Welcome to the Jungle

We spent our first evening in Guatemala in a little town called Flores. After arriving there by plane, we went out and caught some dinner locally and then headed out early the next morning to Tikal. Below are 2 pictures of us in front of the quaint hotel we stayed in that overlooked Lake Peten Itza.

Days 2: Touring Tikal

Tikal is located in a thick, tropical jungle in the northeastern part of Guatemala. The ruins are still being excavated but archaeologists have found at least 3,000 structures. We hired a tour guide to lead us around Tikal and explain some of the history of the ancient city and the mayans that inhabited it.

Before we even began the tour, I was completely obsessed with the flowers, trees and shrubbery in this area. Being from Nevada, we just don't get to see this too often. First up is the ceiba tree which is an absolutely HUGE tree with enormous roots, followed by a picture of the most beautiful flower I've EVER seen...

Touring Tikal is somewhat exhausting because you walk for about 3-4 hours and end up climbing A LOT of stairs to the tops of some of the temples. But you are rewarded with breathtaking views of the rainforest, while viewing the peaks of the other temples around the ruins. I was so impressed with how advanced the mayans were back then with their architecture and building. It's impressive considering how limited their tools were back then, but they were able to build amazing structures that have stood the test of time.

Considering how tall some of these temples were, I was seriously impressed at how my parents were able make it all the way up the temples. My knees and joints were hurting after all of the climbing, but they didn't complain at all and kept up with us the entire time. After we finished our tour of Tikal, all I wanted to do was lay in bed, read a book, and let my aching legs rest up a bit. But Dallin and my Dad decided to go back into the park before nightfall to see if they could catch a glimpse of the moon from the top of one of the highest temples there. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy outside so they didn't get to see much but they had a fun time making it back to the lodges in the pitch dark!