Spectacular Tikal!!!

It will be difficult to fit all of the adventures I had in Tikal into one blog but I am going to try! As I said before, the bus ride there was a bit eventful, but aside from that the trip was wonderful!! I stayed at a hostel called ¨Los Amigos¨ on the Island of Flores in the middle of a lake. The place is set up like a little indoor jungle with roofs only covering part of the building and open air to the rest. There are tons of trees and vegetation inside, a few (very sweet) resident pups, and some parrots too. I stayed in a shared dorm room for less than $4 a night but also spent some time lounging one of the many hammocks. I can´t believe I forgot to take pictures! I spent lots of time with the local kids and other guys from the hostel lounging on the nearby dock and practicing ¨flippies¨. In fact I became the go to girl for learning how to master the back flip. Will I ever outgrow this? Doubtful.

After a day of rest I set off bright and early at 4am for Tikal. I can´t begin to describe how amazing this experience was! I opted out of the big, loud, expensive tour group and decided to buy a map and explore on my own. This was such a great decision for me! With a few tips from a guide I was able to avoid the sight of a single person for the first three hours of my morning. I was able to wake up on a nice private hike through the jungle with the monkeys (howler and spider), toucans, birds, cicadas, and one not so welcome snake. At least I didn´t step on him right? After this I began slowly working my way around all of the massive monuments, palaces, and temples. The large groups were great because if I only waited a few minutes they were off to the next spot and I had the entire place to myself. I can´t describe how surreal the feeling is to sit on something so massive that was built so long ago. And to try to grasp the concept that a mere 25% of the ruins are visible above ground? What!!! How massive were they before they sunk down and the jungle grew up?? It was like being in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie!! I climbed everything I was permitted to despite my extreme fear of heights. I only had one near panic attack climbing off one monument (temple VI, I believe?) that had a ladder of sorts up its massive 70 meters in the sky. I took tons of pictures that I am attempting to post on facebook including many views of the jungle from the tops! So far I haven´t been successful so please enjoy the ones below. It was bitter sweet enjoying this alone. I enjoyed the peaceful experience but I so wanted to share it with you all!

The second day I confronted my other fear, a fear of the dark, in the snake caves ¨las cuavas kan actun¨. No worries Aunt Cacky… there were no snakes, just bats. So again, I went alone and had a very unique experience in my solitude. That of trying not to pee my pants. You see, the caves are massive, and mostly well lit by bright lights. However, I decided to visit the caves in the middle of a thunder storm. Just as I was entering the caves the man handed me a flashlight informing me that there was a good chance that the lights would go out from the storm when I was deep inside. But not to worry! He would just come find me. I got some idea of how that would have gone for me when I got a little turned around in an area of the cave that wasn´t well lit and proceeded to freak out until I found my way back out. In retrospect it’s funny… then not so much. But in all seriousness the cave was spectacular especially considering I have never explored one before. What beauty! And I actually consider bats to be quite cute now though they are a little camera shy.
Well I think that is it for my adventures for now. Brett and I are planning a trip to Belize at the end of the month so I need to save up for that one. Plus I start full time work at the hospital next week and I anticipate that being enough of an adventure to last me for a while. I get to wear all white so pictures to come! Love and miss you all still!!