A lot of excitement about seeing the grand daddy of the Mayan world - I've heard it's magical because it just appears in your eyeline after a jungle trek. George Lukas also put it in Star Wars ( thanks Paul for making me watch those films).
After being fumigated on the journey out there, we're then told we risk certain death if we don't use a guide in the park. The cause of our apparently imminent death would be one of either:
Getting lost and then eaten by a jaguar
Snakes are common and if bitten the venom sucks all life out of you within 20 mins
Or simply severe dehydration.
Weighing up this with the chance of another academic overload guide a la Lamanai we decided death by extreme boredom was the worst option.
The chicas went free range.....
Not foolhardy as it turns out but genius - we walk around the park ( 16km of trails are open to the public) pretty much solo. My god what a park it is too - Temple after temple some fully excavated, some still partly covered in jungle. It's truly a beautiful place. I'm really not very good with heights but in Tikal you can get the top of Temples IV (star wars temple) and Temple II fairly easily. The views from the top are unbelievable - especially when the only other sounds are birds singing and howler monkeys playing. Unforgettable.
Turned out the biggest danger while in the park was a group of Killer ants ( might be exaggerating) - they took a liking to me - and I'm now covered in several huge red blotches. Attractive.
So day 12 and we're still alive. Night bus to Guatemala city tonight though so keep posted. No news is bad news.
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