We woke up today excited as we were heading to another Mayan site called Tikal. Unlike the other Mayan sites we have visited it is renowned as one of the largest and less commercialised.

Tikal is an hour away from our island home of Flores, and during the ride we got to see some of rural Guatamala. The local villages are small, and their are horses, dogs, chickens and tukeys everywhere. Some of the dogs are a little suicidal and sleep in the middle of the roads. The people we saw were all of humble roots, with nothing more than shacks by the side of the road, maybe offering a little shop to travellers, or a small area of farmland to grow what they need. We had a few children wave at us as we travelled up to Tikal.

Upon entering the site, we saw a grey fox, vulchers and some of the protested blue turkeys which later seemed to be everywhere. (Megan likes Turkeys). The weather had taken a turn to overcast with sunshine and it was VERY humid. We donned the bug spray (which by the way we are starting to think is becoming our natural smell) and went into the jungle.

The ruins here are only 20% excavated, probably less than 5% restored, and in the middle of the vast Guatamlan jungle. Upon seeing the first temple appear it was a completely jaw dropping experience. They are completely different to the temples of Chichen Itza and Tulum, vaster and larger than both. The setting is also stunning, as we needed to walk a good 20-25 minutes from temple to temples (its a huge place). The structures are huge and dwarf the jungle which over time had taken over this huge Mayan city. We also got to climb on some of the ruins, and go up some of the ancient temples. Dave was very sad when he said "I can't believe I am standing where George Lucas stood" completely ignoring the ancient Mayan priests who stood there long before the scene in starwars!!!!!. The view over the vast Guatamalan jungle was stunning, with pretruding temples here and there, a real treat and another great experience in Guatamala.

We were also visited by a White-nosed Coati (sort of a raccoon like crature whith a cuter face and bigger claws). This incident will live forever in our stories, as the Coati approached a bigger Megan eating a sandwich! And yes, it jumped at her, making her scream and run, eventually throwing the whole picnic bag at the rodent. At which time it smiled at its success and and devoured every piece of it! So funny...

We returned to Flores that afternoon to relax on the deck in front of the lake - what a suprise Guatamala has been so far!

p.s. we have been travelling with a really good group - including an Aussie couple and their sister, a fun Kiwi, another Aussie and what group could be complete without a Irishman.