5 Mar--Tikal

Fri, 5 Mar we booked the 7am bus to Tikal, which picked us up at 7:30, ..... and had a flat tire on the way .... it is about an hour ride, so we were walking the grounds by 9:30am. the first thing we saw were these tails ... it was the White Nosed Coatimundi, a relative to our raccoon. their tail is 75-100% the size of it's body and head. they sleep in treetops at night, are omniviorous and forage during the day. they were cute ... but i understand, about as desirable to have around your home as our raccoons ! the next thing we saw were the Howler Monkeys ... i was very excited about this because i wanted to see them while at Chaa Creek and did not ... so ... now i've seen them ... still have not heard them though ... i showed you a photo of the Ceiba (say-ba) Tree, the Maya Sacred Tree of Life, when we were in Chaa Creek ... we'll the one they have here, dwarfs the one at Chaa Creek .... at 210ft and more than 6ft in diameter, which does not count the extensive and wide buttresses it has for stability... it's a monster. it definitely commands your attention when you see it. however, i haven't seen one that you can drive your car through, like the Redwoods. 'we' have them beat there :) i continue to be fascinated with the Leaf Cutter Ant. unfortunately i never saw another procession like i did the first night at Chaa Creek; but several times i've noticed their 'trails' while walking through the rain forest. this was another 'trail' that i noticed. and ... there was one lonely ant, trying his best to carry something, ...it wasn't a leaf, but looked kind of like the top of an acorn ... you know, that little 'hat' that is has on it ... anyway, this was not a Leaf Cutter Ant, because they are red and this guy was black. he struggled and struggled and of course, i watched him for awhile ... until i could tell that Eddi was losing her patience with me :) in the photo, you can also see a lot of pieces of leaves that had been cut by the ants and left on the trail. i love the nature stuff ... i would have been happy to watch the ants, birds, coatimundi, and monkeys all day long ... but that wasn't why we were there :) these beautiful bromeliads were everywhere in the trees ... their light green foliage and pink flowers were striking with the dark green leaves of the rain forest trees. they were covering a lot of the branches at the top of the Ceiba Tree .... monkeys? did someone mention monkeys? this is a Spider Monkey ... he was very happy just hanging by his huge tail and eating his breakfast. i watched him for a long time too :) i will also put some video on You Tube, will let you know when that's finished they had few 'concession stands' at Tikal because of it's size. a guide was there with a group and Eddi started talking to him, i joined in, and challenged him to find me a tarantula .... a few minutes later he returned ... the same guide showed us this Peanut Head Moth, he was about 4" long. i had seen a photo at the Nature Center at Chaa Creek. they really do look like someone stuck a peanut on their head ! after leaving here i saw more Spider Monkeys ... this is the Montezuma Oropendola bird. they were making a lot of noise in one of the trees in the Grand Plaza at Tikal. When we climbed Temple II we saw their the nests hang from the top of a tree. the nests from 2-6ft long, and there can be as many as 50-150 nests in a colony; and each colony has only one dominate male .. how you like those odds ????

these beautiful turkeys were walking and feeding on the grounds here. they are called Ocellated Turkey, deriving it's name from the peacock-like ocelli (eyes) on the tail feathers. it is good tasting and popular with hunters and are increasingly rare in the area. it is found only in Central America, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico ok, so i'm at Tikal, one of the largest and most famous Maya civilization sights in the world .. and i haven't shown you one photograph of a temple yet ..... sorry, ... i'll put them in another blog ...

