Talk is cheap...you want pictures (of Mayan temples and touristy Guatemalan markets)!

Jaguar Temple, or Temple I, the most famous one in Tikal. You cannot climb it anymore because, a few years back, some tourists died in their attempts to reenact the Nike commercial in which some guy ran up the side of the temple in (of course) his oh-so-swift Nikes. Idiots.

I didn´t die! But I did climb a lot of really cool Mayan ruins at Tikal. By the way, if you ever make it to Guatemala, this is a highly recommended outing. The ruins are in a national park in a fairly remote, jungly region of Guatemala called Petén, which is about a 14 hour bus ride from Xelá. Get there before the American tour groups filled with whiny types who can´t stand to walk more than 10 minutes in the heat take over more than they already have (I blame Survivor: Guatemala for this development).

So I could go on and on and on about the history of the Mayans there, how the main temples were built with reference to the stars and equinoxes and stuff, and how there are actually hundreds (thousands?) more temples yet to be uncovered, but I will just leave it at this: it is absolutely amazing there, and I had a lot of fun with my wonderful travel buddies, Meg (aka Margarita, Mags, Dirty Bitch) and Chris.


So here was my basic position during my two days at Tikal...climbing up and down temples on my hands and knees while Meg and Chris (outdoor adventurers from Connecticut and Switzerland, respectively) bounded up and down gleefully. Jerks. :)


I took this photo from my last place position (what else is new?) when we climbed down one of the more minor temples.


Temple V (second tallest in the park) is a beast. Fun to climb, though.



Two views of the Central Plaza, where the Jaguar Temple and a spiffy sort of side temples are located. Seriously, when you are in Tikal, one of the most common questions running through your brain is, "Dude, how did they build all these stuff with the type of technology they had?" It´s just amazing.


Here I am watching the sun set from the top of the Temple of the Lost World, one of the oldest pyramids in Tikal. Yes, the temple is as cool as the name. It was probably my favorite spot.


Alternate sunset view with Meg and Chris.


We stayed in the park and got up early (really early!) the next day to see the sun rise from Temple IV, the tallest temple in the park. ¡Való la pena! (It was worth the pain! Actually, I don´t know if there should be an accent on that last "o", but whatever...)


Seriously, I have been deprived of too many sunsets and sunrises in my life. This will change from this point forward! I took this photo in Flores, a lovely, small, and touristy island town located in the middle of Lake Itza that is about 40 minutes outside of Tikal.

I guess you could say I have been busy! Recently, I also took a trip to Chichicastenango, a town which is famous for their market on Thursdays and Sundays. Again, ¡való la pena(and, again, don´t know if I need that accent...)! The pictures are fairly self-explanatory. I just love the colors of the place...not to mention the irony of the side-by-side presence of Mayan and Catholic icons in all of Guatemala (the Catholicism here was adopted by the Mayans within their original beliefs! Neat!).




Coming up...photos and an report on Semana Santa (Holy Week leading up to Easter) in Catholic Central America! I promise the update will be much more rapid than this one! Until then...!