week 2 - Belize and Guatemala

hard to believe that we have been going to Mexico for almost 40 years

and we had never been to Belize

and they speak our language mon!

 we crossed the border from Mexico south to Belize on the bus

and spent the first night in Orange Walk

a nice town with a muddy river full of crocodiles.....

that first night was when we realized from the menu at dinner

that we were not in Mexico anymore 

pork chops and mashed potatoes - yeah baby

(and potato salad was everywhere in Belize - potato salad!)

the next day was a long one on the chicken bus

into Belize City and out then on to the foothills of San Ignacio

our first hotel was super noisy from construction next door

 so we moved - so glad we did

the second hotel had a wonderful balcony overlooking the city

 great views

tropical drinks

swimming pools

and a wonderful thunderstorm moving in across the valley

there was a very interesting ruin right next door - Cahal Pech

we had a lovely early morning look

 after several rather daunting

and narrow pathways

we came to hang out in the

royal chambers

we were the only ones there that morning and it was quite powerful

after a few days in San Ignacio

we headed into Guatemala and to one of the main reasons for the trip -

the ruined Mayan city of Tikal

we did not take the tourist trail

(almost all tourists take a bus that leaves from San Ignacio and returns there)

we choose to take a taxi to the border and walk across

then we caught a combi (minivan) and rode the 2 hours to the road to Tikal

we got out there even though the book said there are no taxis and you must

go into Santa Elena ( 30 more miles and get a bus back...)

really

as soon as we stepped out - there was a taxi

after lunch 2 nice young men gave us a ride up to Tikal - another hour

sweet

the borders were easy, people were friendly

the scariest thing was the money changers.....

we were staying for 3 nights

in the place built for the original archeologists

it was inside Tikal National Park and close to the ruins

we got up the next morning and headed up to the ruins

it was a long walk through the jungle on a wide trail

nothing prepared me for Tikal

not the photos, not the books, not the maps

 that first view coming out of the jungle

literally took my breath away

and of course this picture does not even slightly do it justice

I knew it wouldn't.......

the scale of it!

 we played in the ruins

all day

Willi climbed to the top of this - me no

he got this great photo

amazing isn't it?

still it's hard to capture the audacity of these ruins

a tremendous effort was also made for their restoration

you can't climb the face of most of the large structures

which is fine with me, then they are natural and you can see them

when they can be climbed - all you see is people swarming all over it

the one Willi went up had a wooden staircase going up the back....

 we had a great room facing the jungle

it was so quiet and dark there

no electricity tends to do that

it was wonderful

in addition to the ruins we saw

toucans

parrots

and
spider monkeys
right from our deck

we also heard the howler monkeys while in a remote part of the ruins
they do not howl as much as growl, loud scary growling
I was terrified  to hear them as we made our way through the jungle on a small trail
the ruins have a surreal and powerful enough quality
without growling things in the tree tops....



on the road back from the ruins we found some clay

Willi made a toucan

and I made a Mayan god

xxoo