The sky was ablaze with brilliant sun as I walked along the path through the jungle of Guatemala that first morning. I made it: I was at Tikal (Tea-CALL). Many say it’s the granddaddy of Mayan ruins. I had all but given up on this one; in fact I thought I’d have to give up on all ruins I hadn’t already seen because I could no longer handle the heat. (Heat and MS are as volatile as gasoline and a match.) Then I got turned on to cooling vests and all was possible again (assuming I could walk or stumble the distance).

Tikal, meaning Place of Whispers, covers an area of 223 square miles, though only 10 are excavated. More than 4,000 structures exist on those 10 square miles, including temples, palaces, residences, ballcourts, terraces, causeways, and even a sweat bath, all in various states of decay and some not unearthed at all. The general time frame for the city of Tikal was 600 BC to 900 AD, with most of the ruins we see today from the last few of those centuries. Something happened around 900 AD that caused Tikal to cease being a major Mayan city, though only theories and speculation about the Maya’s decline exist today. The theories range from warfare, a revolt of the common people, disease, famine, water shortage, and even the return of spaceships to reclaim Tikal’s leaders. It’s unlikely that we will ever really know for sure. Tikal was "rediscovered" in the middle of the nineteenth century, and the Guatemalan government made the site into a national park in 1955. The University of Pennsylvania did the first major excavation from 1956 to 1979. Tikal continues to draw visitors from all over the world today. I knew when I planned my itinerary that there was no way I would see the whole excavated site in three days, but I also knew that I’d be sure to see and experience as much as I reasonably could in that time.  

It was about a two-km walk (that’s about 1.25 miles) from the Tikal Park entrance to my first set of structures, so I set out early in the morning to reach the ruins. The Great Plaza is unquestionably the heart of ancient Tikal. It’s a large courtyard surrounded by the single largest concentration of structures at Tikal. I approached the Great Plaza from the back of Temple I, easily the hallmark of Tikal if not all of Guatemala. I wasn’t over-heated by MS standards but was dripping sweat and definitely stumbling by the time I reached Temple I, and my right side was fairly numb from the heat. I probably looked like some drunk stumbling upon the ruins by accident when I finally reached the Great Plaza, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I knew I would recover when I cooled down. I’ve always said you can’t let a little thing like disability slow you down any more than absolutely necessary--which is usually more than enough all by itself.

As I rounded the front of Temple I, the full grandeur of the Plaza was overwhelming. Temple I’s limestone structure towers 145 feet high. Directly across the Plaza is Temple II at 120 feet. To my right stood the North Acropolis, complete with dozens of stela (carved stones) and altars. Completing the Plaza was the Central Acropolis on my left. I sat down right where I was to recover from the walk in, but I also pictured what this astounding site must have been like in its time. Temple I was originally completed around 700 AD. All was done without the benefit of the wheel, one of the few human achievements that escaped the Maya. The civilization had very advanced mathematicians and astronomers, and developed a calendar system more accurate than both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. They formulated the concept of zero and developed an early type of hieroglyph writing.   

Temple I isn’t open to climb, but Temple II is. It didn’t matter to me. My balance is damaged so much by MS that I quit climbing anything even remotely tall years ago. After spending time photographing and studying the temples, I moved on to the Central Acropolis. A series of six terraced courtyards surrounded by the remains of palaces is the focus of the Central Acropolis. It was no stretch to imagine the Mayan royalty living within the palaces’ many small rooms some 1,200 years ago.

I managed to go on to the North Acropolis before returning to my hotel that first day. It didn’t look that large from the Plaza, but I discovered otherwise when I began exploring. The remains of several large temples are tucked behind the first row of ruins and provided some good views of the Plaza. There’s also a sunken room containing a five-foot carving of the mask of a Mayan deity. All of it was spectacular.

By then the day was fading and I was exhausted, so it was time to head out, knowing that I still had two days left and needed to pace myself to make it through. Besides, there was so much to see walking in and out of the park that I had to allow extra time for sightseeing along the way. For instance, there are groups of structures simply called Group F or Group G that I passed and explored. There are also nine Twin Pyramid Complexes, structures that are unique to Tikal. They consist of two pyramids built a short ways apart, each with a flat top and a stairway on each side. These pyramids are believed to each represent a twenty-year cycle of the Mayan calendar called a katun.

I also had to stop awhile to enjoy the wildly spectacular wildlife of the Guatemalan jungle. Several varieties of toucans, with their kaleidoscope of colors and long tapered beaks, perched in the trees above. Spider monkeys swung by their tails from tree to tree, conversing with each other as they sailed by. Jaguar roam deeper in the jungle, but they don’t come near where humans hang out, I’m glad to report; there are some things I just don’t feel the need to experience. I was a little disappointed that I found no sign of the howler monkey, however. I had heard about howlers, identified by their scream that sounds like a wounded jaguar, before going to Palenque (pal-EN-kay) several years ago, but didn’t see or hear any while there. I’d read that they are a more common occurrence at Tikal, but they weren’t sharing their unsettling screams with me, it seemed.

