My second excursion in Cayo encompassed an entire day - Tikal, Guatemala to see the Mayan ruins. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. For a history lesson, and it is fascinating, google Tikal. Once again, I had my own private guide. To digress a moment, the jungle resorts employ guides full time and they're meant to take groups on excursions. It seems I vacationed at an unusually slow time and there were less tourists than normal. High season (the dry season) ends in April, but May is still an excellent time to go. I experienced little rain and only for brief periods, prices were off-season rates and, while it was hot, I found it tolerable. Except in Tikal, haha.
The point of all this is to say I had my own private guide, a nice luxury. The resort didn't want to provide a guide just for me but they found a very reputable guide who I met at the border of Belize and Guatemala. I took a 45 minute taxi ride to Guatemala (cheap since the resort arranged it and I bitched about them canceling my tour from them) and from there, I met the guide and we drove an hour to Tikal. I had to pay a higher rate but hell, when was I going to get a chance to see Tikal again?
I've never seen a pyramid or temple or ancient ruins before. This is the only way I can describe the feeling of seeing a pyramid for the first time:
When I was a punk of about 10, my Dad took me to my first NY Yankees game. I had only seen Yankee Stadium on a grainy black and white TV. When Dad, my friend Paul and I entered into the stands at the stadiums, I was in complete jaw-dropping amazement. Hey, the grass really wasn't black! The feeling was similar when we encountered the first pyramid at Tikal.
It was amazingly hot as usual, but the expedition was almost entirely in the sun. I climbed every pyramid and temple allowable while my guide rested on a bench drinking coconut milk with the other guides. I drank seemingly gallons of water. It was thrilling and the highlight of the trip.
On the way back, I had a funny experience going through customs at the border. For the life of me, I couldn't remember the name of the resort I was staying, Mystic River. The border guy thought it hilarious. But he couldn't let me through until I told him a name. So I told him the name of another resort and no problema.
The point of all this is to say I had my own private guide, a nice luxury. The resort didn't want to provide a guide just for me but they found a very reputable guide who I met at the border of Belize and Guatemala. I took a 45 minute taxi ride to Guatemala (cheap since the resort arranged it and I bitched about them canceling my tour from them) and from there, I met the guide and we drove an hour to Tikal. I had to pay a higher rate but hell, when was I going to get a chance to see Tikal again?
I've never seen a pyramid or temple or ancient ruins before. This is the only way I can describe the feeling of seeing a pyramid for the first time:
When I was a punk of about 10, my Dad took me to my first NY Yankees game. I had only seen Yankee Stadium on a grainy black and white TV. When Dad, my friend Paul and I entered into the stands at the stadiums, I was in complete jaw-dropping amazement. Hey, the grass really wasn't black! The feeling was similar when we encountered the first pyramid at Tikal.
It was amazingly hot as usual, but the expedition was almost entirely in the sun. I climbed every pyramid and temple allowable while my guide rested on a bench drinking coconut milk with the other guides. I drank seemingly gallons of water. It was thrilling and the highlight of the trip.
On the way back, I had a funny experience going through customs at the border. For the life of me, I couldn't remember the name of the resort I was staying, Mystic River. The border guy thought it hilarious. But he couldn't let me through until I told him a name. So I told him the name of another resort and no problema.
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