Guatemala 2025 - Days Thirteen And Fourteen - Ending On A Good Note

Saturday - 02/22 - Tikal

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and watched the oddball attendees of the Tikal Convergence who were staying at our hotel.  The people attending were shamans, shaman wanna bes, and shaman cosplayers.  The colorful costumes and flowing fabric was an overload for the senses and common sense.

A ceiba tree.

Our bus picked us up and took us to Tikal national park, home of one of the larger Mayan complexes.  I'd been there twice before back in the 70s.  Things had changed a bit.  It is better organized and accessibility to the temples has been improved.

Our tour guide spoke great English and we were in a small group.  We entered the park and walked past the enormous ceiba trees to the main temple complex.

It felt a bit smaller than I remember but I was a bit smaller back then so everything felt bigger.  Our guide gave us time to wander around the two main temples and the adjacent structures.  Since I was here last they'd built a wooden staircase and platform on one of the temples to make it easier to climb.  It started showering while we were there but it didn't interfere with us enjoying the temples.

The temple complex seen from the top of one of the temples.

We met back up with the guide and we visited other temples that were only partially uncovered including one that gave you a panoramic view of the jungle and the tops of temples.  All in all the tour was very good and it was a great ending to our Guatemala trip.  Tikal was just as magnificent as I remembered it.

The top of the jungle with several temples poking above the treetops.

We stopped for lunch in the park before heading out through the gift shop.  The bus dropped us off at the airport.  I remember it just being a grass strip but it is now an international airport.

We returned to Guatemala City and spent our last night in Guatemala.

Sunday - 02/23 - Returning Home

We had a relaxing morning at the hotel before going to the airport for our afternoon flight home.  The return was uneventful.

Epilogue

I was somewhat concerned about visiting the country where I'd grown up.  My memories of this place were a messy amalgamation of good and bad.   My high school years were not the best for me.  I worried I would sink into a gloomy place but that never happened.  I found myself enjoying return to my old haunts even if I couldn't visit my old house.

Things change and a lot has changed in Guatemala.  Most of the changes, I suspect, are more a result of foggy memory than actual change.  The City definitely was more built up but the countryside, besides the fast food signs, was what I remembered.  The roads were better and towns had grown.  The influence of tourism, especially in the western Mayan Highlands, was more pronounced.

The new parts, for me, were disappointing.  The eastern part of the country still hasn't been prepared for foreign tourism yet.  As a result, our experience during our second week was a bit lackluster.  It was also unfortunate, and beyond anyone's control, that the rain in Rio Dulce ruined what could have been a highlight of the trip.

The Wife dragged me kicking and screaming back to the country of my teenage years and I am very grateful she did.

Pictures can be found in my 2025-02 Guatemala Google Photos album.