A Soggy Day in Guatemala

For our final stop in Belize, we traveled to San Ignacio to explore some Mayan ruins. Our first excursion however, took us out of Belize and all the way across the border to Guatemala to Tikal, which are some of the biggest Mayan ruins in Central America.

Getting there took two and half hours driving through the countryside, but it was a beautiful countryside with plenty to be in awe of, so the time passed quickly.



Just a bit of blue skies and rolling hills

Although the day started off looking beautiful, by the time we had pulled into the parking lot to begin our tour, the rain had started. What began as a light fading drizzle soon turned into a tropical thunderstorm, with the sky dropping buckets of rain with no end in sight. But it was tour time and none of us were deterred, so with a few ponchos and muster we weren't about to let a little rain get in the way of our day.
There be jaguars in these parts

We're a lot wetter than we look

This is definitely how archaeologists take photos

Tikal, main plaza. It looks almost sunny here

The tour took around the city complex starting with temple pyramids and working our way to the pyramids built for kings and queens of old. It was amazing to compare the mounds of pyramids disguised by years of forest growth and ones that had been cleaned and restored. How did people figure out there were buildings underneath all the trees? That was fascinating to me.


palace monument temple pyramid thing built for the 26th king of Tikal

A couple of the larger and more intact temples and palace buildings were climbable and we got an incredible view of the forest canopy at the top, and we could see out over the domain and imagine the city life as it was 1000 years ago.

I've been told there's a temple around here somewhere...

Found it.



Aw, my brother is so handsome.

As we walked through the complex we encountered (mostly we heard) the howler monkeys clambering through the tree tops, stopping tosay hello. And twice we were visited by a passel of coatimundi, which were quite fun to watch, and some even had their babies with them. But the only animal I have a picture of were the resident turkeys that decorated the lawn of the restaurant.


                      Everybody say hi                                    Turkey feathers are actually quite beautiful

So even though I was soaked through my shoes and spent all day tromping around in soggy socks, the tour was one of my favorite family excursions of my time here in Belize. It was cool to look at and imagine the life that would have been bustling and hustling in 800 A.D. Plus, the ruins peeking their heads out the top of the rainforest canopy were a sight to marvel.

The drive back was slightly less soggy, and after getting back to our house in San Ignacio we all took some time to dry off before heading into town to see what the city nightlife had to offer...Primarily in the way of food.

Turns out they have a lot of tacos.

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