TIKAL, GUATEMALA
Tikal, Guatemala January 12th, 2012
12.01.2012 - 12.01.2012
30 °C
While staying in San Ignacio, Belize, we were only 30min from the Belize / Guatemala border. So we went to Guatemala for 1 day to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal, only 2hrs over the border. Crossing the border was a breeze! Some countries are such a hassle & take forever, but it only took about 10min. Mind you, we were there bright & early so there werent too many travelers there yet. The drive through the rainforest was incredible! It was a gorgeous foggy / misty morning!
Truck load of oranges.
We made a pitstop to use the bathroom and grab snacks in a small village along the way. Here is a villager weaving blankets.
Wooden masks for sale in a gift shop.
We finally arrived at Tikal and our guide led us through the rainforest to the pyramids. Theres ALOT of walking required so wear good shoes.
This is a HUGE Cieba Tree - Guatemala's national tree.
Looking up at the tree.
There were Spider Monkeys swinging everywhere in the trees
And noisy Howler Monkeys! Their howl is terrifying! It sounds like a jaguar. Its quite scary listening to them howl at eachother if you dont know its just a little monkey!
This is the back of the main pyramid that you see on every postcard. Can you find me? I look tiny next to it!
The front of the same pyramid in the above photo.
There are 2 pyramids facing eachother. You are only allowed to climb one though. This is the view from the top.
Me climbing some of the smaller surrounding ruins for a different view.
Our guide found a tarantula and for some crazy reason I held it!!
I was calm until it started climbing up my arm!
Busy Leaf Cutter Ants were everywhere!
'Highway' of Leaf Cutter Ants
The view from the tallest pyramid. I guess a scene from Star Wars was filmed here.
On our walks amongst the ruins we spotted a coatimundi.
And we also saw some Wild Turkeys!
Just before the entrance to the ruins is a zip-line course! So we gave it a go. It was the first time for both of us!! The first zip was scary because we didnt know what to expect, but after that it was fun!!
We zipped over & through the tree tops
Well, thats all for our day in Guatemala. We then headed back across the border. Spent a few more days with Jedd & Amanda before they flew home and we flew to the Galapagos Islands.
Posted by ChantelleS 13:05 Archived in Guatemala Tagged ruins guatemala mayan tikal Comments (0)