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.
- - - - -
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.
Keith and Marnie
Elliott’s “REMEDY” Site
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