Back to the Jungle

Here in Tikal, the bird and critter noises don’t stop, and I can only identify (or imitate) the turkeys and howler monkeys. I’m not so sure my “howler” was any good though, since he shut up after I howled back. We’ve seen a bunch of cool critters – there are coatamundi (they look like red weasel/raccoons) and agouti (really big squirrels without tails) and the most adorable little grey foxes (we saw one last night hanging out in the ruins at dusk). We’re keeping our eyes open for any capybara (biggest rodent in the world) or any signs of jaguar (not likely –they’re cats after all). The chances are better of seeing some crocodiles, if we hang out by their pond, or by the swimming pool after dark. The birds are amazing – even the turkeys here are pretty! There are lots of smaller birds, besides the parrots, quetzals, toucans, and other big, bright birdies flying around.

The jungle itself is pretty much Tarzan land, with smaller trees. I ran around and climbed some tree and swung on some vines...

I started out yesterday a little after 9am. My cohorts were heading off on what I thought was going to be a tour of a different site and some archaeology stuff, and I wanted to be in the jungle. It turns out later that they changed their minds at the last minute and went on a guided tour of the same jungle areas I was in, but I didn’t see them there. Hey, it’s a big jungle!

First I wandered through the brush by the hotel complex for a while, and then I went back and found the road that leads to the Tikal National Park entrance. There is a daily fee to enter the park, so I forked over my 150 Quetzales (about $20) and got my little ticket hole-punched and went on in. Then I randomly ran around on trails (okay, I walked most of the time – some of the hills are steep!) until I walked into Temple 38. I posted a photo last night. The sun was just coming over the top of the temple, and WOW! So I touched a 3,000 year old building, and walked up the steps, and went inside the little cubby spaces that are built in – I really don’t know what to call them, but the outside of the buildings have some places with ¾ walls around a little, maybe 3’x5’ space, and there are several of these all around the building. I hung out around that temple for a while, just soaking it in. Three thousand years old, and there I was, just being there. Very zen.

So when I left that temple, I walked up and around a hill and BAM! There was a whole plaza with a courtyard, and buildings, and an acropolis (I think that’s the right word). I took pictures. I touched the walls. I walked up all the steps to the top of the tower and laid on top to soak in some sun. The stone top was very warm, and the sun threatened to burn me to a crisp, so I didn’t lie up there very long. I walked all the way around and looked in every opening. I scared some birds that had built their nest inside one of the rooms, and they fluttered around frantically until I left. Sorry, birdies!

When I got around to the far side of the complex, again BAM! There was the “Grand Plaza” – a huge grassy area literally surrounded by pyramids and buildings – and so tall! I have more pictures to post – the scale of the buildings is astonishing. Of course, there aren’t handrails going up the huge, steep, stone staircases, and I have to admit the vertigo is a little unnerving. But that didn’t stop me from exploring and climbing a bunch of buildings! I found the “pathway back to the jungle” from behind one of the main buildings at the Plaza. I took some pictures of a weaver bird nest and some Old Man’s Beard with pyramids in the background. The sun was beating down, and I found myself thinking about a scene from Mel Gibson’s ‘Apocalypto’.  The whole place was just exciting and fascinating, and I wore myself out climbing and seeing, and being part of it all. So eventually I headed back down the hill, and back down the path, and back down the road (stopping to purchase some mango along the way) and back down to the hotel. I spent about an hour trying to upload photos, but the internet died and I lost them. So then I explored around the complex some more and looked for critters and took pictures of flowers. I saw what I expected to be a chicken coop, but when I got closer I found out it was a garbage coop – apparently they lock up the trash here, probably to keep wildlife from getting into it. Eventually, the morning caught up with me and I tried to relax lying on a bench out in the hotel grounds. But then I met a stinging ant, and they aren’t kidding when they say stinging, so I went inside before I met any of his buddies, and took a power nap in my bed. It would have been a longer nap, but the howler monkeys were really talking it up outside.

By the time Stacy and Sandy got back from their tour, we were all ready for a late lunch. Have I mentioned that the food here is pretty darn good? Even just my veggies and rice were excellent, but darned if they didn’t give me a plate with a hole in the bottom, cuz it all disappeared mighty quickly!

After lunch I tried to finish my nap, but when that didn’t work, we decided to go back out and play in the jungle. So off we went. The guys at the entry booth let the other two in just fine, but they tried to make me buy another ticket, even though mine said right on it that it was good for the whole day. So I told them,” no, absolutely not; that is ridiculous! I bought this today” That seemed to solve the problem, and they said, “oh, ok” and let me in. We compared our tickets later, and they look exactly the same, so I’m not sure why mine caused a problem, but oh well.

We started by going up to an old amphitheater and testing out the acoustics – when Sandy stood in the center, we could hear her talking from the top of the stadium-seating type thing we were on. The sun was starting to go down behind the treetops, and it all felt very Lion King, but I couldn’t remember all the words in Swahili (it’s been a while) so I didn’t do a random Disney concert in the Guatemalan jungle. I guess that turns out to be good, because I probably would have scared off the coati and agouti that were hanging out together by the trail away from the amphitheater.

Next, we walked up a new trail and found some ruins none of us had seen yet (called Grupo H) and climbed around on those. Then a little spider monkey threw some fruit at me, but he missed. So I threw fruit back at him, but I missed too. I guess that makes us even.  I saw a bunch of fruits I didn’t recognize, which is always fun, but I like being able to recognize them so I know if they’re free food or not…

After Grupo H, we found a trail and followed it for a long time. We ended up at Temple 4 – the one farthest away from our hotel (probably about a mile back). We were supposed to be out of the park by 6pm, and by this time it was about 6:10, so we found the trail back and started following it fairly quickly. It was already starting to turn a little bit dusky in the jungle, and when we got back to the Grand Plaza, the light was just amazing – very mystical and shadowy, and amazing to see, but not so good for pictures. That’s when we saw the little fox slinking around.

We kept walking, and eventually it got dark enough that Stacy put on her headlamp and Sandy turned on her flashlight. I hadn’t brought either, but I walked fast and sang to the fireflies that kept blinking around me, and just watched my step as it got darker. We made it back to the hotel before it was pitch black out. Then I started loading the photos from yesterday, enjoyed my long, warmish shower, and got ready for dinner. After dinner, I pretty much stayed with the computer, trying to post stuff, until lights out.