We got off the river trip this morning, got cleaned up, ate some good food, and now I'm in Eva's Restaurant in San Ignacio, on the west side of Belize. They've got some wonderful blues playing and I'm feeling fine.
In the last letter, I said we were planning to see the sunrise from the top of a pyramid at Tikal ("Place of the Voices"). Don't believe it. When the park opened at 6 AM, the sun was already up and we were a long walk from any pyramid. Still, it was a wonderful day.
Tikal is one of the largest excavated Mayan ruins anywhere. It is certainly the most famous, and justifiably so. There is way more than can be seen in a day. We walked through some lovely second growth forested areas that were completely logged by the Mayans. The temples are just spectacular. Built of limestone, they are very steep and were intended to get the Mayans closer to their gods. They were also used for various ceremonies, including human sacrifices. At least, that's what the archaeologists claim, but there are new studies that indicate everything that archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayans is wrong.
Anyway, I climbed four pyramids, the tallest being about 120 feet. They don't let you climb Temple I, the one you see in the photo at Maya Queztal Restaurant in Tucson. Sometimes you climb right up the short-tread, high-riser steps, sometimes you take a staircase that's almost a ladder. The views over the tree tops from one temple to the next were breathtaking. I chanted a mantra together with Daya and Sherri, a couple of women in the group, and we felt vibrations in our chests. There was definitely a magical spirit there.
As I stood at the top of one temple, I saw a vulture standing at the pinnacle of another ruin a half mile away. He had his wings spread and was slowly turning in a circle to face each direction. He seemed to be well aware of the majesty of the place and of himself.
I saw a black headed trogon, a collared aracari (a toucan), rufous tailed jacari, a rufous headed woodpecker and a black vulture. We saw a beautiful rust red coatimundi (a raccoon relative) just 10 feet off the path, eating a possum he pulled out from under a log. He was completely unconcerned about us and kept munching while our cameras snapped.
As you probably know, the Mayans were into solar time in a big way. We were at Tikal the day after the winter solstice. If we had been there on the solstice at sun rise, we would have seen the sunrise directly over a particular marker. Other markers locate the sunrise on the equinox and winter solstice.The Mayan 5,000-year calendar will end December 22, 2012. Venus will pass in front of the sun. I am not sure what will happen then, but I get the impression the Mayans expect it will be big.
There were some modern Mayans in the Grand Plaza burning copal incense and making offerings. Yes, Mayans live among us today, although the Guatemala government killed about 100,000 in the 1980s with the support of the US government. The nearby town of San Antonio is the only town in Belize where everyone speaks Mayan, in addition to Spanish and English. It was also the home of the famous Mayan medicine doctor, Don Elijio Panti, about whom I read in the wonderful book, Sastun. His little concrete block office is right next to the highway, not in the jungle as I pictured.
Steve did not want to get up at 4 AM so he could go get to Tikal with the rest of us at 6 AM. After much delay and confusion caused by our inept tour leader, he was able to get to Tikal around 11 and miraculously, he and I found each other in this enormous park. We ate lunch and then he rushed off to try to find another group from our tour company that just happened to be visiting Tikal in the afternoon. He joined their tour while the rest of us went back to the hotel. He got a much better guide, who showed him about 15 new birds that I would have loved to have seen. Then they saw the sunset from the top of a pyramid. He lucked out in a big way.
We are told that the television show "Survivor" taped a series called "Survivor: Tikal" but it wasn't really taped there. It was taped about 40 miles east at another park called Yaxha (pronounced Yaksha), meaning Blue Green Water. The excavated part of this site is much smaller than Tikal. It was "discovered" by archaeologists about 20 years ago, and the excavation was only started about 12 years ago. It was interesting to see the site in its various stages of excavation and restoration. Mostly the site looks like a lot of closely spaced, symmetrical hills about 50 feet high, sides at about 60 degree slope, and covered with trees. It is amazing to think of a pyramid, and maybe bodies or jade carvings or other treasures under each.
We also saw spider monkeys there. Unlike the howler monkeys, the white faced spiders jump from one tree to another and can hang from their tails, but they are just as entertaining as the howlers.
