Day Three...

The day started at 6:00 AM for breakfast at 7:00 AM and the start of the tour at 7:30 AM. Jason was excited and played a song about Indiana Jones before we left for breakfast and the tour. After a quick breakfast, we met the guy who would take us to Guatemala. Once again, Jason and I were the only ones on the tour, which was great.

We got through customs pretty quickly and Jason got his Guatemala stap in his passport. We met the Guatemala guide, named Coco. He drove us about an hour into Guatemala and told us about how the electricity was out because he thought too many people were using too much power and it was cooking the lines and burning the poles. He also told us about how in Guatemala political candidates will paint tour house for free as long as they can put their party advertisements on it.

Coco said that he borrowed the car to give us the tour. He said that if he had a car like the one we were in her "could get all the girls". The car was a Toyota Rav4. Coco said that Guatemala is a safe place for the most part for Americans,  even though the US government has it on a do not visit list. There are parts that are not safe near the big city, but the rest is safe. He said the average Guatemalan makes $600/month or $7,200/year. He hopes that Guatemala follows El Salvador and welcomes expats and that the expats help build up Guatemala. He said that gas in Guatemala is over $5/gallon, so many folks drive motorbikes.

About halfway through the drive, Coco asked if I want to try a Guatemalan beer, I said absolutely, so we stopped at about 10:00 AM I got a beer, Jason got a local sport drink and we got sime cookies and chips. I tried a Guatemalan beer. It was good, I thought it kind of tasted like Yingling Beer. We then had to go through a police check point. Coco asked if I brought anything illegal into the country, I said no, but I was thinking of getting some stuff on the way back. We all laughed. After the check point, he stopped the car and we saw a Spider Monkey in the trees pooping. We got a video. We then saw a couple of interesting birds, but I can't remember the names.

On the way to Tikal, Coco said he wanted to stop at a place that has a scale replica of Tikal. In the shop was a bunch of trinkets and a replica of a skeleton that was found in Tikal. It was found with 3 feamers, obviously someone was sacrificed with the person. Coco said they were sacrificed to help the wealthy person with the afterlife. The replica was nice and very big. After showing us the replica, we went out front where a woman had a small stand selling food. For Q20 ($3 USD), I bought Jason and me each a papusa, an epinada and a tostada. I thought they were good, Jason did not like the sauce. He thought it tasted like tomatoe sauce. After eating, we got in the SUV and headed to Tikal.

We got to the park, got our wristbands and went into the jungle. Coco said we may see some more Spider Monkeys and we may bear some Howler Monkeys, we need to be aware that there are jaguars around and then we saw a Tucan. Coco said be cautious because there are many things in the jungle that can hurt us.

We then go into a truck (the front seat) and went into the jungle to the first site. The Mayan Ruins were spread out and there are 4 different temples, housing for royalty and an observation temple. Jason and I explored and took photos. Coco said that the Hollywood version of throwing someone off the top of the temples is false, it would be messy, and if it wasn't cleaned, it would start to smell. The human sacrifices were done in the ground in front of everyone. The person sacrificed would be given a large amount of drugs and wouldn't feel anything and have his heart cut out. It was to appease the rain god. Water is important to the Mayans, there is no body of water in the jungle, so they needed the rain.

Jason and I explored the bed chambers and climbed several buildings and temples. We walked up so many stairs. We discussed how the religion of the Mayans required a lot of human sacrifice and now the religion is gone. Sometimes people would cut off a little finger, or their ear as a sacrifice. Sometimes people would offer their food and fast. Sometimes people would make a carving or bejewel a shell and burn it to offer it up the the various gods. Coco said there were over 100 gods the Mayans would offer sacrifices up to depending on what day it was and what they wanted to happen.

Coco told us about how when he was growing up his grandmother would tell him stories about the spirits and mythical beings that lived in the jungle and hiw they would take bad children. He talked about leprechauns and la Lorraine. He said whether people are joking or nit, people still are very superstitious about the rain and that thr Mayan influence is still felt to this day.

After exploring the ruins, we had lunch at a small restaurant. Jason and I has some father/son conversation time which was nice. It's hard to believe that he will be 18 soon and traveling Europe on his own. He is experienced enough, so I know he will be fine. I'll just miss my travel adventures with him.

After lunch, we were back on the road again. Jason managed to get photos of different things. Women carrying baskets on their heads, various houses on the way back and other  such things.

We got back to customs and made it through without any issues. Then we waited for a car to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. The day was long and I was very tired. Housekeeping cleaned the room but somehow messed up the air-conditioning and I couldn't get the fan to work, so that was a hassle. I went to the front desk and the guy at the desk came to the room and fixed everything. He needed to talk with me about tomorrow's excursion, like what we wanted for lunch and what to bring. I talked to Jen and then typed up my version of the days events.

Jason seemed like he wanted food, so we went to the hotel restaurant, but it was so hot, so we ordered a pizza to be sent to the room. We ate and then went to bed, thus ending Day 3.