-Our alarm woke us up at 4 am. Roger hadn't slept well because our little friend kept trying to hang out with him. He tried to kill it a couple of times but this is a wildlife conservation place so I guess it was probably better that he didn't. I spent the night with a sheet over my head so that it couldn't crawl on me. Since the hotel shuts the power off from 10 pm to 7 am, we got dressed using our head lamps and a nifty lantern we had. It was a weird experience to go into the hotel lobby and have it be pitch dark except for other people's head lamps or flashlights. The nice hotel made coffee for us and it was really good - even black. A huge group was waiting but thankfully they were going on a tour organized by the hotel. We had booked a tour with Roxy Ortiz - she is all over tripadvisor as the best guide and the reviews didn't lie. She's actually an archaeologist so she had really amazing stories and information to share. In addition, she is so familiar with Tikal she seemed to know where we would find wildlife, etc. Anyone going to Tikal should be sure to get a tour with her.

-We left around 4:30 and there was only one other couple with us. Roxy mentioned that we should be particularly careful where we walk and should sweep our flashlights in a wide arc - the mammals in Guatemala are nothing to worry about but the reptiles can be dangerous! It wasn't long before we found a huge frog on the side of the path. Roxy said that this frog secretes something that was used by the Maya as a hallucinogenic drug. They gave it to the people they sacrificed to make it a little easier for them. After about 45 minutes of walking we arrived at Temple IV. We climbed about a hundred steps (or so my legs would tell you) and found ourselves on top of a huge stone temple. The sky was light by then but the sun hadn't hit the horizon. We sat and watched over the treetops as the jungle woke up for the day. As it got brighter and brighter, the chorus of birds and monkeys began. It was spectacular. If we did nothing else for the rest of the day, the trip would have been worth it. I can't even begin to describe the feeling other than to say it was almost spiritual. Those Mayans knew what they were doing. Roxy spotted a pair of toucans in a tree right near the steps on the way back down. So cool!

-We started back toward the other temples and we got a great lesson in the history of the Mayan culture while visiting some amazing sites. Roger was taking loads of pictures while I was taking in the stories (nothing new about that!). We climbed all over other temples and I decided that it was really helpful to have extra long legs. The steps were HUGE!

My favorite stories were from the Popol Vuh (a book of writings about Mayan myths, stories, etc.). One story was about how man was created from the land. The gods took corn - white, yellow, blue and red - and ground each color separately and made Men from each (the different races). The other was a story about how an owl who was sent to take the heart from the goddess of fertility decided instead to bring the heart of a deer to save her. From that point on, the owl was considered the protector of the goddess and really of women in general. There are owl heads painted and carved on anything to do with the goddess.

-We spotted loads of toucan & parrots and even a whole herd of coatimundi (basically their version of a raccoon, but they travel in huge family groups).

-On our way back out, we heard some major howling going on and discovered 2 groups of howler monkeys quite upset at each other. I'm not sure, but Hollywood really should use that howl for something scary. It is like nothing I've heard before! **Check out the video attached, the picture isn't anything great but oh that sound!!!


-We spent about 5 hours with Roxy and then headed back to the hotel for breakfast and some relaxation time. We swam in the pool (cold!) and while I sat reading, there was quite a commotion over near the building - apparently a HUGE snake was going through the grass. I found out later it was some sort of indigo snake - not venomous - but it was really big. Happy that Roger missed that one... Soon after a few coatimundi came by, some spider monkeys, and a couple of parrots! Who needs Tikal Park when all the animals visit our hotel???

At 3:30, we headed out for a sunset tour, booked through the hotel. It wasn't anything like the morning trip but it was still pretty great. We saw a mot-mot (really beautiful), an ornate hawk eagle (very cool!) and many of the birds we had seen earlier in the day. The sunset from the top of Temple IV was nice - definitely not an experience like in the morning.Back to the hotel for dinner and asleep by 9:30 (with a sheet over my head again).