Tikal, Guatemala
In 2016, I visited the homeland with my family for my cousin Julio’s wedding. Because I was also his wedding photographer, he gifted me with a surprise flight and tour of Tikal, the ancient Maya capital that lies in the Petén region of Northern Guatemala.
I spend a lot of time researching the ancient Maya civilizations. As my ancestors, I feel a direct responsibility to learn about and uphold our history and culture. The Maya have proven to be some of the most fascinating civilizations on our planet, spurring many to create fantastical narratives over the decades in an attempt to downplay or hijack the genius hidden in the depths of the jungle. I feel a personal responsibility to continuously learn about and uplift Maya history and culture, and this trip gave me the opportunity to do so.
Friends of mine like to make jokes that I am the "Mayan prince" and that one day I shall return to my throne. Yesterday, I did.
We landed in a small airport in the city of Flores, about an hour drive away from Tikal National Park. There was a man waiting with a sign that had our names. We boarded his van with several others from Argentina, Paraguay and Mexico.
Along the way, we made a few stops to hydrate and to see some of the attractions. I was more interested in the people who lived in and around the area.
When we arrived, I learned that my cousin requested we have an english speaking guide, which I thought was hilarious. We were grouped with an older couple – Beanie and Roy – from Maryland. We befriended them and had a blast with them the whole way through.
Upon entering, the first thing you see is the Mutal, the cities name glyph. Major Maya cities have their own Mutal, and the people of Tikal took a lot of pride in theirs, brandished on jewelry and artwork by the dynastic families that ruled the cities. Branding before christ, awesome!
After a few miles of walking, we finally made it to the first, and smallest temple. And then the next, and the next, and the next. Each bigger, and more astounding. The weather was perfect - the sun would shine for a few minutes, followed by dark clouds immediately after, and it was very humid. We made several stops for water - and a beer here and there.
As we continued on our journey, the view of the temples was breathtaking. Imagine at the height of their society, these temples were plastered and painted a brilliant white and red, with hints of “Maya blue” and other colors decorating their many murals and details.
Temple IV from afar, the tallest known temple in the Mayan world, standing at 230 feet.
We continued our journey to the Central Acropolis (first photograph below), which is one of the most studied areas in the Tikal region. The Great Plaza lies south of this, which I probably took the most photographs of.
They flew in all the way from Japan. I told them how much I love Ramen and they told me to visit whenever I wanted.
After spending a few minutes at the Grand Plaza, we went to the top of Temple IV.
Panorama from Temple IV
We began our walk down, and back to the main entry area to have lunch, and take a van back to the airport. Exhausted, drenched in sweat, and excited to have seen so much.
90% of the walking part of the trip consisted of dense jungle.
