Monday, November 24, 1997
Tikal.
One advantage to staying in El Ramante over Flores is the extra hour of sleep you get if you want to be at Tikal for sunrise. This is a rain forest, so there really was no definable sunrise, but at least we had a few hours to enjoy the site before the hordes of tour busses poured in.
The architects of Tikal seemed to be more vertically oriented than those of other sites.
Climb up any pyramid and you'll see the others poking up above the trees.
Pretty cool, huh?
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Here's some of the animals at Tikal that were kind enough to let me take their pictures. A fox, monkeys, a peten turkey, and a possum- raccoon- rodent looking thing that I still can't identify.
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Somehow we managed to visit every major structure at Tikal in 8 hours, as well as many of the minor ones. I don't know how to compare it with the other ruins we visited- they are all so different from each other. It was quite fantastic, though, and the rain forest setting itself would be mind blowing even without the ruins. A large section of turf around the ruins has been designated as a national park and may be one of the only places in the region where nature can be experienced in it's intended state.
Back at El Ramante, I said good bye to Steve and Kate and continued on to Flores. Another advantage of staying in El Ramante is the minibus driver, Pedro. He not only took me to Flores for an extra $2.50, but helped me find a hotel and took me to a travel agent to buy my flight ticket to Guatemala city for the following day. I had to really push it to get him to accept a tip.
My hotel was more comfortable tonight, and Flores is a pretty cozy town anyway. I slept well.
Continue to day 9.