Now that I am a responsible working adult my trips have been cut dramatically short. I got back a week ago from a 10 day Guatemalan adventure. I'll take what I can get when it comes to vacation, but it still felt painfully short #whitegirlproblems
I've taken so little time to reflect on ? anything this past year, but if 2012 was the year of ambition, I hereby declare 2013 to be the year of adventure. By the end of a chaotic and accomplished year, I still had (have) no idea what I'm doing with my life as I plunged forward. I was certain that my only salvation from myself would be adventure tourism in Latin America. Guatemala was chosen by flight price, and I proceeded to review my options. I consulted a friend who had worked at a hostel in Livingston, Guatemala for 8 months, and he mentioned El Mirador.
The Mayan empire preceeded that of the Incas or Aztecs. The height of their civilization had fallen long before the arrival of the Spanish, hypothesized to be secondary to drought, but Mayan culture is still very much alive in many central American countries, like Guatemala. El Mirador is not the best known Mayan site in Guatemala, that title goes to Tikal, yet it is the location of the tallest known Mayan pyramid, La Danta.
My rough guide stated that per any year, the number of archaeologists visiting the site far outnumbers that of tourists, although per my guide on the hike, El Mirador hosted 300-400 travelers for the 13th Baktun, or the "Mayan end of the world" on December 21, 2012, a great exception to the usual numbers. There are no roads to El Mirador, it must be done on foot or by helicopter. Mel Gibson opted for the latter during the shooting of Apocalypto, which was shot on top of La Danta. I make an active commitment to avoid Mel Gibson films, but I'm a little curious about it after completion of the hike. Our guide, Juan Carlos, found it very entertaining that the movie portrayed Mayan human sacrifices on top of the pyramids when there is no evidence that this was conducted at the top of the pyramid at any of the sites. The Mayans did not begin the practice of human sacrifice until the later years of the empire, it was not discussed by our guide in the context of El Mirador. As El Mirador was one of the earlier Mayan sites, it may not have played a major part in that society.
I was sold. El Mirador or bust. I arrived in Flores on my 3rd day and got a spot on a hike with 11 other travelers to El Mirador.
This tour was pretty "cushie" for a five day backpacking trip. I was told the only think that I needed to bring was extra clothing, "las mulas" the mules would carry all of the food, tents and ended up carrying all of our extra stuff as well. By the time we reached each camping site, the food had already been prepared and the tents ready.
The first day we hiked 12 km (7 miles) and reached Tintal. The jungles of Mayan lands are covered in small uncovered ruins. Tintal was essentially a suburb of El Mirador. Although much smaller, the people of Tintal had built their own pyramids and the city was surrounded by a moat which served primarily as water storage. By the time we reached Tintal, we had already been walking on a path of limestone, now overgrown with jungle, that had been built by the Mayans thousands of years ago. The path went all the way to El Mirador, the parts that were still recognizable as an ancient highway looked to be about 10 meters in width though I believe that our guide, Juan Carlos, said (in Spanish) that it was up to 30 meters across. The Mayans did not use domesticated animals, so the "highway" was exclusively for foot traffic. This region of Peten is now densely covered with jungle
The second day I believe was a 26 km (16 miles... I have decided to add a list of conversion factors to my list of travel essentials) arriving on December 31st. My diverse group included 2 Guatemalan guides, 3 Germans, 2 Israelis, 1 Norwegian, 2 Brits, 1 member from Japan, 1 member from Hong Kong, 1 from the Netherlands, and the token American (myself). None of us actually made it to midnight that night, but we spent the day celebrating New Years for every country represented by each of us in the group, starting with Japan at 10am. I watched the sunset on December 31, 2012 from the top of El Tigre, the second highest pyramid in El Mirador.
Each of the buildings in El Mirador was named for an animal: la danta, el tigre, el jaguar are the largest constructions. "La Danta" is a daunting title, but directly translates to "the tapir" which was the largest- and oddest looking- animal that the Spanish could think of.
We sat around the table in candlelight, high on life and Jesus as the Brits were the only ones with enough sense to bring rum. Naturally we came up with the brilliant idea of going back into the jungle to watch the stars from on top of El Tigre. Our group member from the Netherlands was working on his PhD in physics and would explain to us the workings of the universe from pyramid top.
