Saturday, August 1

Learning about Mayan hieroglyphs before dawn on our hike to Temple IV in Tikal.

Today was an early start. We woke before dawn to be able to watch the sunrise atop the Temple IV of the Tikal Mayan archeological site. We got to hike through the rainforest, listening to the creatures wake-up. Although it was foggy and we didn’t see the sun, we got to sit above the canopy listening to the howler monkeys and birds start their day.

After sunrise on the top of Temple IV

Beautiful Temple V in Tikal.

We spent our morning by exploring the Mayan ruins of Tikal National Park. We had the opportunity to see many temples and smaller buildings erected by the Mayans around the 8^th century. There were palaces, temples, pyramids and even a main town square – called the Grand Plaza. Tikal was considered the greatest city of the Mayan world in its time, with a population of almost 100,000.

Interestingly, there are many more structures that have still not been uncovered by archeologists.  They probably will not ever excavate more buildings because it is expensive and time-consuming.

After lunch we explored a local market, relaxed by the pool and gave ourselves some down time after our 4:00 am wakeup.

Before dinner, some of the group returned to explore the sites by sunset. The temples and surrounding rainforest looked even more beautiful as the sun dropped from the horizon.

We really valued learning about the Mayan civilization before we head to the Mayan Centre village where we will be living with their descendants.