On Monday 20th, we decided to go to Tikal anyway, although Jayna still wasn't altogether well. We had a slow morning, checked out of the hotel and were picked up by our transport. We'd arranged for transport to Tikal on Monday, a guide in the morning of Tuesday, and a return on a bus of our choosing on Tuesday. We'd read that, for people arriving after 3pm to Tikal, entry for the following day was free. Our plan was to see both sunset and sunrise at Tikal. Our bus was at 2pm, ideally timed to arrive at 3pm at the first gate, where people buy the tickets. Unfortunately for us, our bus driver was 35 minutes early, and what we'd been told and read was incorrect - entry was free for the following day after 3.30pm. This meant that we were over an hour early with two choices; pay for both days, or wait over an hour and pay for another bus to take us the 15km or so inside the park to the actual site. We waited, and drank juice by the roadside. When 3.30pm rolled around, we were able to buy tickets and a chap almost immediately offered to take us in for a fairly reasonable price.

We'd arranged to stay in a campsite at the Jaguar Inn, hiring all of the goodies that we needed - like a tent! So we 'pitched' up, dumped our stuff in our surprisingly expensive tent accommodation, and made our way into Tikal site . It was a 25 minute and very pleasant walk to the main plaza from the ticket control, even though we weren't sure where we were going (the signposting leaves a lot to be desired). Our first sight of the plaza was incredibly striking; temple 1 with a golden colour from the setting sun. We climbed temple 2 to admire it for a while, before deciding to sneakily go to temple 4 for sunset - something that we should have paid an extra 100 Quetzals to do each (about £8.40 each). Painfully slowly (Jayna was still very much unwell) we climbed temple 4 to find quite a crowd making their way around the supposedly inaccessible back of the temple. We did likewise, bribing a guard with an enormous shotgun with 40 Quetzals (about £3.40) for the privilege. It was the wrong time of year to watch the sunset glint off the temples, looming through the jungle in the distance, but it was still a peaceful and beautiful sight to see the sky change colour as the sun went down behind the clouds from the back of temple 4.

Of course, by this time, it was utterly dark under the canopy of the trees. We had a headtorch but very little idea of how to get back to the gate. So we joined the crowd, one of whom was a guide, and made our way out with them. It was 7.30pm by the time we exited the site, and we were going back in at 4.30am!

The tent was pleasingly comfortable and we slept pretty well. Notwithstanding the incredibly loud calls of the howler monkeys for pretty much the whole night, we didn't feel too bad waking up at 3 .30am. A guide, Luis, came to get us at 4.30am as arranged, and we swiftly joined a large crowd of sleepy looking people who had just come directly from Flores. Unfortunately for us, this time we did have to pay the extra 100 Quetzals each for the sunrise tour. Collectively, we walked through the darkness back to the areas we'd already seen; the main plaza, temples 1 and 2, passing temple 3 and eventually reaching and climbing temple 4. On the way, we saw a tarantula which was basically man-handled by Luis, a scorpion, and some spider monkeys. The top of temple 4 for sunrise was again very pleasant, as we looked over the misty treetops into the distance. It wasn't spectacular, as the dense mist covered everything, it just gradually became lighter, but the atmosphere and surroundings were still fabulous. Here we listened to the howler monkeys again, watched oropendula 'swing' by, and parakeets fly in the distance.

Next, Luis took us to the 'lost world', one of the complexes within Tikal. Here we climbed a temple and an altar, and ate a berry that's supposedly good for digestion. Next stop was one of the palaces, where entry was forbidden. Luis told us to go in anyway, and we beat a hasty retreat when we realised there were bats inside and we were disturbing them (save the bats!). Next stop was back to the main plaza, where Luis set us free with some suggestions for what to go and see. It was a short tour and we were a little disappointed . We set about exploring the north acropolis and viewing the giant masks protected within.

Next we explored across the plaza, opposite the north acropolis, found more bats, and tried not to disturb them. We followed this by a trip to temple 5, which was large and had rounded edges – unusual by Mayan standards. There was a lot of what we think were orange crested falcons swooping around the top of the temple, which was a sight in itself. Next we took in temple 38, before some more palaces and residential areas, going through a creepy tunnel to reach the inner courtyard. We finished in out-of-the-way temple 6, and on the way we saw howler monkeys and coatis climbing the trees. We had a vague plan to get the 12.30pm bus back to Flores, but when we reached temple 6 we met Crispin and Claire from our Amazon trip in Ecuador! We swapped travel stories for a while, including common adventures, such as the Colombians vomiting on the bus between Popayan and San Agustin. It seems that everyone has this story! We said our goodbyes and wished them well, before heading out of the park; spotting more spider monkeys and the tarantula again on the way .

We 'checked out' of our tent accommodation, grabbed some lunch, and headed to the museum to see some of the original stelae from the site. These were worth the look but unfortunately for us, the really famous one wasn’t there. We had an hour until our bus, so sat and looked unsuccessfully for crocodiles in the crocodile pond (formerly a Mayan water reservoir), spotting a basilisk climbing a tree and woodpeckers flying around. It was lovely.

We thought that Tikal was very different to Copan in Honduras. Whilst they are both Mayan sites, Copan had intricate stone carvings everywhere, and the site had been cleared of trees and plants. In Tikal, the Mayan focus was much more on temples, temples and more temples. There was very little of the carvings, and what made it really special was the forest which was left between the temples. Nature swiftly reclaimed the Tikal area each time it was cleared, and to see temples how they were found and how they were restored was truly spectacular. Tikal was a vast site, and we still didn’t see all of it, even with two days of wandering around. The wildlife adds to the experience as well. We loved it.

Next stop - back to Flores!