I rose early again the next morning, walking past the Great Plaza on my way to the southern structures. I began with Temple V, only to discover that it was going through some restoration at the time. The entire face was covered with scaffolding, so I stayed only long enough to rest and cool down, then moved on to the South Acropolis. This startling structure is a colossal rectangular mass of solid construction covering five acres. The top floor is some 80 feet above ground and contains several large palaces around a central temple, or so I’m told. I, of course, wisely chose not to climb. (Some of you may wonder why I bother going to ruins if I can’t climb them. But to me, the real question is, should I see none because I can’t see all? Fortunately, that’s just not my style.)

After a break, I went next door to the Plaza of the Seven Temples, a series of seven nearly adjacent temples whose history goes back centuries before Christ. The restored central temple is the largest, with many of the others not restored at all. A series of palaces extends south, complete with a human skull tucked in the upper facade of one of the palaces, presumably from one of the Maya’s human sacrifices, though no one really knows.

By this time, the heat of the day was coming on strong, and I was fading rapidly. But I was right next to The Lost World Complex. The name had intrigued me since arrival, and I wasn’t going to miss it. (I knew the names were all given to the structures by the explorers in the nineteenth century, but it was still intriguing.) Some of its structures date back to 600 BC. I wandered over to the complex and explored its several temples, including the Great Pyramid. Each of the ruins I’ve visited has a Great Pyramid, and it was interesting seeing the differences between them. This one has a stairway on each side and is 100 feet tall. It’s not, however, the premier structure of Tikal as it was at some other ruins I’ve visited.

I was about to head for the trail out of the park when I heard it--the scream of the howler monkey.  Because I’d never actually heard it before, I wasn’t certain at first. It didn’t even sound very far away. Then it started  again,  and I was sure it had to be the howler--either that or an injured jaguar and we were about to be lunch. I had to assume it wasn’t the latter. Another man and I took off to find it and didn’t have to go far. In a clearing a short way down the path was a howler monkey in a treetop screaming his little lungs out. He had incited some others in the distance, and we were being serenaded now by a whole chorus. I hung out awhile longer to hear it. After all, I had waited years for the experience. I have no idea why, but the first time I read about the eerie call of these fascinating animals, I knew I had to experience it, and am glad I finally had the opportunity. (If you have a soundcard and windows, Click here to play a recording of the howler monkey. Play from its present location if your browser asks you, and be patient. It takes a moment to load.) I was toast for sure by then and needed to head back. I continued to hear the monkeys all the way to the motel, which is one of three located at the edge of the Tikal National Park property. 

It was still relatively early in the day after a shower and rest, so I headed to the small museum just down the road a few hundred yards and discovered it’s a must-see if you’re ever at Tikal. Replicas of some of the major stela as well as actual vases and figurines from various burial sites are included. One of the most interesting presentations is a reproduction of the tomb of a governor found buried inside a level of Pyramid I on excavation. Ninety-six carved bones as well as various jewels and figurines were included with the governor’s body inside the tomb, and all were part of the exhibit. Other tombs were also found at Tikal, one containing the remains of a priest and nine of his followers, presumed to have been sacrificed to accompany and serve the priest in the underworld. Afterwards I strolled over to the nearby Visitor’s Center that I had passed on the way in to see what it held. I was surprised to find a beautiful scale model of Tikal. It was extremely helpful in visualizing the layout of the entire ruin and the relative locations of the structures, and it’s another must-see.

While I was going through the open-air museum, the raucous chorus of monkeys continued to howl in the distance. In fact they kept it up the entire evening, and were still at it when I awoke several times in the night. Then, just as suddenly as they had begun they were silent again and remained so for the rest of my time at Tikal.

The third was my final day at the ruins, and I still had unexplored sites I wanted to see. As was my habit by now, I set out early, walking first to Temples III and IV, both partially excavated pyramids. Temple IV is the tallest in Tikal at 212feet, and the view from the top is supposed to be magnificent, the best in all the Tikal ruins. Unfortunately, the climb is begun by long wooden ladder, so I had to trust that the view was superb and move on.

I headed south from there to Temple VI, also known as the Temple of Inscriptions. I had expected to see this earlier in the visit because the Temple of Inscriptions had been the highlight of my trip to Palenque. While it was fascinating seeing the many differences between the structures at the two sites and attempting to read a few of the inscriptions, it didn’t move me in the same way as it had at Palenque. Perhaps some of my reaction was because my time at Tikal was running out and I couldn’t stay long.

The last stop on my way out had to be the Great Plaza once again. I sat on the Plaza among the temples just as I had the first day and marveled at the Maya’s accomplishments more than a millennium ago. Perhaps their harmony with nature can be attributed merely to the time they lived in, since nature ruled nearly everything then. But what struck me as I was leaving was the Mayan understanding of life and the relationship between humanity and the universe, or humanity and God, as I like to see it. I felt very lucky to be at Tikal, the Place of Whispers, let alone to have three days there. I have learned and grown from my fascination with the Maya, and I hope the rest of the world will continue to gain insights from this remarkable culture.

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