4 Mar--Flores--SantaElena-Zoo

Thurs, 4 Mar early morning i had to pee ... our bathroom door was locked, so i had to go outside to the bathroom in the kitchen. upon returning, in the dark, without my contacts lense, and half asleep, i missed the 2 steps to the house and went flying through the night, landing in a heap and hitting my head on the house. ...class act! ......upon investigation, i saw the flesh around my left big toe was torn away from th nail ... and the toes on my right foot hurt as well. nice injury to have the day before leaving for Guatemala and spending 2 days on my feet touring the Tikal Maya civilization site!!!!! i was really disgusted with myself. i cleaned my toe up the best i could, elevated it, put ice on both feet and tried to go back to bed... unsuccessfully. it was almost time to get up anyway. i hobbled around and got my stuff packed and was ready to leave by 7am. we left most of our 'stuff' in our room at Chaa Creek, so we could travel light, just a backpack. we got a ride with Luciano again out to the main road; and immediately got picked up by a taxi that took us to the Belize border town of Benque. walked out of Belize and into Guatemala, where we got into a mini-bus and headed south 2 hr to Flores. Actually the bus stop is in Santa Elena, so we got a taxi into Flores .... remember that in Caye Caulker all the taxis are golf carts ... well down here in Guatemala ... they have their own variation .... they were so cute ! Flores is on an island ... just across the bridge from Santa Elena ... we were told that Santa Elena would be cheaper but less safe ... we chose to stay in Flores. our cab driver took us to his sister's place to see if we wanted to stay there .... at 30quetzales each per night (US$4) ...we thought it was a pretty good deal ... back to cold showers again ... view from our balcony overall, Guatemala is WAY cheaper than Belize ! Flores is very pretty with lots of pretty colored buildings .... there were not many people there. we wondered how they were making a living ... we wanted to go to the Petencito Zoo. i guess you can get there by taxi, but a better-funner way is by boat. we got a ride in this cute little boat with a guy who waited for us while we toured the zoo... once at the 'zoo' we walked across this bridge t and saw our first Tucan, the Belize Country Bird an ocelot, also native to Belize and the Margays ..... the most nocturnal cat of Belize ... which is probably why they were both sleeping when we saw them, ..... just like our domestic cats sleep ! it is the most accomplished climber of all its fellow cats. ... it has specially adapted claws and ankle joints which can move through 180 degrees, enabling it to move with almost monkey like ease amongst the tree tops. Its agility is demonstrated by the apparent ease at which the cat can scamper down the trunks of trees head first and run upside down beneath branches. they have noticeably bigger eyes and rounded ears .... and .... what we REALLY came to see .... the Jaguar !!!!!!! i have video of the Jaguar on You Tube ... go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TSOI5RMydg the Jaguar is WAY larger than i thought it was going to be ! Magnificent creature. of course, Eddi and i were sad that he was in a 'zoo' .... but we won't go into a debate over that now. it was wonderful to be able to see him. there is a lot of mystery and superstition about the jaguar. the Maya peoples just called him Baalum, 'King', ...and it's likeness is carved in stone on many monuments in the ruins. their numbers have declined to only a few hundred. the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Belize is the only designated jaguar preserve in the world. we were hungry and stopped at El Tucan for some nachos .. they were very good, ... i used the 'food' setting on my camera to take this picture and we really liked the green walls and the masks ... i also want to mention that the rum and cokes here are 10quetzales = US$1.33 .... now that is a dangerous situation ! :) streets of Flores this little parrot was sitting outside the restaurant ... you see a lot of them flying in flocks around Chaa Creek ... i didn't realize until i took my shoes off at the end of the day that my toes didn't look so good, ... i wonder if they are broken ? Walking around the uneven stones and roads at Tikal will be slow going tomorrow .....

