The end of the Maya Marathon
Well, this is it. We have finished the Maya Marathon. It was not easy, but we went to 26.2 Mayan archeological sites in four countries, which were:
Jungle Trek to El Mirador
In order to close the Guatemalan chapter of our Maya Ruin Adventure in style, we put on our hiking boots and mosquito spray for the famous five-day jungle trek to the mysterious site of El Mirador. We had started our tour of ruined cities with the fine sculptures of the Mayan Paris at Copan, and capped it with the high rises of the Mayan New York at Tikal; what better way to end it than with the superlatives and mysteries of the Mayan Dubai? A recently excavated megalopolis rising up in the depth of a most inhospitable jungle, where you can watch the sun rise form the biggest pyramid ever discovered, and daydream at all the wonders still laying quietly under centuries of dirt and roots.
The Wildlife of Tikal
As we mentioned yesterday, Tikal is teeming with jungle animals. In fact, the site sits within a well-protected nature reserve that is brimming with flora and fauna. Any account of Tikal would be incomplete without a mention of these, and we got some great pictures of some pretty cool things.
TIKAL!
Today was the day. Tikal. The Mayan superpower. The New York of the Mayan world. The Athens of the Mayan world. And we were there.
The Ruins of Cancuen
After running out of cash in Lanquin (why would you build a tourist trap and make it impossible to withdraw or change money!?!), we started heading back north toward Peten. After a day of travel, we set up a base in the town of Raxruha, a bit south of Sayache. The next day, we continued our Maya Marathon at the ruins of Cancuen. During the Maya classic period, Cancuen was the end of the water-navigable line of the trade route following the Umacinta River from the gulf into the center of what is today Guatemala, and an important member of the Petexbatun Kingdom that we have been talking about for a few days.
Lanquin-Semuc Champey
Leaving Coban behind, we embarked on a particularly dilapidated minibus for a remarkably loud and shaky ride on a largely unpaved road to the town of Lanquin, gateway to some of the more remote natural wonders of Guatemala. We settled into a surprisingly inviting hippie resort called El Retiro, complete with thatched roof bungalows, an all-you-can-eat buffet, hammocks, and a sauna down by the river, and headed out towards Semuc Champey and the caves.
We Saw A Quetzal!
After so much ruin-hopping in the hot, mosquito-ridden jungle, we decided to head back south to the cooler climates of the mountains. Setting up camp in the unremarkable city of Coban, we visited a fascinating museum full of Mayan artifacts (can't get away from the old stones) and took a walk in a refreshing cloud forest.
The Ruins of Ceibal
Ceibal, or Seibal, was another important city within the Petexbatun kingdom that we have been discussing for the last couple of days. It is located on a bluff overlooking the Rio del Passion (which joins the Petexbatun further down stream) and we booked a tour with the same boatsman that we had used for Dos Pilas and Aguateca from the Cafe del Rio in Sayache.
The Ruins of Aguateca
In our last post, we talked about the Petexbatun kingdom, seat of a dynasty that soon found itself under a lot of pressure to defend itself. One of the actions they took was to found a twin capital at Aguateca that outlived the original by some 50 years but still saw a violent end. Aguateca sits on a singularly impressive location atop a massive limestone escarpment overlooking the Petexbatun River. The escarpment fractured in a series of earthquakes many thousands of years ago, cleaving it with a fracture some 800 meters (a half mile) long, 30 meters (90 feet) deep and 2 meters (6 feet) wide with perfectly vertical walls. With the ravine on one side and the cliffs of the bluff on the other, Aguateca sat on a perfectly defensible location.
The Ruins of Dos Pilas
From Sayaxche, we arranged a guide to the isolated ruins of the Mayan city of Dos Pilas, capital of a medium sized kingdom today known at the Petexbatun Kingdom, with a minor stopover in Arroyo de Piedra with the friendly boatman on the far side of the river at the Cafe del Rio. This was one heck of a trip, involving an hour boat ride up the Petexbatun river, followed by a three-hour horse ride through the jungle and the slash-and-burn to the site. Dos Pilas, together with its sister city Aguateca (which I will talk about in my next post), are unique in that they are among the rare classic-period Maya sites that are heavily fortified.
