Ancient Guatemala – Antigua & Tikal

Our first week traveling has been like watching our boys ease into a chilly swimming pool on a hot summer’s day. They dip their toes in to assess, pause on the edge to contemplate, and then commit involuntarily by way of an unexpected push from behind. After our adventures in Antigua and Tikal, its fair to say that Sean and I just pushed the boys in…

Over the last six days, we have spent hours in rustic transit to wade within the waters of a country rooted and guided by its ancestry. Everywhere we’ve been, the Mayan history is palatable. Young girls dress identical to their mothers in elaborately embroidered Mayan skirts and sashes.

Men work according to the principles and customs taught to them by their fathers and grandfathers. It’s common when speaking to locals to hear “Well, my grandfather once told me”…. Generations seem to be woven together tightly like the colorful threads of the textiles that fill markets and roadsides.

The beautifully preserved city of Antigua, like lake Atitlan, is surrounded by 3 volcanos, two of which are active.  A five hour round trip hike to the top of the Acatenango volcano rewards the adventurous traveler with front row seats to a spectacular geothermal theater,  molten magma and all.  It wasn’t in the cards for this trip, but Sean is seeking some compadres con cojones to join him on what many call a lifetime experience. Marshmallows included.

Discussions on whether we could each outrun flowing hot lava dominated our dinner conversation at a local taqueria the first night.  Owen engineered our family’s escape plan via motorcycles and helicopters.  However, during our discussion,  our eyes were drawn to the taqueria’s featured T-shirt for sale.

I apologize now to the spanish department at GCDS for the new vocabulary that the boys will eagerly share with their classmates.   Unfortunately, or fortunately, not sure which, all shirts were sold out in our sizes.

Speaking of cojones, a fauna highlight so far has been a plant called Huevos de Caballo (horse balls). That I’m writing about a plant that looks like horse balls suggests that I’m already succumbing to the lower levels of male anatomy humor.

An engaging local guide in Antigua along with a morning enrolled in a Spanish language school lured us further into the culture here. Profesoras Patricia and Sonia knew how to challenge each of us well,  regardless of our fluency levels.  Everyone, especially Sean, is rapidly shedding inhibitions to speak.

A pre-dawn flight to Flores, and a two hour drive down jungle roads brought us to the epicenter of the ancient Mayan civilization, Tikal and Uaxatun.   Discovered in the late 19th century but not unearthed until the last 50 years, this remote region delivers an awe inspiring step back into early Mayan civilization.

Our guide Eric instantly fascinated us all.   He grew up in the jungle during the Guatemalen civil war from 1960-1996.   Everything he knows and believes in, he learned from his grandfather.  He has never left Guatemala, yet speaks 4 languages, loves other cultures, and has the patience of a saint.

Early chatter in the car fell silent as we passed only a few signs as we got closer to our destination.

We arrived to Uaxatun (say “Washington” but replace the “ing” with an “a”) a remote town of 100 people, where we were the only tourists.  We immediately stepped back in time – way back – as there were no “Warning” or “Do not enter” signs that prevented us from wandering around the ancient temples.  Eric guided us through the remains with no one else in sight. The boys were free to roam and ran up the same steps as the Mayan people.  Crazy to think that such places still exist.

 

 

Eric actually grew up in a similar town.  He described playing with tarantulas and boa constrictors as a child the way we’d talk about chasing after the ice cream truck.  He reassured us that tarantulas are not poisonous (just grab them by the back of the head) and boas are fun to manipulate, but for me the jury is still out.  We did encounter one tarantula, but it retreated to it’s hole before we could snap a shot.   One year of nightmares successfully averted for me, thank god.

How can such an experience still exist in a world that is filled with so many people?

Our second day in the region, we returned to the jungle and the geographic center of Mayan civilization – Tikal.  Tikal is a tourist hotspot.  George Lucas spent time here and was so transfixed that he included Tikal in Episode IV of his Star Wars movies.  We were equally mesmerized but thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day after climbing ruin after ruin (25,000 steps according to my fitbit).

We have unintentionally lightened our bags with a few losses so far. A pair of shoes, water bottles, shirts, even a credit card and global entry card. One of my mother’s favorite “momisms” is ask yourself, is this life threatening and can it be fixed? So true Mom.  Hopefully these loses will remind everyone to OWN YOUR STUFF (correct, all caps means I’m shouting).

Our motto when we travel is to avoid the crash when in a nosedive.   Whether it’s hunger, fatigue, heat, or a lethal combination of all three, it can come on like food poisoning…fast and fiercely intense.  When in a family nosedive, we do whatever it takes to get out of it. For the kids this usually involves sugar in ways that defy all responsible parenting…Cokes, neon gummy candies, or some nauseating liquid concoction called a Pony that will yield instant joy.  Of course, a cold Gallo, the national cerveza of Guatemala, smoothes the re-ascent for Sean and I after the averted disaster.

 

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.  We miss being with all of you!

Off to Nicaragua!