After Yaxha, we had lunch at the lovely El Sombrero, an open air, thatch roof patio with hammocks, tables, chairs and books. Log sections are set in the floor. There are cabins to rent here. It would be a very relaxing place to stay for a few days. http://www.ecosombrero.com/
In the last letter, I said we were planning to see the sunrise from the top of a pyramid at Tikal ("Place of the Voices"). Don't believe it. When the park opened at 6 AM, the sun was already up and we were a long walk from any pyramid. Still, it was a wonderful day.
Tikal is one of the largest excavated Mayan ruins anywhere. It is certainly the most famous, and justifiably so. There is way more than can be seen in a day. We walked through some lovely second growth forested areas that were completely logged by the Mayans. The temples are just spectacular. Built of limestone, they are very steep and were intended to get the Mayans closer to their gods. They were also used for various ceremonies, including human sacrifices. At least, that's what the archaeologists claim, but there are new studies that indicate everything that archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayans is wrong.
Anyway, I climbed four pyramids, the tallest being about 120 feet. They don't let you climb Temple I, the one you see in the photo at Maya Queztal Restaurant in Tucson. Sometimes you climb right up the short-tread, high-riser steps, sometimes you take a staircase that's almost a ladder. The views over the tree tops from one temple to the next were breathtaking. I chanted a mantra together with Daya and Sherri, a couple of women in the group, and we felt vibrations in our chests. There was definitely a magical spirit there.
As I stood at the top of one temple, I saw a vulture standing at the pinnacle of another ruin a half mile away. He had his wings spread and was slowly turning in a circle to face each direction. He seemed to be well aware of the majesty of the place and of himself.
I saw a black headed trogon, a collared aracari (a toucan), rufous tailed jacari, a rufous headed woodpecker and a black vulture. We saw a beautiful rust red coatimundi (a raccoon relative) just 10 feet off the path, eating a possum he pulled out from under a log. He was completely unconcerned about us and kept munching while our cameras snapped.
As you probably know, the Mayans were into solar time in a big way. We were at Tikal the day after the winter solstice. If we had been there on the solstice at sun rise, we would have seen the sunrise directly over a particular marker. Other markers locate the sunrise on the equinox and winter solstice.The Mayan 5,000-year calendar will end December 22, 2012. Venus will pass in front of the sun. I am not sure what will happen then, but I get the impression the Mayans expect it will be big.
There were some modern Mayans in the Grand Plaza burning copal incense and making offerings. Yes, Mayans live among us today, although the Guatemala government killed about 100,000 in the 1980s with the support of the US government. The nearby town of San Antonio is the only town in Belize where everyone speaks Mayan, in addition to Spanish and English. It was also the home of the famous Mayan medicine doctor, Don Elijio Panti, about whom I read in the wonderful book, Sastun. His little concrete block office is right next to the highway, not in the jungle as I pictured.
Steve did not want to get up at 4 AM so he could go get to Tikal with the rest of us at 6 AM. After much delay and confusion caused by our inept tour leader, he was able to get to Tikal around 11 and miraculously, he and I found each other in this enormous park. We ate lunch and then he rushed off to try to find another group from our tour company that just happened to be visiting Tikal in the afternoon. He joined their tour while the rest of us went back to the hotel. He got a much better guide, who showed him about 15 new birds that I would have loved to have seen. Then they saw the sunset from the top of a pyramid. He lucked out in a big way.
We are told that the television show "Survivor" taped a series called "Survivor: Tikal" but it wasn't really taped there. It was taped about 40 miles east at another park called Yaxha (pronounced Yaksha), meaning Blue Green Water. The excavated part of this site is much smaller than Tikal. It was "discovered" by archaeologists about 20 years ago, and the excavation was only started about 12 years ago. It was interesting to see the site in its various stages of excavation and restoration. Mostly the site looks like a lot of closely spaced, symmetrical hills about 50 feet high, sides at about 60 degree slope, and covered with trees. It is amazing to think of a pyramid, and maybe bodies or jade carvings or other treasures under each.
We also saw spider monkeys there. Unlike the howler monkeys, the white faced spiders jump from one tree to another and can hang from their tails, but they are just as entertaining as the howlers.
After Yaxha, we had lunch at the lovely El Sombrero, an open air, thatch roof patio with hammocks, tables, chairs and books. Log sections are set in the floor. There are cabins to rent here. It would be a very relaxing place to stay for a few days. http://www.ecosombrero.com/
