Belize Believer part 4 - Tikal, Guatemala

     From the 1960s to the 1990s Guatemala had been entrenched in a horrific civil war. Charges of mass murder, even genocide had been bandied about.  The UN had even named Guatemala the worst offender of Human Rights Abuse on the planet.  What better place to take your kids on holiday?
     Well, to be fair, the war WAS winding down by the time we snuck in through the backdoor (a formal peace treaty was signed 8 months after we were there, a direct response to our visit I'm sure, lol).  And we really only visited the vast Mayan ruins of Tikal.  But seeing all the guards armed with AK47s at the border was slightly unnerving.

     As the road from the Belize/Guatemala border to Tikal passes through the rural countryside, we were able to see how the indigenous people lived.  It was hard for the kids to believe that most people in the world do not have access to electricity and running water or plumbing.  For that moment, at least, I think the girls could really appreciate how lucky THEY were.

a Guatemalan village

     We finally arrived at our destination: Tikal, once the capitol of the Mayan Empire!   Tikal is so famous the even George Lucas filmed part of Star Wars Episode lV: A New Hope there.  Definitely the most fully excavated, and the most touristy (although that just means there were a few other people there), Tikal was a highlight of our trip.

Temple l

Temple lll

Temple 1 from Temple ll

Temple ll

the North Acropolis

Temples l, ll, lll, & lV as seen from Temple V

Of course we climbed every temple, even Temple lV - the highest pre-columbian structure in Mesoamerica!

     After touring Tikal the family was kind of "ruined out" so the rest of our trip was restricted to more sedate activities. We visited the Belize zoo and Guanacaste National Park.  We wound up our Belizean adventure with a stay at the Jaguar Reef Lodge (which was actually still in the process of being built it turned out) on the coast outside of Dangriga.  The barrier reef off the coast of Belize is famous for it's amazing scuba and snorkeling. However, in deference to my husband's somewhat limited swimming abilities (he often mistakes snorkeling for drowning), we decides to restrict our activities to boating out to an uninhabited island to go seabird watching, and having a wander around the Cockscombe Jaguar preserve.  No we didn't see any jaguars but we did end our vacation with a lovely swim under a jungle waterfall.

a tapir - Belize's National Animal

Belize's National Bird - the Keel-billed Toucan

Jaguar Reef Lodge (in it's infancy)

Man-O-War Caye - sea bird sanctuary

brown footed boobie (heh heh!)

Magnificent Frigate bird

the Magnificent Frigate is renown for it's huge red pouch which it inflates to attract the fairer sex

brown boobie in flight

Howler monkey

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

some very cute Homo sapiens sapiens

 Bathing beneath a jungle waterfall...











And so happy, tired, and more or less fully intact, we journeyed home ready to rest up, and more importantly, save up for our next adventure.