Tikal

In Guatemala now and today we went to Tikal. If you havn´t heard of it, it´s one of the most impressive and intact Mayan ruins in the world. We set off from our hostel at about 4:45am to get there by about 6:30. Because we weren´t on a guided tour we were able to walk straight to the grand plaza before most people got there so we had it practically to ourselves for about 20 minutes before the groups started arriving. The grand plaza is very impressive, it´s two big pyramids facing each other with a alter thing in the middle, and to the sides are smaller pyramids and carved stones and buildings.



We spent quite a while wandering round the enormous site going up the biggest pyramids and having amazing views. The site is very deep in the jungle so when you´re at the top of the pyramids you can see nothing but jungle in every direction except for the tops of a few pyramids pointing out the top!



The jungle is pretty impressive and we saw a howler monkey on the way in as well as some toucans and parrots. Throughout the day you can hear the howler monkeys in the jungle which adds to the atmosphere though they sound more like a dinosaur (I´d imagine) than a monkey.