Yeah! We're the adventurous and daring group! Coolest group of people to EVER visit El Mirador.
Juan Carlos was waiting for us at the trail head.
I'm sorry, you can't go tonight.
He explained that it was particularly an issue this night because some of the people who were in charge of the El Mirador national park were also camping there this night. We can go to see the sunrise tomorrow he offered in exchange.
I have a sneaking feeling that we are more predictable than we believe...
La Danta was incredible. It was built on top of 2 platforms built during different time periods. The first platform was large enough to fit multiple football fields. After climbing the steps to the top, it was unrecognizable as a man-made platform. Jungle had completely taken over and we hiked onward to reach the next set of steps. The next platform was taller, but significantly smaller in area. On top of this was La Danta which was adjacent to several smaller pyramids.
Each of the platforms was built during different time periods. It is incredible to think that each of the stones was unearthed and carried to this location to build it to what it is today. The total construction spanned a few hundred years, a total of 15 million days of labor and built up to a height of 78 meters. The United States as a nation is just past its 200th anniversary, El Mirador existed starting in 500 BC and fell around 150 AD - existing three times as long as the United States has and La Danta alone took longer to build that my country has been in existence. What is most difficult for me to imagine regarding its construction, it the continued dedication of the society to place resources into its construction, and the agreement that its construction was justified, over hundreds of years.
El Mirador was the most powerful Mayan site of its time, reaching the height of its civilization by 100 BC. Tikal was just emerging as a society by 1 AD. Even after El Mirador was past its prime, it was still far more powerful than Tikal. The people of Tikal made alliances with surrounding Mayan societies and led a successful attack on El Mirador. Per Juan Carlos, after that many people fled El Mirador and eventually, it was abandoned.
We stared at this structure, the tallest Mayan pyramid built 2000 years ago. Archaeologists have uncovered parts of El Mirador enough to discover their hidden secrets, but still leaving it looking quite raw. La Danta, this intimidating pile of limestone is now covered in trees and appearing as a small hill in the depths of the jungle. This area of Peten was once heavily populated, likely heavily deforested to made way for homes, markets, and farm land given time has returned to jungle.
We spent January 1st in the midst of what once was the greatest civilization in central America and watching the clouds pass by. I'm not really sure what I want to accomplish with my life, but for now, I can be ok with the way things are take things day by day.
I've taken so little time to reflect on ? anything this past year, but if 2012 was the year of ambition, I hereby declare 2013 to be the year of adventure. By the end of a chaotic and accomplished year, I still had (have) no idea what I'm doing with my life as I plunged forward. I was certain that my only salvation from myself would be adventure tourism in Latin America. Guatemala was chosen by flight price, and I proceeded to review my options. I consulted a friend who had worked at a hostel in Livingston, Guatemala for 8 months, and he mentioned El Mirador.
The Mayan empire preceeded that of the Incas or Aztecs. The height of their civilization had fallen long before the arrival of the Spanish, hypothesized to be secondary to drought, but Mayan culture is still very much alive in many central American countries, like Guatemala. El Mirador is not the best known Mayan site in Guatemala, that title goes to Tikal, yet it is the location of the tallest known Mayan pyramid, La Danta.
My rough guide stated that per any year, the number of archaeologists visiting the site far outnumbers that of tourists, although per my guide on the hike, El Mirador hosted 300-400 travelers for the 13th Baktun, or the "Mayan end of the world" on December 21, 2012, a great exception to the usual numbers. There are no roads to El Mirador, it must be done on foot or by helicopter. Mel Gibson opted for the latter during the shooting of Apocalypto, which was shot on top of La Danta. I make an active commitment to avoid Mel Gibson films, but I'm a little curious about it after completion of the hike. Our guide, Juan Carlos, found it very entertaining that the movie portrayed Mayan human sacrifices on top of the pyramids when there is no evidence that this was conducted at the top of the pyramid at any of the sites. The Mayans did not begin the practice of human sacrifice until the later years of the empire, it was not discussed by our guide in the context of El Mirador. As El Mirador was one of the earlier Mayan sites, it may not have played a major part in that society.
