TIKAL, Guatemala : "El Mundo Maya"

At 4AM, we climbed aboard a mini-bus in Flores and headed for Tikal, 70km to the NE. Flores is a tidy Spanish colonial village crowded onto an island hill in Lake Petén Itzá, in the northern Petén province. It is connected to the mainland and the seedy town of Santa Elena by a half-kilometer causeway. Arriving at the gate to Tikal National Park at 5am, we hiked quickly in the dark to Temple 4, the highest of several discrete sets of ruins comprising the park, which overall covers almost 600 sq. miles. Temple 4 - called the Temple of the Two Headed Snake - at 65 meters is the highest structure in the jungle park and was built around 470 AD.

The reason for our early arrival, and our destination, had been determined several months before as a result of discussions with friends who had earlier visited the site. By flashlight and with the aid of a Lonely Planet map, we pushed on along the jungle paths in the dark and by 5:20 had found the base of Templo IV – but this was no pyramid structure such as is found at the Yucatan Mayan sites of Uxmal and Chitchén Itzá with their well-defined steps leading up cleared and re-constructed pyramids. Tikal’s Templo IV in the pre-dawn gloom looked like a looming mountain covered by tremendously large trees and tangled vines, with here and there edges of limestone blocks poking through the overburden. By flashlight, we started up the steep path, - in some places there were ropes by which we could pull ourselves up, or occasionally there was a section of rotted wooden ladder.

The jungle was starting to awaken – furtive noises could be heard around us. Eventually we crested the top, and sat facing the East to await the sounds and sights of Tikal at sunrise. While waiting, we recalled what we knew of this site:

The steamy hot jungles of the eastern Guatemala lowlands hide evidence of a vast Mayan civilization that prospered around 700 AD. Archaeologists exploring the region excavated forest-clad mounds that led to the discovery of a complex network of ancient cities- the most spectacular of all is here at Tikal, with its five skyscraper-like temples poking above the forest canopy.

Tikal was an important Mayan settlement for over 1500 years, starting about 700 BC. During the Classic Period 300 - 900 AD, the city prospered through trade and military conquest when the population peaked at 100,000. The sciences of mathematics, astronomy, agriculture and architecture were astutely developed by the Maya who also made great strides in the complex areas of socio-politics and economics. The hieroglyphics they developed to convey their thoughts have not yet been totally deciphered and are found in their codx, on their stelae and on their monuments; what has been deciphered attests to the evolution of their ethical, aesthetic and religious thinking.

The Mayan civilization suffered a mysterious collapse after 900 AD when the cities became deserted and the jungle took over. Remnant Maya settled around Petén Itzá, and on the island now occupied by Flores. The island village (then called Tayasa) was captured by the Spanish in 1697.

There are more than 4,000 structures or constructions in Tikal National Park. The oldest date from the Pre-classic period (800 BC), and the most recent from the Post-classic period (900 AD). It was during the latter period that the Maya attained their artistic, architectural, mathematic, agricultural and commercial heights.

The lost world of the Maya was rediscovered by European explorers in the 1840's and it rapidly became a focus for archeological research which is continuing today.

By 6AM we found ourselves enveloped in a jungle mist, with the Eastern horizon becoming noticeably brighter; shortly the sun ‘jewel’ appeared and the upper strata of mist descended. The jungle canopy stretched to the horizon, punctuated by the summits of stone temples lifting upward through the receding mist and canopy. Some 700 meters away we could identify the site of the Great Plaza, where the ruler Ah Cacao, alias King Chocolate, built the Temple of the Masks (Temple II) and the Temple of the Great Jaguar (Temple I), his burial site, ca 700 AD.

Around us the jungle awakened, with the roars of howler monkeys and calls of toucan and wild turkey floating up to us. As earlier indicated by our friends, it is easy to fall into a reverie amidst the sights and sounds of Tikal at daybreak, and “feel” what it must have been like to have experienced daybreak thousands of years ago when this great civilization was vibrant with the thoughts and works of our fellow humans.

The sun quickly strengthened, the mists burned away, we took our photographs and descended to the jungle floor. Following our map closely – it is so easy to go astray in this jungle park– we walked in the direction of the main ‘plaza’ group of pyramids and sat on a log under the high forest canopy to eat our sandwich breakfast. While we sat quietly, hummingbirds criss-crossed everywhere, working the flora; two different types of toucans were seen; and multi-hued wild turkeys strutted by– sporting their beautiful multi-coloured feathers and tails that they’d fan out in peacock fashion. Spider and howler monkeys swung through the canopy, and now and then we’d see a coatimundi – a flesh-eating creature that looks like a cross between raccoon and squirrel with a long flexible snout. Fascinating also were the industrious leaf-cutter ants that have special trees from which they cut up leaves into tiny pieces and carry them in columns to their distant nests. So numerous are these leaf-cutters that they have worn their own transport ‘highways’ into the jungle floor.

Then we noticed that it was starting to rain, which seemed strange. Round about the huge tree under which we sat were patches of sunlight, and it didn’t seem to be raining out there, so how was it that we were being rained on? At this time a park attendant happened by, saw what was happening, and laughingly directed our attention upwards. There, directly over us and high up in the canopy, was a huge anteater perched on his limb, and with unerring aim he was ‘water-bombing’ us.

All day we walked from temple cluster to temple cluster. The ‘city-center’ alone was massive, much of it still in the pristine undeveloped state similar to Templo IV.

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When we left Tikal/Flores, rather than taking the conventional bus eastward into Belize, we boarded a crowded 5am ‘chicken bus’ for a 6hr trip northward into the Petén jungle, arriving at a village called Naranjo on the San Pedro River. We embarked down-river on a long, narrow wooden boat. Periodically we had to disembark and help the boatman rope his craft through passages and rapids so narrow that any larger craft would have became stuck. By late after-noon we disembarked at a Mexican border point – glancing back up the river, it was easy to see the difference between the Mexican and Guatemalan territories: the Mexican side was well cultivated, but the Guatemalan side was un-cleared and rough – the inhabitants having for many years been exposed to the ravages of oppression and strife.

By bus we traveled to the Mexican cattle town of Tenosique, well off the tourist path. The residents were open, friendly and helpful in exchanging currency and directing us to over-night accommodation. The next morning we embarked by bus for Mérida and Progreso, where months earlier we had left our camper and dog with friends.

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