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Days 11-12 Tikal and into the Peten Jungle

Into Guatemala 1989 [Part 6 of 11 Parts]

Jo
2004-03-05 22:55:17

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Days 11-12 June2-3

Tikal and into the Petén Jungle

[Photo 1, 2, and 3]

A small plane flew us in less than an hour from Guatemala City to the airport of Flores, capital of the huge Departamento del Petén. The first thing we felt when getting off was the sticky heat; we had arrived in the Classic Maya lowlands.

We rented a Samurai jeep at the airport and drove the twenty or so miles to Tikal. The concrete road leading there was, surprisingly, the best we had encountered so far in the country. Arriving at the campground late in the afternoon, we hurriedly rented some smelly canvas hammocks and a small open-air palapa hut from which to hang them. (As budget travellers, we were not considering any Sheraton hotel, even if there were one!)

The next morning, we awoke to a wonderful jungle "symphony" of bird songs and animal sounds. Toucans, scarlet macaws, frogs, and howler monkeys were among the many talented performers. While listening, I marvelled at a hummingbird suspended in mid-air as it drew its sustenance from flower to flower.

After a breakfast of pan dulce (sweet bread) and coffee, I went ahead of my friends and entered the ruins alone. It would take about fifteen minutes to hike to the ancient city's center. With the sun blazing overhead, I entered the dark world of the rainforest floor. The trees were monstrously tall, most over a hundred feet. The vegetation --vines, creepers, saplings, giant ceibas, one interminable green mass-- was so thick and riotous that I followed the ample jungle path with both amazement and fear. Spider monkeys rustled through the treetops high in the jungle canopy. Below, the forest hummed with the activity of innumerable crawling and flying insects. By the time I reached the main plaza, my t-shirt was drenched with sweat. (Anyway, clothes never really dried completely in this steamy climate.) ...