Aliens did it.

Yes, aliens.  That is the only possible explanation as to how the ancient Maya were able to build giant temples, hundreds of feet tall, on hilltops in the Guatemalan jungle.  There is no evidence (yet) that the wheel existed in this culture.  No pulley systems.  Yet thousands of blocks of limestone were quarried and placed in exacting detail to build these temples and surrounding structures. Certain temples, miles apart, line up perfectly with the sun on each of the solstices and equinoxes.  So, yes, aliens it is.  That’s my theory and I’m sticking with it.

We arrived at Tikal National Park late yesterday afternoon.  We had a lazy morning in Belize, took a bus to the border, then hopped in a shared shuttle going to the lakeside town of El Remate.  We stopped there for no real reason other than to break up the trip, have a little lunch, and do some scouting for our post-Tikal plans.  Yes, we are in the “making things up as we go along” portion of the trip. 

We got to the park a bit later than expected, close to 5pm.  We dropped our bags at the
Tikal Inn – one of three lodges inside the park – and scurried over to the main grounds hoping to get in at least one site before nightfall and the park close time of 6pm.  We just made it to our destination after a quick 20 minute walk we came upon the Grand Plaza, the site of some of the most famous temples.  Many of the temples are no longer open to being climbed, despite the massive front stairways going up over 100 feet.  Apparently, one too many tourists lost their footing and fell to their death, and most stairways are roped off.  Killjoys. 

We were able to climb to the top of the north acropolis, in time for a bit of the sunset, and got our bearings for future exploration.  We met a family from Guatemala – a group of about 10 – and a few other Americans.  By the time we were making our way back down the limestone, rock and mud path it was dark.  Very very dark.  We had small flashlights but they only did so much.  Then it started to rain.  Welcome to Guatemala. 

Our next trip into the ruins started at 4am on Wednesday.  Yes, 4 a.m.  The Sunrise Tour.  We weren’t the only crazy ones – we were joined by about 15 others from various countries and around the US.  It was worth getting up for.  We crossed the entire length of the park to get to Temple IV, the highest one at the site, by 5am to see the sun rise.  We had an awesome view over the lower valley, and as it got light we could see various temples popping up in the distance.  Then, the howler monkeys started.  They are aptly named – it sounded like something out of Jurassic Park and I half expected to see the tree tops start moving in waves.  I guess they just get chatty in the mornings, and they stopped soon after sunrise.  We also saw some toucans and lemurs.  The morning tour lasted until 9am, when we returned to the lodge for breakfast, a short rest (and a swim in the pool) and then made our way back out again to explore on our own.  Then back to the lodge, a short nap, and one more trip out before it got dark. We ended the day on a high note - the last ruin was one of our favorites.

Over about 12 hours we saw most of the excavated sites at Tikal.  Each is unique, each served a different purpose (or a different god), and all together they comprise about 7% of what archeologists believe to exist over hundreds of acres.  They have barely scratched the surface, but for now I am satisfied and get to cross Tikal off my “things to do before I die” list.  I am about to amend that list to include a good foot massage.