Westin Camino Real Tikal Tikal National Park

... in a deserted and dark street on my own. I was the only passenger, so we left nice and slowly for the TAG domestic airport in Guatemala City. There was nobody there at 5 AM, and it was indeed very deserted. But the driver stayed we me until the opened of the building a few minutes later. I actually thought that I would be the only passenger, but slowly the tiny departure hall filled up. The flight was great! Do not know if it was because of or in spite of the airplane ...

... up a
jungle path towards the "Gran Plaza".

Half way up the path as i crested a hill, i was shocked into stopping dead by a... flock, herd, swarm (perhaps) of
racoon, badger type Meerkats (odd looking ****ers) came scuttling over the path in front, equally as shocked the screetched to
a halt, their long curly tails erect, 20 or so maybe and then as they gathered
in numbers they continued passed and around us, perhaps 50 or so cat sized animals,
a bit freaky in the ...

Our main reason for coming to Central America was to become evn more culturally enriched and check out another ancient culture... the Mayans.

What better place to start but Tikal. the most significant Mayan ruin in Guatemala and for you Star Wars freaks out there.. the setting for a scene in Star Wars: A New Hope.

Another nightmare bus journey.. the normal waiting in 35 degree heat until they fill the bus with people, chickens, bags ...

... stunning, it was incredibly special. What was more, there were other tourists, but not hordes so we felt we were in some little known secret place. It was an amazing day and far exceeded any expectations I had.

The night before others who had done the tour had raved about it and they were right to. On the way back we could if wanted to jump from the bridge that takes you into Semuc Champey over the rio Cahabon, but myself and a few others feeling we had had a ...

... the Grand Canyon of Mayan sites; however, we both wish we could have done a 6 day trek to El Mirador to have some peace and tranquility in a much less developed ruin where the archaeologists fly in via helicopter like Indiana Jones. One day we will get there and hopefully it will not be on the Mayan Rail.

UNESCO Heritage needs to do more to protect these places from rapid degradation. Just an opinion

En Tkal fue muchos personas de no Guatemala. Tikal tuvo muchos ruinas y todos ruinas es muy grande. Tikal como es un ciudad de ruinas de los Mayans. Sacamos muchas fotos de Tikal y tocamos un tour a aprender la historia. El parque tuvo un mercado, entonces ...

... dug up and replaced with concrete squares, which looks amazing but we couldn't help but sympathize with the construction workers, as all the work was being done by hand.

We found our hotel easily enough and at a rate of $16/night, including private bath, view of the lake, and nasty attitude of dour hotel manager. A bargain! We spent the rest of the day and part of the next exploring Flores and taking care of important ...

... is really pretty and a nice addition to the collection. When we exited the airport, we were bombarded with drivers who seemed to fight over our business as they all wanted to drive us to Tikal. Finally, the loudest, tallest man got our attention, negotiated a price, and we were off to the jungle. Along the way, we passed beautiful countryside with children playing soccer and horses chilling in front yards. This is a beautiful country.

Finally, we ...

... ate some termites fresh out of their nest (yum, minty), also ate a type of all spice leaf and some sort of stem, saw alot of monkeys and a few other critters, an aligator, birds, 2 types of frogs, swung on vines, climbed many temples/pyramids and walked all around the park. We met with our very friendly tour group for lunch at the restaurant after the guided tour.