I didn't really intend it to work out that way, but I just so happen to have visited three places in a row with awesome Mayan temples. I am now completely Maya-ed out, but have made the following important observations about the Mayan people:
1 - These guys really knew how to build temples (much earlier than the other great pre-Colombian civilisation of the Incas).
2 - Their kings had some ridiculous names. My personal favourites include King Moon Double Comb, Turtle Macaw Lake III, 18 Rabbit and 6 Death Sun Shield.
3 - They could possibly be credited with inventing pinball. There was a game where players kicked/punched a ball up a stone slope with the aim of hitting rings/statues placed on the slope, thereby gaining points. This sounds exactly like pinball with human flippers to me. I think I am the first person to discover this. The only slight difference is that the losing team was put to death. I'm yet to see that rule implemented on a pinball machine.
First up was Tikal, probably the most powerful of the Mayan cities back in the day (200-900AD in case you were wondering). Annoyingly, this meant getting up at 4:30am to catch the bus from the town of Flores to the archaeological site. I thought I was still dreaming when we arrived to find hundreds of Mapaches with their tails up, sniffing around for food.
We set off into the ruins. Archaeologists must be too busy digging up stuff to think of interesting names for their discoveries because we started at Temple I and worked our way to Temple V. The largest of the main temples is Temple IV, from which you can see right out over the jungle canopy.
As we observed the peaks of the other four temples poking up through the jungle, I had an inspired thought - connect them with zip-lines for a Mayan zip-line tour! For some reason this suggestion was met with disdain from the officials. I think they are going to steal my idea and claim it as their own.
Worth a mention is Temple V. Still half-covered with vegetation, you're not supposed to climb it. There was a guy cutting the grass with a machete (standard in Guatemala), so I asked if we could climb a few steps. He surpassed all expectations when he ran up the steps, chucked a huge rope down, and invited us to all scramble up holding onto the rope, which he'd tied to a stone.
The view was jaw-dropping. Unfortunately, we could be seen from a long way off and caught the attention of the park officials. Apparently, the guy cutting the grass did not have the authority to allow a load of gringos to scramble up the slippery, wet steps of a national monument over 1,500 years old. Whoops.
After a rapid telling-off in Spanish, which no one really understood, we headed off to finish the circuit. Hopefully the grass cutter is still employed.
After that it was back to Flores. For some reason I had the urge to buy a kite, so I did. People fly them during the Day of the Dead celebrations, so I thought I'd get some practice in.
The next day myself and Neal visited the Mayan city of Yaxha. This site is less well-known but probably more beautiful than Tikal, being set next to two clear lakes.
The site is not as big as Tikal but it has some really well-restored impressive temples, especially the twin temples below.
These temples are unique in their non-uniform pattern, indicating that they were special ceremonial temples used for the most important occasions.
There is also the remains of a big ball court/human pinball machine. There would have been big stone slabs at the site below where the ball was hit up towards the scoring rings. The players stood in the grass verge in the middle.
Adding to the atmosphere of Yaxha were toucans, eagles, and the odd howler monkey! Not surprising as we were in the middle of the rain forest.
The next day myself, Zack and Neal went our separate ways after an awesome four weeks on the road together - I will miss those guys. I was heading across the border to Mexico, and the first town I came across was Palenque. This just so happens to be right next to, you guessed it, some important Mayan ruins!
After two full days traipsing around the jungle getting devoured by mosquitoes, my interest in Mayan ruins was waning slightly, but I decided that I'd give it my full enthusiasm as it would be the last Mayan site I'd be visiting on this trip. And boy was I glad! Those ruins were really great.
The Palenque style was a bit different to that of the other Mayan tribes - they tended to build squarer and more complex structures than other tribes. One highlight is the temple of the inscriptions (below). In 1952 archaeologists removed a stone slab to reveal a passageway. This passageway led to a huge stone tomb, covered in hieroglyphs, containing Palenque's most important king, Pakal.
This building was likened to a hobbit home by my Israeli travelling companion. It contains a carving of God L (another imaginative archeology term) smoking a pipe.
This is the view from the highest tower, out over the site. The square tower was a ceremonial tower used to crown the kings when power passed from one to another. This kind of square tower is also unique in Mayan architecture.
So, that was my week of being an amateur archaeologist. I have 106 mosquito bites and have lost half my body weight through sweating in the humid climates. I may also have Malaria. But I have seen some breathtaking feats of human engineering, created when the 'latest sculpting technology' consisted of a lump of rock that was harder than the one you were trying to carve.
Next I'm heading into the Mexican mountains. Oh, I've had a slight haircut - a parting present from Zack and Neal.
