Date of Entry: January 28th to 29th 2018
Date of Writing: March 1st 2018
I wake up early, whichI tend to do anyway when sleeping in a tent. Today I’m exhausted but also excited, walking around all day yesterday has my body aching but this morning Ed, Maurus, and I have organized a sunrise tour of Tikal, which starts before 5 am if I remember correctly. We meet at their hotel, and eat a quick breakfast before meeting our soft spoken but knowledgeable guide. He leads us into the park which is mostly empty, just a few groups having paid extra to do the tour, especially since most tourists stay in Flores about an hour away.
We wander through the huge plazas of ancient ruins as the morning light begins to creep into a mist filled sky. The mist is not a good sign and will limit the experience a bit, but even a thick fog cannot make watching a silent sunrise over the central american jungle from atop one of the highest Mayan towers in the world a less than excellent experience.
We make it through the main plaza seeing just a few other small groups of people and continue on to the tallest pyramid of the complex Temple 4, starting the long climb speaking only in hushed tones. Up top it’s somewhat crowded but everyone is very respectful and silent and we all take a seat and wait for the sun to rise above the canopy and hopefully break through the clouds. It’s a reverent quiet 45 minutes spent there just watching and listening to the sound of the jungle waking up, something I’ll get even more of a taste of tomorrow morning. We may not see much of the sun but it’s still an incredible way to start the day.
Eventually we head down from Temple 4 the sun still a faint glow through thick cloud and start exploring the other temples that make up the city of Tikal. Our guide gives us some history as well as some legends and a few hours after it has first risen the sun becomes a spectacle as it cuts through the early morning jungle mists making for some excellent photos again.
We spend a few more hours in Tikal wandering around and I find myself constantly lost in my imagination, envisioning this place as it once was, a thriving Mayan city. The ever growing crowds of tourist become tiny little mayan people going about their day to day life, while the birds and wildlife don’t need to change at all, they already fit the scene perfectly. The stunning woodpecker pictured below is a particular highlight though and actually brings back memories of Canadian Winter walks in the middle of the sweltering hot Guatamalan jungle.
Together we wander out towards the exit taking an indirect route to see some key temples again. My friends will be leaving after lunch but I have one more night here, and I don’t regret that at all. You’ll see why too, though even somewhat crowded in the middle of the day Tikal is a special place and worth every minute you can spend there. As we get closer to the exit we spot another small group of spider monkeys, though photos are few and far between as this little group was not lazing around but moving very quickly.
Maurus and Ed don’t want to leave so we do one more little loop through the temples as the heat of the day increases and find still more spider monkeys playing amidst the jungle surrounded ruins of this once great and powerful society. Of course the Mayans never really died out, they surround us here in Guatamala, they’ve just somewhat adopted a more modern lifestyle, the bloodlines continue.
Eventually we do head out back to the collection of three hotels near the park where we sit by the pool, have a drink or two, and I enjoy my last free dip in the pool since my hotel doesn’t have one and with my friends gone I won’t be entirely welcome. We say quick goodbyes and then they hop on their bus back to flores and I re-enter the park,determined to spend all the time I can with these temples, completely enthralled by them and imagining the life that took place when this still only partially discovered city was one of the most thriving places in the americas.
I spend a few hours wandering, making sure I haven’t left a stone unturned in this massive city, moving at my own pace and enjoying myself a lot. It really is beautiful and as the heat of the day starts to dissipate I can enjoy it even more. As the sun starts to set I find myself where the day started back at 5 am watching the sunrise atop of Temple 4. The sunset is less crowded than sunrise thankfully and After sitting there watching the jungle edge towards sleep for a solid amount of time I decide to take a chance. I’m still not sure why, but I see the guard watching us from the side and gather my Spanish confidence. What ensues is a conversation in hushed tones, which for the benefit of readers I will translate into English.
