Through Belize to Tikal

Tuesday morning we woke up at 4:00am to take the commuter bus all the way to Belize city.  2.5 hours.  Can you imagine commuting 2.5 hours per day via schoolbus?  Well this bus was FULL.

When we arrived in Belize City we stopped for breakfast at a little shop near the dentists office for Belizean chicken, cheese, and fried tortillas called 'fry jacks'.  Yum.

Then B stopped by the dentist, Dr. Habet.  We were to return Thursday for more work.  New permanent bridge plus cleaning and repair of surrounding teeth: $600USD. Amazing.

Another 3 hour bus ride took us into San Ignacio, where we were met by Max of Maximum Adventure Tours.  He fed us Belizean chicken for lunch and we hopped in a van for the 2 hour trip to Tikal, Guatemala.  Border crossing went smoothly with Max, who knows all the officials and expedited the process. 

After crossing we stopped at a little shop for galletas (cookies) made from El Ramon, an abundant fruit that grows in the Guatemalan highlands.  This fruit is said to have been one of the reasons the Maya people decided to stay in the area.  It produces a prolific crop of fruit three times per year and the fruits can be dried and ground into flour, then made into things like cookies!  They were yummy!

We arrived at the entrance to Tikal and again Max took care of everything.  Since we were running a bit late we hopped out and set of directly to the site with our guide.  We saw a Saponilla tree- the tree that chewing gum was originally made from- and a Ceiba tree (the huge white one), that represented the creation of the world and the path from the underworld to heaven in Maya cosmology.

After a long walk through the primary rainforest, which is breathtakingly beautiful, we came upon some smaller temples.  The girls got to climb all the way to the top!  Many of the temples are only partly excavated, leaving these strangely shaped grassy hills on one side. 

Next we climbed up, and up, and up the wooden staircases at Temple 4, the highest temple in Tikal measuring 72 meters!  From the top we could see a few of the other temples peeking out over the canopy line.  We were in awe!  How did these people build these structures so high?  How did they survive until today?  Amazing.

A few more spots to explore, then back to the hotel for dinner.  We stayed at Tikal Inn, which we were not impressed by, but you pay the price of convenience.  There are only three hotels on site at Tikal.  Everything else is at least 30 min away.  Staying here also allows you to go on a Sunrise tour which we did the following morning...