We had roasted marshmallows on volcanic steam vents, swam in a lake home to crocodiles, camped on a 4,000-metre high slope in freezing conditions, explored caves by candlelight, danced underneath a starry sky to Guatemalan drum beats, slid down limestone creates slides and waterfalls, seen a volcano explode and more. Guatemala had been an array of adventures and new experiences. We had seen many of the country’s highlights, but there was one more activity on our to-do list before we crossed the border into Belize: See the famous ruins of Tikal!
We arrived at our base, a charming town called Flores, late in the day. The town lies on a small island in Petén Lake and is accessible via a 500-metre causeway. Looking for a room to stay, we walked around the island past narrow cobblestone streets, red-roofed buildings, a pretty historic church and a vibrant Spanish plaza. We found a good deal for the two nights we planned to stay in the little town and booked a tour to Tikal immediately.
Hungry, we headed to one of the many restaurants nearby, ordering a cheesy pizza instead of being proper backpackers and trying another Guatemalan dish. We decided to go for a stroll after dinner and quickly discovered how tiny the town actually was, as it took us just 20 minutes to circle around the whole island. We also learnt that the island was once one of many Maya settlements in the areas near the lake.
The Itza left the Yucatán region in the 13th century and built the city later known as Tayasal as their capital. They called it Noh (Nohoch) Petén, literally “City Island”. It was here that one of the last independent Maya states held out against the Spanish conquerors. The natural protection of the island afforded by the lake helped protect the settlement. The Spanish did not manage to conquer the island until 1697 when they attacked via boats, marched in and destroyed it. From the ruins of Noh Petén arose the modern city of Flores.
A mini-bus picked us up the next morning to take eight other tourists and us to Tikal. We instantly liked our guide, who had a warm personality and strong passion for his Mayan roots. Tikal National Park is located within a large forest region often referred to as the Maya Forest, which extends into neighbouring Mexico and Belize. After paying our entrance fees, the van drove another 10 minutes through the lush forest, adding to the atmosphere of that, we were about to visit a long-lost city.
As soon as we got out of the van and started our tour, Bart and I realised we had underestimated the size of the site. Tikal was huge; with ceremonial centres, superb temples and palaces, and public squares. The city centre has more than 3,000 structures in total. Yet only an inkling of the ancient city had been uncovered and restored, many more structures are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside.
Tikal, today no longer inhabited by Mayans, and a UNESCO World Heritage site flourished between 300 and 850 CE. The city, known to the Mayans themselves as Mutul, is one of the grandest in Mesoamerica. A settlement at Tikal began from around 300 BCE and the city’s prosperity was based on the exploitation of natural resources such as cedar wood, dye from Brazil wood, copal resin, flint, and cultivating maize in cleared areas of rainforest and fertile swamp areas.
From the late 4th century CE, Tikal was able to further expand its sphere of influence and conquer long-time local rivals in the area. At its height, the population of Tikal, including the scattered urban settlements around the city, was over 50,000, and it utilised some 200-square kilometres of surrounding territory. The city was known as a Maya superpower, a status it also enjoyed in the 7th century when some of the site’s most impressive later monuments were constructed.
Like other Maya complexes on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Tikal fell into decline at the end of the ninth century and was virtually abandoned. The causes of the Maya empire's collapse remain a mystery, but wars, famine, overpopulation and resource depletion have all been blamed.
Tikal's great stone monuments languished for centuries and were gradually reclaimed by the jungle. The Mexico conqueror Hernan Cortes and his small band of conquistadors marched by Tikal in 1525, but they failed to see its temples concealed by 40-metre-tall silk, cotton, cedar and mahogany trees.
Spanish friars later wrote of a great city hidden in the forests of the Peten. But it wasn't until 1848 that an expedition sent out by the Guatemalan government officially discovered the ruins. Swiss, German and British archaeologists soon followed to clear debris and begin studying the site.
My favourite part happened towards the end of the tour. We had made our way through, over and up some amazing ruins and were heading to the last pyramid to see the sunset. We were told that atop these pyramids, Maya astronomers tracked the movements of Venus and all the other visible planets. They used these calculations, which were extremely accurate even by today’s standards to fine-tune their complex calendar.
We climbed up the steep staircase, sweaty for the physical exertion and humid weather. We were rewarded with an incredibly unique view. Standing on top of a pyramid, we saw other ancient peaks rising up from miles of dense jungle. If we hadn’t felt like we were part of an Indiana Jones movie as yet, now we definitely did. It was about to get wilder!
Our guide had grown up in Tikal’s surrounding area. Having a close relationship with nature, he had shown and told us many a story about the jungle and its creatures. Distracted by the impressive view, we had failed to see that he had brought a furry friend along to the top – a huge tarantula. “Who wants to hold it?” he asked.
It was quiet for a few seconds, and I saw everyone in the group hesitating. I thought to myself, “When am I ever going to be able to hold a tarantula in a Guatemalan jungle again?” So I walked towards him. Our guide told me not to be scared because they feel fear. “That’s not creepy at all…” I thought; and then: “Hope there is a hospital nearby!”
He placed the creature that was larger than my hand on my shoulder. I had expected the spiders’ legs to be soft, but actually, it felt like thin little needles softly held onto my skin. The group was quiet; doing their part in trying not to startle an animal we all associated with fear.
My guide then picked her up and pointed at my cheek. I had come this far, so I nodded. The spider slowly crawled from the bottom of my chin to the top of my cheek, just under my left eye. During those few minutes, I felt brave, yet relieved when our guide had taken his eight-legged friend off my face.
The sun disappeared beneath the canopies. A truck was waiting at the base of the pyramid to take us to the park’s exit. Holding on tightly, we enjoyed the bumpy ride through the forest; spotting a few more creepy-crawlers on the large trees that we passed.
We were going to call it an early night, as we knew it would be a long journey to get to our next destination in Belize, but as we neared the causeway to Flores, we saw a large carousel and twinkling lights on the edge of Petén Lake. We thanked our guide and bid the others in the van a good night as we walked over to check it out. The fair was in full swing, and to our delight, we seemed to be the only tourists attending the Guatemalan affair. We tried our hand at a few games, including a strange set-up in which you could win a number of varied sizes of baskets. Then Bart somehow convinced me to get on the carousel.
I sat down and a lanky teen “strapped us in” which basically meant that he put a bar in front of us, giving us a façade of support. As the carrousel started to take us up, I wanted to pinch myself for not noticing sooner how sketchy the whole structure was. We swayed back and forth too easily, bolts were missing from carts in front of us and a large man with his beer in hand sat on a tractor controlling the contraptions speed with one hand. I’d rather have put 10 more tarantulas on my face than being in the carrousel at the moment.
I cried. Bart laughed and I cried some more hoping it would all stop. In a brief moment of bravery, when we stopped moving, I looked out onto the lake, forgetting my fear for just a few seconds to admire the lights of Flores. Feet back on the ground, I punched Bart and told him that we were never going to do that again and then laughed in relief, excited to be alive.
That immensely strong feeling of “being alive” is what Guatemala gave to us at many moments during out month of adventures there. As we crossed the border into Belize the next morning, I was thankful to have been able to see a bit of this spirited country full of Mayan history, unique culture, kind people and fire-breathing volcanoes.
Follow Laura’s travels on Instagram: @laurasxm or her website: www.laurabijnsdorp.com/blog
