed, we saw one cool, impressive thing after another. I had a real "woooow" moment though when we turned a corner and saw a massive temple rising up through the trees. I suddenly felt like I was thousands of years back in time, totally lost in the forest. Wild.

surreal

Perhaps the strongest impression I had from the day was being totally blown away by how complex Tikal must have been during its glory days. I can only imagine it in its prime with painted buildings and bustling with people, the New York City of the Mayan world. It was still really incredible in ruins! People can build some amazing things, and it's even more impressive when you think about how little technology they had.

pretty sweet temple, not gonna lie

too awesome to handle

I think my favorite part of the day was when we got to climb one of the taller temples and take in an incredible view. It was amazing to see the jungle spreading out untouched for miles on end, punctuated only by Mayan temples poking through the tree tops. Factor in the howler monkeys howling in the background and it was even more out of this world.

another world...

Tikal was spectacular. My imagination was working in overtime the whole day and I'm glad I finally got to see such a famous spot in Guatemala. Wonderful day, wonderful memories... Lucky, there was still more vacation to come! :)

frame worthy :)