Guatemala part 2

After our excursion to Quiriguá we headed out to northern Guatemala to the state of Petén.  En route, we passed by some military personnel.  Jared and Dallin wanted to have their photo taken with one of the guys so I asked and he said it would be OK.

 
I couldn't tell exactly where this fit in, probably back at Quiriguá, but Jared and Dallin were in the same clothes as the other shots on this day so I stuck it in.  They are with Erin Elton, daughter of one of the former Walker missionaries.  She lives near Dallin in California but found out he was going on this trip while they were both attending a young singles meeting on the east coast and Dallin overheard her talking about the trip.  They couldn't believe they were both going on a Walker Guatemala trip.

The Camino Real Hotel near Santa Elena is right on the third largest lake in Guatemala, the Petén Itza.  It is lowland and in the jungle.  It's a great hotel.  This is in the dance area where we also sang karaoke.  Dallin is dancing with Rebecca Marsh (daughter of John Marsh and niece of Henry Marsh the olympic steeple chaser from the 80's).  Becky also had two single brothers on the trip.

Jared and Erin dancing in the jungle.

Several of us tried karaoke.  Here Gayle and Erin belt it out.  Erin has a very nice voice, as does her father, Byron.

There were lots of exotic plants around the hotel (and everywhere else, for that matter).

The first site we visited in Petén was Yaxha (pronounced Josh-ha, more or less, per our guide, Aquilino).

 

The dudes, taking in some vitamin D.

 
Father and son, apparently looking at something in the jungle.

Jared, on top a VERY steep pyramid at Yaxha.  Frankly, I experienced mild acrophobia, mostly when others got too close to the edge.  The Laguna Yaxjá (spelling per map) in the background was very scenic.

Jared, holding up a stela.  Actually, in some cases the actual stelae are taken to secure locations for study and preservation and replicas are set up.  Not sure which this is.

Gayle, atop one of many pyramids.

In these ancient sites, many of the surrounding hills are actually unrestored pyramids.  At Tikal, for example, the forest had been cleared in the late 1800's and yet when we were there the jungle had completely taken back much of the area and all the unrestored pyramids.  Once inhabitants left, often it is suspected due to degradation of the surrounding environment, the cities were lost to the jungle.

 
That's me on top.  You can click to enlarge if you don't believe me.

Lake Petén Itza was fantastic.  It is clean, warm, and beautiful.  This is a dock below our hotel.  We went swimming and kayaking.  A Swiss guy had retired and built a beautiful home overlooking the lake just around the bend.  We went kayaking past his house (and dock and boats).

Jared and Dallin had just pulled in with the kayaks as dusk fell.

We had to get this sign.  How many times do you see a "Jaguar crossing" sign?  This is Rich May, one of my former companions (we served in Tampico together) and his sister-in-law, Terry Wilkinson.  Rich is an immunologist in Birmingham, Alabama (but was raised in Ojai, California).  He's been a stake president and Area authority, and right now is serving his second time as a bishop.

Also not the type sign we would usually see.

Although this was a small guy, there really were crocodiles in this body of water at Tikal.

Overlooking part of the main square (so to speak) of Tikal.  The numbers of "buildings" here (and at other ancient Mayan cities) were incredible.  We didn't have the time and money (usually one goes by helicopter) to get to the more recently studied El Mirador up in northern Petén.  Its size even overshadows Tikal.  Its La Danta pyramid is not as tall as, but is more massive than the one at Giza, Egypt.  Charles Lindbergh and other pilots who saw it and other pyramids in that part of Petén thought they were seeing many volcanoes.

Group shot at Tikal.  Trevor and Charlene Ashton, Rich and Pam May, Kenny and Terry Wilkinson, and yours truly with Gayle.

One of many large carved masks at Tikal.  I need to point out that the pyramids, when in use, were all stuccoed and painted different colors.  And all the open areas for walking were also stuccoed.

The young bucks at Tikal.

John Marlan and Colleen Walker!

Wish I had a recording of the howl these howler monkey make.  Amazingly loud and scary.

Buzzards circling in the jungle around one of the multiple "temples" at Tikal.  The hill just outside the shot to the right is another of the temples, but not uncovered.

We had an amazing local guide on this leg of the adventure.  All I can remember is his first name, Aquilino.  He has never been to the US but speaks English very fluently.

Jared with a Mayan temple in the background, rising above the forest.

Another shot of the center area of Tikal.  Roofs cover some of the artifacts being preserved and studied.

Another one of us.  Note the scaffolding in the background as work is being done to shore up and preserve the ancient structures.

Jared in the jungle.  Has a nice ring to it.

That evening we went to see the lake island of Flores (from the shore) and mainly to visit one of the local LDS branches in Santa Elena, to see students who had benefited from the Walkers' foundation, Las Gaviotas (the seagulls), which provides tuition for poor students to complete public education (which is free only for the first 6 years).  Each recipient got to stand up and express gratitude and report on their progress.

Wish I'd taken better shots of El Camino Real hotel, but here's one of thte sidewalk going past each building of rooms, which overlook Lake Petén Itza.

And here's a shot of the breakfast spread that awaited us each morning.

A look over a roof top area toward the lake.

 There was a nice pool and jacuzzi, but I'm not sure which part of which this particular view takes in.

 We left the Santa Elena area and retraced our earlier journey as we headed to our next adventure site, the Atitlan area.  They let us disembark the buses in order to walk across a scenic bridge.  This spanned a narrow part of the Lago de Izabal, the largest lake in Guatemala.  I didn't realize it at the time, but we were very close to the Castle of San Felipe, a place a Guatemalteco friend of mine (Adrian's neighbor) said we should try to see.

Even though this is Guatemala, we were close enough to Mexico (in distance and culture) that hand made corn tortillas were still very common in the area.  After we crossed the bridge, this was one of the places we passed on foot as we approached the gas station where the buses were re-fueling.