August 23- Climbing temples

Today, we spent the entire day at Tikal, although to see it all would take 3-4 days. It is tremendous. If you are not into ancient Mayas and ruins, this might get a bit boring, but to me it is fascinating, so I will try to compromise. Tikal was discovered in 1848 and was completely covered by earth and vegetation. At first people thought they were mountains. It was declared the first National Park in Central America in 1955, and most excavation began then. It has been named a UNESCO site, but still has only been 22% excavated. They don't want to excavate more than they can safely maintain. Much damage happened in 1902 when a photographer used slask and burn to get good photos.

The first settlers came to Tikal about 1100BC. Temples were built in 600BC, and by 700 AD it was the largest city in the Mayan world. It began its decline about 900AD with an extended drought and no fresh water in the vicinity. Temple 7, at 70 meters, is the tallest in the Mayan world, and the area was used as a setting in the first Star Wars movie. There are various complexes, such as Complex Q with twin pyramids at the east and west, an auditorium on the south, and administration building on the north, and a plaza inbetween. Many tall stela and altars have been excavated with hieroglyphics on their sides.Some temples are for royal burials, and some are used to allign the equinox, or used as ritual sites. 9 terrace pyramids show the 9 levels of Xibalba (the Underworld). 3 level temples show the Underworld, Earth, and the Upper sky world. It was interesting to see some modern Maya performing a cleansing ritual in the middle of one of the plazas.

In addition to the Mayan ruins, there is also much wildlife noticed on the grounds of Tikal. Ceiba trees are tall and impressive. Allspice trees can be found, as well as chikle trees, with their strong wood, and sap used to make gum. We also saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, toucans, tarantulas, and oscillated turkeys. (Note: the locals claim that spider monkey tastes like pork and howler monkey tastes like beef but neither compare to armadillo meat.)