Marek They restored electricity in the morning. At least we didn’t have to prepare in complete darkness. The idea is to get to the ruins (it’s a few steps) before dawn. The best views are during sunrise.
So we hit the road with flashlights in our hands. From the thicket we can hear the roars of howlers. Monkeys whose roars spread for miles. They are disturbing, despite the fact that we know that waking animals are completely harmless. The road to the central square of the city of Tikal is not too long, but we go further. We will return to the city when it gets light.
In Tikal, the pyramids look different than those in Mexico. They are higher and much steeper. Or at least that’s how they seem when we look from below. Given the number of suspicious hills scattered in the jungle, many of them have yet to be excavated. We climb to the top of the giant pyramid to watch the sun rise over the endless jungle. The views are worth all the stairs that you had to climb in the dark to get to the top of the building. We spend the rest of the day among the ruins. At the time when the Middle Ages began in Europe, the Mayans developed their power by erecting buildings that were not even in the realm of dreams on our continent.
A few decades ago, most of the city was not known at all. On the forested hills, with strangely regular shapes, children played. Only archaeological research in the jungle showed that most of the hills hide soaring temple buildings inside. Probably to this day, the entire city of tens of square kilometers has not yet been discovered.
Tomorrow early in the morning we set off to Mexico, to the city of Palenque. This is another place that every traveler in Mexico must visit. Until now, please take a look at the short video. It shows a delightful encounter, a few years ago, with the forest-dwelling Tikal pizotes (coati). Remember not to feed them.