Ruta Maya II - Aug 21, 2009

Today we visited the Mayan city of Tikal, and it went beyond any of our expectations. It would be an understatement to try to describe what we saw, so I would recommend googling it to get a visual. Our guide is fantastic though, and pointed out all sorts of animals along the way through the jungle, which used to be a paved, Mayan city with no trees and grass in between these massive pyramids. We saw a crocodile up close (whose name is Paula, a chld told us), a small rodent called "aguti", an animal related to a raccoons and anteaters that was adorable, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, tarantulas (the guide scared it out of a hole and caught it so we could pet it), a giant grasshopper, and a number of ant species. The guide taught us that if you put metal in between your teeth, the ants will avoid you because of the current. Those with braces were quite excited about that.Then we visited the Tikal museums and did some shopping at the markets. Tomorrow morning we are headed for Belize!Take care,Barbara