Day 4

This is actually the last day I actually took pictures. We woke up early and drove the remainder of the way to Tikal. It was amazing. Just no other way to describe it. To think of those people building such massive structures just boggles my mind.

So this is a picture of the path carved by the leaf cutter ants. They would carry pieces of leaves 3x the size of their ant bodies. Pretty crazy. It kind of makes my head itch to see large quantities of insects in any given place.


One of the temples

Close up of the stones that are used to construct the temples.



Still good looking.

Mi mama y yo (gotta use some Spanish...we were in Guatemala). It was SUPER muggy there. And hot. And sunny. I am not keen on any of those things, but it was still worth it. I also saw some howler monkeys swinging in some trees. No howling though. I had hoped.

I also got bit on my bosom by an ant. No joke. It killed and itched for quite some time. I felt like I had ants crawling in my shirt the rest of the day. I think he thought it was his anthill. Ha.







I guess this is the scene in a Star Wars movie.

















So, no where in the US would you EVER be allowed this close to a ruin, much less climb on it.



Just starting to unearth another. They are all over this area.

So I passed on climbing this one. I am not much of a heights person and though I knew I could get up, I think going down would have freaked the bejeebers out of me.

My brave hubby did it though.


After we were finished at Tikal we got back in the van and drove the 8 hours back to Guatemala City. It was a long drive. Don't worry though, I kept everyone entertained with a myriad of games such as "20 questions" and think of a song with "this" word in it.

Monday was D's big 31. I got him nothing. hmmm. I guess he still gets to be married to me, what more could he want? Ha. We had a nice dinner and then went to the really nice, new mall to see "Angels and Demons" The theatre was as nice (or nicer) than any theatre in the US and they sell caramel corn at the concession stand. I am almost tempted to move to Guatemala just for that very reason.

Oh, I forgot, the last day the guys hiked the Volcano Pakai (spelling anyone?) I was lazy and bowed out. My back and feet bother me so much and by the last day I was feeling it (though my new tennis shoes are now making a world of a difference with that problem). The lava was actually flowing and once again, unlike the US, they let people climb it and play in it, if they choose. The guys spent most of the time throwing in sticks and watching them go into flames. My parents have since taken hot dogs and marshmallows to roast up there. True story folks. How many people can say they have had a marshmallow roasted over molten lava. Few, I am sure.

I know we have pictures from that event, but my organization lacks a bit and I may need to hit up my dad for another disk. Maybe D was smart enough to take the disk and hide it from me so I couldn't lose it. Good chance of that too. It is amazing that I can keep all my client's stuff findable, but when it comes to my own, my brain is overloaded and I seem to misplace things ALL. THE. TIME.

Anyway, story for another day.

I went shopping with my mom that day to pick up a few little souvenirs. Got J some really tacky Guat. shorts which he wears regularly, some really nice placemats (that I am yet to use), napkins and cute vege and fruit napkin rings. I got an assortment of other little things including a slingshot for J which he uses to shoot marshmallows in the back yard. We made it very clear when giving it to him that they were the ONLY approved ammo.

And there you have it...Guatemala. Oh yes, did I mention how FABULOUS it is to travel without kids? It is.