3 Mar--ATM Caves

Wed, 3 Mar up early and caught a ride into San Ignacio with Lucino to meet at MayanWalk Tours for our trip to the limestone cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal, referred to as ATM ... but not because there is any money there. it cost us US$65 each, which was a 'deal' from a nice-looking guy named Andrew. it was well worth the money. this is a 'wet' cave adventure, under, or inside, a mountain. Actun Tunichil Muknal, also known as the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, was first entered by the Mayas in AD 300-600. but it was not until the late AD 700-900 that they went deeper into the cave to perform their ceremonies. The cave houses various types of artifacts from ceramics and stoneware to the remains of skeletons. The Mayas consider Actun Tunichil Muknal a highly sacred location, enclosing the famous "Crystal Maiden," who was thought to be a sacrifice victim. After decades of weathering and natural processes, the surface of the skeleton appears to be covered with a geological sanded finish, which gives the maiden a somewhat magical fairy-dust appearance. Artifacts are often looted from caves following their discovery, but passage through this cave is known to only a few select guides, who have permission from the Belize Department of Archeology to take visitors to this special cave. To this day, the cave has not been looted and nearly all of the cultural artifacts have remained in place as they were originally found in 1989. this cave has been known to the locals for many many years; but was scientifically explored, recorded, mapped, tested for noxious gases, etc. prior to it's opening to the public. without the modern technology of today, the process took 4 years to complete. The cave was officially opened to the public in 1998. the ceramic pieces that you see are all broken, but it is believed that these vessels were made explicitly for this purpose, and so they were destroyed on site at the completion of the ceremony. it is a cave tour like none i've ever heard of before. it is considered one of the top 10 caves in the world. they drove us north about a 1/2 hour, then turned down a dirt road and continued for another hour to get to the rainforest. we were asked to bring a dry change of clothes, towel, water, and camera. we were to wear swim suits, shorts, shoes and socks. they provided us with helmets and head lights. we left our dry clothes in the car and walked about an hour through the rainforest and we waded across a river 3 times and finally reached the bank of the river to the cave. there were thatched shelters there where we left our lunch; we gave him our camera and he put them in a dry bag an were given our instructions; i.e., he was the guide, we were to stay close and single-file behind him, and only step where he stepped and touch only where he touched. so the person directly behind him had the best seat, the rest had to rely on the one in front of them to pass along the instructions ... we then headed for the cave entrance. even though this is a very beautiful place, it was not sunny and not a very warm day. ...the idea of getting in the water and swimming into a dark cave was not really very appealing. but in we went .... we didn't have to go under the water, in fact we were warned that our head lights were NOT waterproof and not to get them wet, ..... but it was over our heads, 12' i think he said. we swam a short distance to a ledge and then started walking in the water through the cave. it was black, there were no lights, only the ones we had on our heads, pointed downwards so we could see where we were putting our feet. we walked for 1/3 of a mile through the water, sometimes swimming again, climbing over boulders, squeezing between rock slabs, crawling up rocks, on our bellies, backs, or sides, and over ledges .. all in the light of only what you had on your head. 'they' said that an 84 yr old man and a 4yr child had done this cave ... if so, they were both unusual individuals, .... it was a strenuous tour. i understand the reason for the the darkness, and that it is was part of the intrigue; but if we could only have seen more of the cave walls it would have been even better. there were the most unusual formations i've ever seen. it was breath-taking. unfortunately, we didn't have our cameras during this part of the tour .... that underwater camera that i don't have, would have been perfect for this; ... altho i'm sure the flash wouldn't have reached the heights of the top of the caverns. he said that the Nov 2004 issue of National Geographic has an article devoted to this cave. if any of you are 'collectors' of NG, let me know, i'd love to see the issue. after an hour we reached the rock wall we had to climb up to get into the large open 'dry' cave where the ceremonies were held. now we were given our cameras, told to remove our shoes, but leave our socks on ... for the protection of the caves--the oils from our skin damages the limestone. ...and we began to hike and climb again .... staying close and walking only where he walked! we saw lots of broken pots ... photos for my 'potty buddies' down at the KIA .. these pots were perfect ... with very thin walls ... how did they do that ? this one had an imprint on it .... it looks like a monkey ... our guide was saying something about there only being 4 fingers and no tail. i should have paid better attention but this was at the point where i was so cold and my brain must have been freezing ! he had a strong light that he used to point things out, but by the time i was ready to take the photo, he'd moved the light on to something else :( so, it was not very helpful in taking pictures, and most things were too far away for a flash to reach ... so the images we got are limited ... this was so sparkle-ly this is the first skull we saw, among lots of pottery pieces ... our guide was older .... and passionate about this civilization. at one point he stopped walking, let a few other groups go around us, and started talking .... and talking .... we were all wet, standing still, and i was going into hypothermia ... well, not really, but i was shaking. i was really kicking myself for not wearing my wetsuit jacket ... it would have been perfect for this activity. i finally started walking around and he apologized and started walking again; but he must have talked for a half an hour! the finale was up a 'real' ladder, into a cavern where there were the total remains of The Crystal Lady not sure why, but she seems to be dancing and smiling ... is that disrespectful ? we were in the cave for about 3 hours we then back-tracked our way out the same way we came in ... it was much easier on the way out ... we were all more comfortable since we knew what to expect. but it was still quite a journey. ...climbing DOWN isn't as easy as climbing UP. once outside .. i was really cold. i would suggest to anyone else that they bring their warm dry clothes with them to change into when you got out. having said that; IF it would have been a hot sunny day, it wouldn't have been necessary. the walk back through the jungle and the trip across/through the river would have been a welcome cooling off activity in the heat. as it was, we just tredged on through trying to get to the car as fast as we could. i did take a few shots of the surrounding flora :) when we got back to San Ignacio, we had arranged to meet Marta for drinks and something to eat. she took us to a nice bar-restaurant a bit out of town called Happy's then back into town to another bar where we met a nice young 19 yr old who had just started his own business of growing organic vegetables; ... what a challenge, and we all applauded him for his efforts and encouraged him to continue. then across the street for PIZZA ... a good pizza, with GREAT old time American music !!!!!!!!!!!! we arrived back at home to a party-in-progress. they were really having fun playing drinking games, and i was SO GLAD i wasn't going to be them in the morning! i had to laugh, ... i heard them playing a much easier version of "this is a click--this is a clack" .... i know most of you won't know what that is ... but i know my brother and sister .... and possibly Janny and Sandy will ???? that's a game from the early 70s!!!!! i was also thankful that i had a pair of earplugs so i could sleep!