I was sold. El Mirador or bust. I arrived in Flores on my 3rd day and got a spot on a hike with 11 other travelers to El Mirador.
This tour was pretty "cushie" for a five day backpacking trip. I was told the only think that I needed to bring was extra clothing, "las mulas" the mules would carry all of the food, tents and ended up carrying all of our extra stuff as well. By the time we reached each camping site, the food had already been prepared and the tents ready.
The first day we hiked 12 km (7 miles) and reached Tintal. The jungles of Mayan lands are covered in small uncovered ruins. Tintal was essentially a suburb of El Mirador. Although much smaller, the people of Tintal had built their own pyramids and the city was surrounded by a moat which served primarily as water storage. By the time we reached Tintal, we had already been walking on a path of limestone, now overgrown with jungle, that had been built by the Mayans thousands of years ago. The path went all the way to El Mirador, the parts that were still recognizable as an ancient highway looked to be about 10 meters in width though I believe that our guide, Juan Carlos, said (in Spanish) that it was up to 30 meters across. The Mayans did not use domesticated animals, so the "highway" was exclusively for foot traffic. This region of Peten is now densely covered with jungle
The second day I believe was a 26 km (16 miles... I have decided to add a list of conversion factors to my list of travel essentials) arriving on December 31st. My diverse group included 2 Guatemalan guides, 3 Germans, 2 Israelis, 1 Norwegian, 2 Brits, 1 member from Japan, 1 member from Hong Kong, 1 from the Netherlands, and the token American (myself). None of us actually made it to midnight that night, but we spent the day celebrating New Years for every country represented by each of us in the group, starting with Japan at 10am. I watched the sunset on December 31, 2012 from the top of El Tigre, the second highest pyramid in El Mirador.
We sat around the table in candlelight, high on life and Jesus as the Brits were the only ones with enough sense to bring rum. Naturally we came up with the brilliant idea of going back into the jungle to watch the stars from on top of El Tigre. Our group member from the Netherlands was working on his PhD in physics and would explain to us the workings of the universe from pyramid top.
Yeah! We're the adventurous and daring group! Coolest group of people to EVER visit El Mirador.
Juan Carlos was waiting for us at the trail head.
I'm sorry, you can't go tonight.
He explained that it was particularly an issue this night because some of the people who were in charge of the El Mirador national park were also camping there this night. We can go to see the sunrise tomorrow he offered in exchange.
I have a sneaking feeling that we are more predictable than we believe...
Each of the platforms was built during different time periods. It is incredible to think that each of the stones was unearthed and carried to this location to build it to what it is today. The total construction spanned a few hundred years, a total of 15 million days of labor and built up to a height of 78 meters. The United States as a nation is just past its 200th anniversary, El Mirador existed starting in 500 BC and fell around 150 AD - existing three times as long as the United States has and La Danta alone took longer to build that my country has been in existence. What is most difficult for me to imagine regarding its construction, it the continued dedication of the society to place resources into its construction, and the agreement that its construction was justified, over hundreds of years.
El Mirador was the most powerful Mayan site of its time, reaching the height of its civilization by 100 BC. Tikal was just emerging as a society by 1 AD. Even after El Mirador was past its prime, it was still far more powerful than Tikal. The people of Tikal made alliances with surrounding Mayan societies and led a successful attack on El Mirador. Per Juan Carlos, after that many people fled El Mirador and eventually, it was abandoned.
We stared at this structure, the tallest Mayan pyramid built 2000 years ago. Archaeologists have uncovered parts of El Mirador enough to discover their hidden secrets, but still leaving it looking quite raw. La Danta, this intimidating pile of limestone is now covered in trees and appearing as a small hill in the depths of the jungle. This area of Peten was once heavily populated, likely heavily deforested to made way for homes, markets, and farm land given time has returned to jungle.
We spent January 1st in the midst of what once was the greatest civilization in central America and watching the clouds pass by. I'm not really sure what I want to accomplish with my life, but for now, I can be ok with the way things are take things day by day.
