"Tikal, A Great Fallen City" Parque Nacional Tikal by Waxbag

In the mists of Tikal We really went out of way to visit the legendary Mayan city of Tikal. It is located in the most remote part of Guatemala in the steamy jungle province of El Petén. After spending 9 hours on a bus, we reached Flores, the town closest to Tikal. The following afternoon we took another bus 1 _ hours to the park and rented hammocks with mosquito nets under an awning behind a fancy hotel called the Jaguar Inn, which was originally built to house archeologists. We walked into the archeological zone to see the ruins in the golden afternoon light. Tikal, which actually was called Mutal, was one of the most important and largest of the Mayan cities with a surrounding population of 100,000 living in a 30 sq km area. Mayan cities were very much like the Greek City states and fought for supremacy over one another using trickery and capricious alliances. Tikal’s own supremacy fell to its scheming neighbors Kaan and Calacmul in present day Mexico and Belize and the rest of the Mayan world mysterious followed its collapse around 900 AD. The jungle took over.

See the video at In the Mists of Tikal

Temple I and II, Tikal

As soon as we entered the park we were surrounded by huge trees and dense forest. We followed a path that used to be a major road that had been carefully built above the surrounding swamp. It meanders through the jungle until it opens up into a huge plaza bounded by two large pyramids, a ceremonial area, and a palace. This was the heart of the empire where priests and the king performed rituals to mesmerize the masses and project power. Since it was currently the vernal equinox a group of old white female hippies were congregated between the temples drumming and chanting unmelodic hymns as they moved around mesmerized in white muumuu-like outfits performing the old Mayan rituals. Park staff and a handful of Guatemalan tourists looked on with perplexed expressions. It wasn’t much of a projection of power. We climbed up the massive temple IV that stands 64m (211ft) above the ground for a spectacular view of the jungle that stretches all the way to the horizon in all directions with only an occasional pyramid emerging through the green tangle of vegetation. I tried to imagine what this place looked like 1200 years ago. In my mind I saw huge fires with smoke rising into the sky crowning resplendent pyramids centered among a network of wide roads and canals that linked the populated suburbs with endless fields of corn, beans, and squash that would feed thousands. We returned to our hammocks thankful that our gear was still there and went out to eat a simple dinner at a local comedor. We went to bed early and slept with the few beetles and grasshoppers that clung to our mosquito nets. Surprisingly, the night cooled considerably chilling us in our cotton cocoons.

Temple II, Tikal

The following morning was overcast but we still got up early and headed into the park, albeit without the rush to climb a temple for the sunrise. Instead we followed the sound of some very loud howler monkeys until we found two groups vying for their own territory up in the canopy. While I was videoing the drama unfolding above, a howler monkey decided to evacuate the pungent yellow slime in his bowels over the unsuspecting primate, me, 150 feet below. It wasn’t a direct hit but the five or six rounds exploded nearby and I took some heavy shrapnel on my legs, arms, and camera. The howlers continued to howl in their low throaty voices with their lips extended in a comically cylindrical manner as Cara laughed with her giggly hands-over-face manner. Having nothing with which to clean myself I strolled around the rest of the day sporting monkey excrement (which may be fashionable in some cities). We moved on to a temple complex called the Lost World (El Mundo Perdido) where we enjoyed the views of Tikal as the fog lifted from the massive pyramid nearly 2000 years old. We were all alone on the temple except for the company of parrots, macaws, and toucans that darted from tree to tree below us. Very satisfied with what we had seen we left the sight to the jungle and walked out of the entrance only to be greeted by the hordes of Europeans and Americans who would soon be descending upon the ruins like ants on sugar. Our next mission was to get those nasty yellow stains out of my pants and off of my camera equipment, but not before a 1 _ hour bus ride back to Flores.

• Pros:One of the best and most influential Mayan City states
• Cons:It is very remote and difficult to reach, which can actually be a pro because it is less touristy.