Hey well the jolly good news is i'm feeling much better today. The nausea has gone and I'm feeling more positive. Thanks for all the well wishes. I've been a little unlucky with the belly beasts but I met a doctor today who assured me that it's perfectly natural for foreigners in this part of the world and it can take some time for your system to adjust to all the alien bacterias and tricksy amoebas... to be honest I think the locals get sick with it too. Anyway, back in the saddle!

Today I got up at 5am to get to Tikal bright and early... I arrived not long after 6am just in time to hear the jungle awaken! It was truly incredible... at the entrance I ran into some nice friendly sorts and we got talking and made our way up the path together... before we even got to any temples we saw troupe after troupe of monkeys... howlers and some others I couldn't identify... swinging about, scratching their bellies and generally doing what monkeys do best! As we made our way up the path they swooped and crashed about above our heads... occasionally we'd hear a thud as a bit of branch or fruit narrowly missed us. We'd stop every so often to see what they were up to and they'd gather round above us and look down to see what we were up to! I had already been warned about monkeys stealth pissing on your head so I was hyper aware and constantly on the look out... all the same same I, along with a girl I was with, nearly got peed and pooed on!! They're not called monkeys for nothing! Then we made it to the temples. It's a huge place. Bigger than any of the other ruins I've visited before and there's a real magical atmosphere there. I think partly because it's still so engulfed in jungle which howls and chatters with noise all around you. You really feel like you've entered into another world. It was perfect being there so early too because you have the place to yourself and it's easier to picture in your mind the ancient civilisation that once populated the area. These are by far the largest temples I've seen and the most awe inspiring. It took us quite a few hours to make our way around the whole complex of ruins. As we made our way around we saw so many types of bird. I wish I was more of a bird nerd 'cause I hardly knew what any of them were but they were all incredibly beautiful. I was able to identify a Toucan when I saw it though. I was so excited to see one in the wild. We climbed to the top of the highest temple and looked out over the jungle to see the tops of the other temples poking out of the canopies. It's truly an amazing sight. The sky was cloudy but to be honest I don't think it mattered... it added a fitting moodiness to the the mystical atmosphere of the place. So by the time we left at midday we really felt as though we'd been up and out all day. Another good reason for getting there so early had also become quite apparent... it was sweltering hot and humid by now, not to mention the swarms of tour groups who were starting to arrive. Happy to avoid all this we jumped on the bus and made our way back to Flores. I was very happy, I was feeling better, I'd seen all the beasties I'd hoped to see, I'd made friends with a lovely english girl who shared my gripes about the traveler 'scene' and understood what I was talking about when I used words like knackered and queue and rubbish bin! (I've been hanging out with lots of americans lately. they've all been absolutely lovely but it's nice not to have to translate my english sometimes!) She's doing virtually the same trip as me so we'll be meeting up again no doubt. So that's me. I'm all better from my moment of miserable that resulted from the last few days of unpleasantries. I'll be moving on tomorrow but still haven't decided where yet! Will keep you posted... Bye for now xx