Tikal-Episode IV (Part 2)

      As I walk through the ancient dwellings, the cool walls shade me as bees swarm  by buzzing loudly overhead. I picture what this must've looked like 2,000 years ago, with woman busy at work, men busy at rituals, and children running about playing in the hallways. Nothing could prepare me for this experience. Energy of the past lives in the plants and animals around me, we are so close to the answers of this era of mystery, yet so far from the truth.

 There are many theories as to why every ancient civilization on this planet had pyramids in place, and evidence of a worldwide society throughout, but most people find these old people a mystery with no answers. There is so much to learn from these people, and I couldn't resist taking in everything that I could.

I really enjoyed getting away from people. Even if you did chose to do this in the heat of day, the park is big enough that you can wander around by yourself and get behind, in, and on top of these amazing ruins. I would highly recommend the morning tour though. It's worth the splurge.

All around you will see trails leading to what seems to be nowhere, but the views are irresistible. When you are up this high on the pyramids, you can see many "hills" around the area, which are actually more ruins that have not yet been excavated. How amazing would it be to uncover more history!

 

I would recommend going here, alone, with friends, with family, or whatever way you chose. There is unlimited memories here and I don't think anyone should have to miss out. 

       I like so many things about Guatemala, and Central America calls to me every time I leave, but I fell in love with the Ceiba tree before I left. The locals say it looks like a tarantula, and I agree, it is a one of a kind tree in a one of a kind place. If you have one thing to remember, remember to visit Tikal.

Tikal.... "We are approaching the planet Yavin." (Part 1)

 It all started at 3AM when my alarm went off. The bats were out and squeeking, and the moon was bright. I worked my way through the corridors, blindly grasping for any source of light. The guard was at the bottom of the stairs sleeping behind the desk. I felt bad for waking him, but we couldn't get out, and seeing the sun rise over the legendary "Yavin" was a must that I couldn't miss out on.

 The crowd was small, less then 30 people in the whole park, and the air was cool and clean. The howlers were yelling and roaring and the toucans were croaking.

 I didn't get much of the noises, but I gave it a shot here. If you can get it loud enough, you can hear it a little.

Honestly, the fact that Star Wars had a scene here, wasn't the selling point for me though..... it was everything!

 Everything was beautiful, we had a tour guide for it all (English or Spanish), and I couldn't get enough of it.

 Guided tours are not my favorite way to go, I'm more of a wayfarer myself, but we were given some time to wander alone, and I still had a great time. Next time I will wander alone though.

 I love seeing those adorable little pizotes, it's been so long and they are beyond cute. Don't feed them though, they travel in groups and will attack if you quit feeding them. You will probably only see one, but they are close.

 This beautiful Argiope Aurantia caught my eye, it truly was a beauty.

You can see the size of it compared to the flowers next to it here.

 There was so many ruins! I could explore all day, even though I have already seen this once, it just is too much to think I could fit it all in just once.

 Even though we all know Yavin is just Guatemala, it feels like a different planet when you are all over these mysterious ancient pyramids.

I was in love with this tree.

Life is everywhere in this jungle. From the spiders, to the monkeys in the trees, everywhere you look, there is something crawling or flying by.

 There was so many stairs to climb, but I was never disappointed when I reached the top, plus a little bit of exercise will only do me good.

 Here you can see the temple of the ascending god. The carvings are still so clear to this day.

 The temples, the greenery, the heights, the giant steps that are obviously too big for the Mayans we know of, all of it made for an unbeatable combination. This is all to big for one blog though.... more to come.

The Unforgettable Ruins of Coba

        Coba had it all. There wasn't too many people, it was shady and cool, and you can climb many of the ruins. Everything about it was awesome. I really like that people don't know about it as much. It is much more of a local destination, just the way I like it.

 

Everywhere you look there is more ruins, beautifully uncovered.

       The paths to each section of Coba are well groomed, but kept as natural as they could while still making it easy for bike and walking traffic. Normally this isn't an issue, but I did almost hit my face on a snake that was hanging from the tree branches. I was very lucky Teddy saw it and pushed me out of the way. I looked up the snake, and it is hard to tell if it was venomous or not from memory, but even if it was, the species it might have been isn't too bad. Just a warning to make sure you keep your eyes open and don't walk around without paying attention. The odds are in your favor though, snakes don't normally like people.

 I thought it was nice how they put huts up on certain alters and such, to make it as close to the way the ancient Mayans did as possible.

The view from the top is just too hard to capture from a traditional camera.

 No matter what, it does make for a nice backdrop for photos. Over all, I was really happy to visit this site.

Swimming in a Cenote

 There are a lot of cenotes in the Yucatan to choose from. I saw signs for cenotes everywhere. some were a fortune, some were packed full of people, it was a hard decision and we thought we were lost when we finally found it, I couldn't be happier. This  cenote was owned by a very nice family, the water was cool and refreshing, and we were the only ones there.

 It was really cheap too!

 It was pretty hard to capture the beauty of it all because it was so dark in there, but the water was unbelievable. I just had to hold my camera really still using night vision.

The water was so clear, it was hard to tell where it was when you jumped in so it was kind of shocking every time. You could see John swimming so far down it was creepy, but awesome that you could see that far.

I was so proud of Zoey for jumping in. She needed a wet-suit because she gets cold easily. There was a little kayak in there to float around on, and I brought my snorkel gear so I could see the black fish swimming all over in the water. It was definitely an experience of a lifetime. Please support Cenote Palomitas.