Sayaxche
Our first stop back in Guatemala was the town of Sayaxche, a transportation hub of sorts and, most importantly, the closest point to not one, not two, but three nice looking Mayan sites just a little off the main tourist track.
Crossing the Border Again
After exploring the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan in Chiapas, Matt tried hard to book us a boat to the off-the-beaten-path site of Piedras Negras, which he had been dreaming about for a while. After hours of bargaining and tying to find other tourists to come with us to split the costs, he reluctantly had to give up his Indiana Jones fantasy, as we simply did not have enough pesos for this little adventure.
Hiking Nebaj to Todos Santos – Part 4
As you may have surmised from the end of our last posting, the next day started with a climb from our accommodation to the top of La Torre, the highest non-volcanic point in Central America. This climb was, amazingly, one of the easiest of the trek, our accommodation already being pretty high up the side of the mountain.
Hiking Nebaj to Todos Santos – Part 3
The day following the Altiplano was somewhat calmer in many ways, but rewarding nonetheless. It was on this day that we made our way into the Cuchumatanes range proper and enjoyed some hiking through some pretty high and beautiful mountains.
Hiking Nebaj to Todos Santos – Part 2
The next leg our hike after Xoxocom was up onto the Altiplano, by far the most interesting part of the trek. We got up at around 4 am to stumble our way up the hillside against which our sleeping quarters had been perched in order to get there in time for the sunrise. We barely made it, in fact, as the 700 meter climb turned out to be rather strenuous.
Hiking Nebaj to Todos Santos – Part 1
We decided that simply hiking from Xela to Atitlan was not enough to quench our outdoors thirst for this leg of the trip, so we decided to take one more hike before our 90-day tourist visa expired and headed for the Cuchumatanes mountain range near the Mexican border. This was a wonderful hike, taking us through Central America's highest non-volcanic mountains, with visits to villages of the Guatemalan Altiplano (not to be confused with the more famous Bolivian one) that have no roads, electricity or any other modern amenities.
Walking from Xela to Atitlan – Part 2
The second day of our hike from Xela to Atitlan kicked off with us struggling up a sizable ridge again, but on much more reasonable trails this time. We stopped in a few villages on the hillside, watching people harvesting coffee, sorting and shelling the beans, and laying them out to dry in the sun. We had lunch in the home of some villagers, talking about the corn and bean harvest, watching the chickens, pigs, horses and goats roaming about nearby. The women cooked more tortillas than we could possibly eat, starving as we were, and had a good laugh at our entirely vain attempts to make the tortillas ourselves. People we ran into spoke at least some Spanish, though most probably spoke a Mayan language, such as K'iche towards Xela, or Tz'utujil near the lake (those interested can read the sign in the pictures below).
Walking from Xela to Atitlan – Part 1
There is nothing like walking up and down big hills all weekend with a pack on your back to remind you that you had been spending too much time sitting in an office in the last few years! The advantage of big hills, though, is that they usually provide good views. And the advantage of a backpack with a tent in it is that it helps you get places where fewer people go. So "no pain, no gain", we thought, as we tackled the hills between Xela and Lago Atitlan, through what must be some of the most beautiful scenery Guatemala has to offer.
Salcaja
Another little afternoon trip took us to the town of Salcaja, just a few kilometers out of Xela. First and foremost, Matt got his fill of old piles of stone looking at the town's main attraction, a charming little colonial church, which, mind you, was not just any old church, but the very first one in Central America. Founded in 1524, it boasts an interesting facade and some of the original frescoes inside.
San Andres Xecul
One recent afternoon, we took a brief trip to the town of San Andres Xecul, located just 20 minutes north of Xela and billed as having "the most famous church in Central America." I don't know if that is true or not, but since I was unaware of any other churches in Central America before coming down here, I suppose that it is as good a candidate as any.