Tikal

Forecast was calling for rain all day and night at Tikal which was disappointing as this was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. And the 2.5 hour drive to tikal from poptun was exactly that - non stop rain. Boooo.

But when we arrived at the park gate, the rain fortunately stopped. Very grey and overcast but much better than the alternative. The park guys didn't accept credit card, nor American dollars (weird!!) which quickly posed a problem to pay for the two day entrance. Fortunately abdel was able to exchange american dollars with one of the nearby shopkeepers, and ron and i pooled our quetzals to make it work. Phew. Its literally jungle plus a few barebone hotels... no atm's. And the nearest town was at least 30 minutes away.

As soon as we left the hotel and walked toward the entrance gate, the wildlife became abundant. There was a crocodile in the nearby creek. Adorable coati roaming around everywhere. Strange exotic birds too.

It took about 20 minutes hiking uphill to reach the grand plaza and the astonished look on everyone's faces was priceless as the dramatic temple I and II were towering over us.

Climbed the stairs to the top of temple II for some amazing views and pics. And those views included a small flock of toucans in a nearby tree. I followed them around for a while trying to get a good photo despite all the grey clouds muting their colors in the camera shots.

Then made our way to the gigantic temple IV and climbed to the top with views of the tops of the other temples and mist over the jungle canopy. Amazing sights. And even better, a few parrots were flying by us a few times and nesting near the temple top.

Eventually made our way back to the hotel. Got in a game of catan, and supper before they shut everything down at 9pm. So nice to be back here! Magical spot. Hopefully tomorrow is drier.Read more