Adventure in the heart of the Mayan world!

Trip Start Oct 18, 2006
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Trip End Oct 19, 2007


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Flag of Guatemala  ,
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Today we traveled into the heart of the Maya world- untamed and mystical. It is where one finds the treasures of some of the most importantly Maya cities hidden away; an incomparable destination for history and adventure lovers. We left at 6am and arrived before the heat of the day and met our lovely and knowledgeable guide Miguel. He took us for four hours for a 7km walk around 60% of this massive National park where in the first 10 minutes we saw a Tucan and then the cheeky spider monkeys swinging from the jungle vines and branches. We continued walking through the jungle learning more about the ancient Maya culture, where we viewed beautiful engraved tombstones and learnt about the significance of the levels to their remarkable stone pyramids which are built over the royal tombs.

The park had many beautiful pyramids, most still undiscovered and evacuated covered in vines and moss and looking like a giant hill emerging from the middle of the jungle Crowded bus on the way
Crowded bus on the way
 . We climbed up our first one and up the very scary, rotten and unsafe wooden ladders to a remarkable view overlooking the national park which hides jaguars, pumas, many different types of monkeys, snakes and bird life. Climbing up Pyramid 4 which was 64 metres high was quite an effort but it was definitely a highlight of the day and the adrenaline rush you got looking down the rubble stairs (which a Mexican girl had died climbing two weeks earlier!).

It was a beautiful but very hot morning, where l learnt about the ancient Mayan world, their temples, rituals, royalty and high regard of the after life- so much so that the winner of a ball game for which they train their whole lives for is beheaded and that was a huge honor! Don't think l would personally want to win that game! Another interesting fact is they through that sloping heads and crossed eyes was an attractive attribute so at birth they would pull the babies head between two planks of wood upwards and then would place a jade (national Guatemalan stone) between the babies eyes above the nose to make it go cross eyed. This was a reserved ritual for royalty and was considered a sign of great beauty!

We said goodbye to Miguel and the beautiful national park and left our adventurous spirit behind in the jungle up an an ancient Maya pyramid as we relaxed our tired and weary bodies on the bumpy, rusty and eventful filled ride to the Belize border where pigs and piglets, horses and even turkeys crossed the road constantly. Leaving behind my terrible Spanish skills we crossed into expensive Belize which immediately had a more Caribbean feel and where we picked up fresh banana bread, signed up for our adventure filled ATM tour the following day and  had a frustrating afternoon trying to get back the B150 dollars the ATM stole from me! Spending the night beside the pool with my box noodles and banana bread at our hotel in San Ignacio l prepared myself for yet another energetic and adventure filled day!
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