From Guatemala City to Tikal

We decided that we wanted to have a “Santa free” Christmas, so we were off to Guatemala. We landed in Guatemala City and soon after, we were off to Tikal.

We were staying right at the park-not the most luxurious of accommodations, but a great place for access to the ruins. The ruins cover 10 square miles and over 3000 structures- palaces, temples, ceremonial platforms, ball courts, plazas….(It took the University of Pennsylvania 13 years to uncover the structures at Tikal). The Mayans began building Tikal around 600 B.C. and for 1500 years, it was the center their civilization. It was abandoned over 1000 years ago and was overgrown by the tropical jungle where it was re-discovered in 1848.

For info on Tikal, see the web site: http://www.tikalpark.com