thirty minutes. I kept expecting to see the temples and pyramids --Temple IV is the tallest structure in the Mayan world and is only one of the massive structures on this well excavated site. But there was only thick jungle vegetation, as far as I could see. Later I learned that Tikal encompasses 222 square miles and is important not only for its magnificent ruins but also for the protection of a vast array of wildlife and fauna.
It was still dark as I stood outside the eco-lodge where I was staying in El Remate . I thought about what other creatures might be awake in the jungle as I walked in the darkness down the stone steps to the road where I would meet my minivan at 5;30 AM. I had stayed in El Remate because it was closer to Tikal than Flores. I wanted to be at the park entrance by 6AM to see the first light at the site. I was surprised that after we paid our entrance fee at the park gate, we continued driving for another thirty minutes. I kept expecting to see the temples and pyramids --Temple IV is the tallest structure in the Mayan world and is only one of the massive structures on this well excavated site. But there was only thick jungle vegetation, as far as I could see. Later I learned that Tikal encompasses 222 square miles and is important not only for its magnificent ruins but also for the protection of a vast array of wildlife and fauna.
0 Comments
![]() For the last two weeks I have been traveling farther from Antigua, to the Petén and Rio Dulce areas in the north and eastern parts of Guatemala. It was one of the most incredible trips of my life! I was deeply moved in visiting the ancient Mayan sites of Tikal and Uaxactún. It was impossible to be indifferent next to the temples and pyramids, these structures of massive limestone towering well above the tallest trees in the surrounding jungle, placed with incredible precision so that every year the path of solstices and equinoxes is light passing through an opening in the stones. Petén is home to one of the world’s largest remaining rainforests and is also considered to be the “cradle of Mayan civilization” a region where the Mayan calendar was perfected and the incredible site of Tikal constructed, over a period of nearly 2000 years. THREE DAY CULTURAL FESTIVAL TO SUMPANGO for THE DAY OF THE DEAD ![]() After months of research and many visits to Sumpango in order to learn more about the Kachiqel Mayan tradition of Los Barriletes Gigantes, the Giant Kites, it was truly a pleasure to bring a small international group of travelers to Sumpango for Dia de los Muertos. We met up with Julio Asturias in Sumpango’s central park. All around us vendors were selling marigolds which would be used to decorate Sumpango’s cemetery. As in Oaxaca, the scent of the marigolds is believed to guide the spirits home for their fleeting reunion with the living. Julio led us to the large hall of the municipal building where some of los barrileteros, the kitemakers, were continuing to work on their mammoth creations. In addition to the months of work which had already gone into the kites, many of the groups worked all night long for this last week before the festival, cutting tissue paper and gluing sections of their kite together. The kites would be mounted on bamboo the next day. Already they were spectacular works of art, made entirely from tissue paper and glue. It was fun to meet up again with the members of Corazon Juvenil and this time to be able to publish photos of their design as well as to see how they had progressed! |
Louise "Luisa" Wisechild, PhDI first visited Guatemala in 1995 as a member of the Vashon Island sister city delgation to Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala. Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|