So I finally made it to Tikal, my number one destination since the beginning of my trip, I ha lost hope I would ever reach it, had it not been for Igaels encouragement, Robertas help, and the coincidences with Omar and Sinuhe, I may have never made it.
I went with Leonardo, one of my favourites, an italian traveller with a soul like my own. We'd met the night previous at Los amigos hostel in flores. He made me feel comfortable, we went out for drinks to bitch about the rude Israelis, but we agreed that there were reasons to their behaviour. The next day we made it out after I finally washed my filthy, rotting, stinking bag of clothes, we bought some bread, ham, tomatoes and avocados and headed to Tikal.
On the bus we met Kerry, a pommy girl who didnt speak a word of Spanish. We were the only ones going into Tikal on this off tourist season that evening..
We were greeted by an empty jungle quickly filling with fog, mystic energies could be felt, this is no exageration, shivers would crawl up our spines as we played at discovereres exposing a new wonder to the world. The pyramids crept up on us amongst the dense jungle and howls of monkeys, fat slugs crawled on the ground and we were careful not to step on them. What a place, what a feeling, i'm breathless just writing about it. The thick fog rose and created a purple blue haze.. a still and ambient vibe surrounded us.. we climbed the tallest pyramids and sat in joy and awe, and took photos as we discussed ways to spend the night in the pyramid.. as the night came and the sounds of the jungle died down a guard spotted us and walked us out of the park despite our pleas. He told us of the small percentage of the city that has really been discovered, and about his encounter with a leopard. "the scariest moment in my life"
We slept outside, sharing a tent and talking about the world and our travels. Kerry showed us her many collected items, all priceless, all meaningless to the casual observer, but each with a wonderful story, if only to Kerry.
The next morning we headed back to Tikal, the morning was as magnificent as the afternoon, but as the park filled with tourists it turned from a lost city of mystic pride, into an amusement park to be captured and shown off to friends back at home. I felt mildly sick, but would probably be culpable of the same behaviour had I been in the tourist situation so I let it go..
We ended up sleeping in a hidden pyramid during the day, the warmth and vibe was nurturing, comforting, full of vibrant energy.. I chased a butterfly then went with Leonardo and Kerry to sleep. When I awoke I took my shoes off, and decided to go for a random walk..
My intuition led me to an assembly of three mayan descendants holding a ceremony in front of the great pyramid.. I felt that my being there, without shes, like them, was no coincidence. I looked for their permission and felt welcome, so joined in on the ceremony. They accepted and included me in their prayers, to the lake, the deer, the sun, the stone, the u.s, yes even them.. I was handed a cigar to smoke and throw into the fire as they burnt colourful candles and effigies.. I serenely watched and felt the energy of the fire, the smoke, take me away with it into the skies and away from this world. A ceremony of goodwill, a ceremony of abundance. I will forver be thankful at having been accepted and invited.. this was the peak of my journey. I had done what I'd come to do, all was fulfilled.
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Notes from diary :
From Tikal I stayed at El Remate, ran into Matias, Chilean dude I'd met while working at Freedom Bar,we stayed up drinking cuvas & talking about interesting things, with Pablo, the owner of the palce. He almost didnt let us stay because Kerry and Leonardo tried to get a cheaper price. "No, youre rich tourists pretending to be poor" "But we'll go to another place" "Go to another place, you can call home and get money" "Ok you win, we'll stay".
Kerry was a bit annoying but has a great soul, Leonardo fell asleep. I decided to hook up with Matias and head to Palenque the next day.
Slept in tent with Leo and Kerry and woken up at 5 by Matias, we hitched a ride in a wagon to Sta. Elena, then caught a motorbike/car to Flores so I could pick up my stuff from Los amigos, said farewell to the brazillians & back to Flores to the border. A hot cramped, bumpy ride we then had to cross the river to Mexico they wanted 250 Q!! Fuck that, we got a taxi for 100, the driver was cheery and helpful, took uss to a spot where we could cross for ten pesos, on the way we ran into Jens and Saskia, Matias knew them and they came along for the ride so we split the cost, at the mexican border we caught a bus to palenque. I found out I couldnt change my Quetzales!! luckily i found some brits headed to guate and swapped half, the other half I changed at Panchan, a resort in the palenque jungle where we stayed.