I got up at three this morning for the sunrise Tikal tour. This was one of the reasons that I wanted to come to Guatemala, so I couldn't wait to see the ruins. We got to the ruins a little before five. It was totally dark and we were practically running after our guide, Louis, who insisted we were late. The small beam from my flashlight guided me over rocky, rooty ground. It was about a mile hike in and then we reached the steps leading up to Temple IV. This is the tallest temple (over 700 kilometers high) and was where the king would come to watch the sunrise and set each day. On a clear day, you can see Temples III, II, and I from here. We huffed up the switchback steps and by the time we reached the top, I felt faint and was sweating profusely.

Once I saw the rainforest before me, though, it made the trek worth it! I sat down and looked out over the treetops soaking in a foggy mist. I heard birds chirping and crowing and clicking all at once and crickets singing. Then came the deep, gluttoral howling. The sound was like nothing I'd ever heard before. And other animals answered with more long-winded sounds that resonated throughout the rainforest. The howler monkeys were waking up. As I sat there, atop Temple IV at Tikal, I was able to slip easily into meditation and a profound STILLNESS washed over me.

This is what I had been looking for ever since I arrived in Guatemala. In my moments of crying and writing and yoga and meditation...I was able to release and find peace and calm. Yet somehow it hadn't satisfied me. It wasn't until I sat there this morning that I could pinpoint what I had been struggling for: STILLNESS. I bathed in it, smiled at it, and gave thanks for it!

And so began my day at Tikal (the city of sounds). Louis began the tour by saying, "Welcome to my hands," which I think meant you are in good hands. I should mention here that he has been doing work with Maya ruins for over twenty years. He knows Tikal extremely well, including all of the animal sounds. He would hear a screeching sound or a bird call and immediately know what animal it was and direct us the the tree where we would find the animal. It was great!

We spotted howler monkeys up in the trees. Louis made his own monkey sounds, scaring the monkeys so that we could watch as a group of six of them formed a circle in the treetops, prepared to fend off any danger. Next Louis heard a toucan (whose call sounded like grinding teeth to me), then the hollow knocking of a woodpecker. We saw a gum tree (where chicle comes from) and were introduced to a fruit called cajones de caballos (horse's balls). Supposedly if you eat more than three of the fruit, it has a hallucinogenic effect. Then came the beautiful laughing falcons. The male made a sound like "haaahaaahaaa" and the female answered with "heehaw heehaw heehaw". I couldn't help but laugh with them.

I saw Temples I-V, the game yard, glyphs, masks, an archaeologist site, and spider monkeys. I let go of my fear of heights and climbed to the top of Temple V, where there was a beautiful view of the rainforest with the tops of temples peaking out. The fog burned off and it turned into a beautiful day. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!