Me: Hi, excuse me, I have kind of a strange question for you. I’m from Canada and I cam to Guatamala because my parents were here maybe 30 years ago and fell in love with your country. Now I know that’s a long time ago, but they said when they talked to some guards, it was kind of possible, for a price, to spend the night in Tikal. Is it still possible at all? Because this place is so beautiful, I’d love it, but if not I completely understand.
Guard: Everything might be possible. Wait a minute. (some tourists pass by and he beckons me to come closer to him so we can whisper. I tower over him and he gives a sort of half smile. The tourists descend and he continues) It will be 300 quetzals. (about 50 CAD) You can leave, then come meet me at 9 o’clock at the entrance and I will get you in. I will meet you first at the main plaza in 30 minutes at closing to show you where to go. Okay?
Me: Okay, yeah that sounds good. Is it safe?
Guard: It is the jungle, and we have to be secret, or I will lose my job.
Me: Of course, okay sounds good. I will meet you in the main plaza in 20 minutes.
So, I can’t believe it, I took a shot, careful not to phrase it as a bribe and it seems like it’s paid off. I descend and wait in the main plaza, careful to avoid other guards who are busy herding tourists groups out of the ruins. Finally my friendly little Guatemalan guard shows up and shakes my hand. He points to me a complex of temples to the left of the main plaza and says that I can sleep anywhere up there, just make sure I tay hidden and am careful of snakes and other jungle animals. I swear he could hear me swallowing at that, but we smile, laugh, and agree to meet at 9 pm to enter. I go back to Jaguar inn overjoyed and full of nerves. There I eat a quick dinner then spend the rest of the evening trying to stuff my sleeping bag and pillow into my small backpack and figure out a way to leave the inn without the staff seeing. Expectations are high.
Night falls and I sneak off the hotel grounds and towards the entrance of the ruins, not daring to light my flashlight until I see another flashlight approaching. In case it’s not my friendly guard I pretend to just be listening to music on my phone, holding my breath as the light approaches. But it’s him, and I get out the 300 Quetzales and hand it over. He counts it under a partially muffled flash light beam and then smiles. He walks me in about 300 meters into the jungle then asks me If I’m sure I know how to get to the main plaza. He can’t take me all the way.
I set out alone, having been cautioned to only use the flashlight when I need it. I’ve done jungle walks before but always with a group and a guide who knows what he’s doing and this is terrifying. It’s a long walk and it seems a hell of a lot longer in the pitch black. It doesn’t help anything when i luckily flash my light across a huge snake coiled in the middle of the path. One of the scariest moments of my life is edging my way around that thing, which thankfully does not strike. Then I enter the main plaza and I head towards where I was told to sleep.
I climb up over the ancient rocks and find myself a hidden little alcove with only a few bats and spider’s overlooking the main plaza and lay out my sleeping bag and then I go climbing and exploring all alone in the ruins in the midst of the Guatamalan jungle, completely and utterly alone. As a hotel, amenities and comfort wise it’s not worth the 50 Canadian dollars I paid, but as an experience, exploring the ruins alone in the dark, lying down and listening to the jungle, watching the sunrise groups arrive and pass by early in the morning without knowing I’m watching them… that experience is priceless.
Needless to say I don’t really sleep that much; even for someone with no particular phobia, it is a bit scary but as the night passes a strange peace settles in on me and I feel one with the Mayans, it’s incredible, and the plaza lit only by the countless moon and stars is beyond beautiful. I spend a good few hours sitting with my legs dangling over the edge of the building, just watching the pyramids and the stars and wondering which mayans might have done exactly what i was doing all those years ago.
Before long the sun starts to tint the sky a different colour and those sunrise groups arrive crossing through the main plaza with flashlights. I then wait for a break in the groups, pack up and head towards the exit. I have a long road ahead of me, all the way to Caye Caulker through Belize City in one day. Still, my experience spending the night alone in the Mayan Mecca of Tikal will stay with me for eternity. A truly life changing travel experience. Stay tuned Belize and Mexico are next!
