Exploring Tikal

Oh no! A crocodile!

... and by the time Sandy got into the picture I was bored, so...

 I literally ran up all these stairs. Then I wheezed while possibly smarter people (like Stacy and Sandy) walked up. Then we posed for pictures! This is the main platform at the amphitheater, so from where we were standing, we could hear what Sandy was saying as she took the pictures:

Then I laid down and looked up at the clouds while they switched places, then we posed for more pictures - possibly with some gravel in my hair:

 Ceiba tree and bromeliads, a setting sun in the smog.... ahhhhhhh....

We took a break at the Palace of the Lost World. It was still pretty warm and I'd been tromping around like a hooligan in the jungle. The palace was really cool though. We saw the priest/shaman guys' rooms with bed platforms and little windows, and walked through a classically Mayan-arched tunnel with a snake carved around the entrance. Very chilling!

Remember how I said that some of the original wooden supports were still in use? A Mayan person chopped these trees down with a stone ax, trimmed them with a flint adze, probably peeled them with a flint or obsidian blade, and then fitted them into the stonework, and secured them with stucco made of sand, flour, water, and some other secret stucco recipe items (okay, so I didn't pay very good attention to that part). Still amazing to think about though:

 Going back a couple of days. This was my first sighting of anything Mayan. WOW! And the light just right for making it all seem surreal. I am so glad I got to see this first!

 This was the next part I saw. It got even more WOW! There were levels and layers and windows!

 The tower at the back of this picture is where I first climbed up and laid on the stone just to soak it all in.

 I love the variety! Imagine what it looked like un-crumbled, with people using the space!

 And then, I saw that there was even more stuff over the wall, so on I went!

I climbed to the top of basically anything the would let me climb to the top of:

 And I wasn't the only climber! Woofie didn't climb at all - he had a handy camera-bag-strap seat!

 Because this is what jungle vines are FOR...

A faraway coatamundi, and an agouti, and a little birdie, all in the same picture!

 I love this shot! It's fuzzy because of long exposure - it was almost dark out when it was taken:

 Same place, same-ish time, next night, with a half moon. This time I think the setting was better, but some dots crept in and I don't have photo-editing software. Oh well. Awesome anyway!

This is from the sunset tour on our last day in Tikal. The massive shadow is from Temple IV - I was about 3/4 of the way up, and there was that much still above me!

We hung out on this ledge, waiting for the light to change...

... so that Woofie could say good night to Tikal in the sunset!

 After the sunset, I ran back to my first encounter spots to say goodbye. The flash made some funky tree silhouettes behind me...

 So I got out of the picture and let the flash focus on the ruins. Oooooo - spooky! And sad. And just amazing. I could have camped right there all night...

 But I went back to the hotel instead. We said our goodbyes to Juan, and our restaurant guy Manuel - he got us some pudding for dessert since it was our last night there. I'd been practicing my Spanish, and Manuel said I did a great job when I ordered Spaghetti Pesto... (heeheehee). Then we showered up and packed up and got to bed, hoping to get some sleep before our 5:30 a.m. departure. We were picked up, taken to the proper airport in Flores, and checked in on time, so Sandy and I ran out and got some breakfast at a coffee shop next to the tiny airport. Fabulous! That orange juice lasted about 12 seconds, and the cappuccino only a little longer because it was hot. My cinnamon raisin bun is not pictured. See?

I just had to take a picture of this - I don't think I've ever seen it before - an EMPTY airport terminal!!!

And off we went homeward!