belize ... well, tikal day 3

Be forewarned: this post is LOADED with photos!

I had a really hard time narrowing down these photos. Day 3 we ventured on to Tikal. It was a major ordeal. We left very early in the morning in 12 passenger van - all 6 of us and another family of 4 - and rode for a long time to the Guatemalan border.

Just before the border at San Ignacio, we picked up our tour guide and then right before the border, we transferred to a different van and a new driver... sounds fishy but really it was just easier for them to not do the paperwork and pay tariffs for crossing the border.

¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

A beautiful lake we passed on the way to Tikal.

A quick pit stop with a gift shop and later where we ate lunch. There was a man carving wood when we stopped and behind him was all these brilliantly painted masks. Jaiden ended up choosing a beautiful jaguar one for his bedroom!

My view from the very back row of the bus just before we enter Tikal National Park... so exciting!

We arrived! This is not the largest temple but probably the most renown, Temple I - it is amazing and this was just the backside!

The Great Plaza looking towards the North Acropolis - Nana and Alyssa in lower right corner!

Looking towards Temple I from Central Acropolis

Mayan carvings in the Central Acropolis

Where's Jaiden? Look for bright yellow shirt. I am standing in the Great Plaza and he is climbing the steps among the North Acropolis...

Alyssa and Daddy were just a little further down than him!

Jaiden climbing the staircase to Temple V - no it's not the original staircase. Most of Temple V is covered in foliage.

Jaiden and I at the tippy top

and what a view! From Temple V looking out at all of Tikal!

Back in the Great Plaza between Temple I and II and just in front of the North Acropolis is the ceremonial fire where modern day Mayan still make offerings and sacrifices. Today their offering (or sacrifice as some may consider) was their local rum.

Papi, Alyssa and Jaiden enjoying a coke and a joke or two!

On our way back we stopped for lunch and right next door was this little tortilleria - 

Se Vende Tortillas. 

I bought several tortillas it cost me $1 for 16 homemade, very fresh and hot corn tortillas.

Another stop we made once back in Belize...

for coconuts!

Jaiden and Jacques enjoying their coconuts with Alyssa behind them enjoying her bananas - I think she ate 6 of them!

And that was Day 3 half in Belize and half in Guatemala...

belize day 2

So with all the chaos of getting to Belize on day one - we did make it. Everything went fairly smooth once we were on the flight to Belize with the exception that my dad and Susan were being delayed by an unexpected medical emergency that had them staying in Houston for a night and then coming to Belize on Friday. We also discovered that we had no cell or wi fi service in the jungle and that was actually pretty cool except we couldn't send texts or emails home letting everyone know we were good.

But we woke to a beautiful day and after breakfast started our first adventure...

cave tubing! I didn't bring my camera but these are compliments of Dennis' iPhone that was sealed in a waterproof pouch... it did alright as you will see!

 This is us near the lodge and ready for some cave tubing...

 One of our favorite things about these trips is the adventures we encounter ... take for example this bus, no shocks, a dirt road and very old... we bounced around the whole ride there.

 We walked through an orange grove to get to the river.

 This was where we entered...

 ... and then back paddled towards the cave. I am in the pink towing Alyssa.

 The pre cave photo didn't work too well (really blurry) but Alyssa freaked out and was absolutely no way, no how going inside. Sadly that ended with Daddy and her returning to the lodge but Jaiden and I ventured in. We learned quite a bit about how Belize has a lot of caves and how the Mayans used the caves for special ceremonies. Unlike other caves we have been too, we did a lot of climbing and exploring into parts. We didn't touch any of the archaeological remains but I tried to capture a few of the highlights. 

 Scorpion spider! Surprisingly there was quite a few creatures - small - but nonetheless a few in the cave. We saw small fish, lots of bats and these really cool larvae that had these floss like strands that capture other bugs but that was WAY to hard to capture.

 This was a rock that was believed to have been sculpted slightly by the Mayans. This was probably the only part of the cave where Jaiden got a little nervous. It was thought to be a fertility god but also part of the story included how a couple would bring back their firstborn and sacrifice him/her to please the fertility god... which well, understandably might freak out any 9 year old first born!

 This is the only artifact that was in tact. The tradition was that during or after a ceremony, many of the pots used were smashed so often broken pieces were found throughout the cave but in this very difficult to reach and low ceiling part of the cave was this solo fully in tact pot. That was pretty fascinating and the guides had all of us go have a photo taken by it.

 And here he is at the end of the cave tour floating out of the cave. For most of the float out he was with Carlos (our guide) and in several areas we turned off the headlamps and did a pure blackout float through!

 This photo was for Jaiden as he thought it was hilarious that Carlos drove the bus right through the river both on the way and back.

 We made it back to the lodge for our first siting of howlers. 

 and a typical torrential rain ...

 that didn't stop the kids from swimming in the pool...

or soaking in the hot tub!

Our day ended even better when we met the van and helped Papi and Nana to the lodge to start our next adventures with them!

on our way...

"October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces."

-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 

Yes that pretty much felt like October and November was headed the same way until we headed for our adventure in Belize! 

I took a couple of iPhone photos the day we flew out, but what I should have capture was the predicted "light" snow that was heavily falling and sticking everywhere, the snow that delayed our flight by 45 minutes so we could de-ice and boy, was that a sight as the airport had a major set up going with like 10 planes all in a row and these cool Star Wars like trucks with men hovering in glass cabs spraying all the planes - it was a pretty sleek set up. 

I didn't even attempt to pull out the iPhone or camera as we ran what felt like 5 miles to our connecting flight or the tears Alyssa had when she said she couldn't run any further or the shock we had when the people movers we were counting on weren't working or the anxiety I had when I heard the "Last call for Belize flight 1419"and I still felt like we were 2 miles away - I swear Dallas is the largest airport I have ever ran in. I didn't capture our breathless, red faces as we thankfully sunk into our seats and headed to Belize but I did capture these two photos and we were on our way to an amazing adventure...

two digits

In the car and having a conversation about Jaiden's good friend turning 10. It goes a little like this:

Mom: Jaiden will be 10 soon too.

Jaiden (smiles): yea!

M: why is that so exciting to you?

J: I will be in middle school!

Dad: you want to be like Greg Heffley? (main character in Diary of a Wimpy Kid).

J: yea!

M: but in middle school you will have more homework!

J: never mind.