Day 4 - Dec 9, 2018 Tikal & Western Belize Interior

We started our day early before 7a to visit Tikal in the morning before the crowd arrived.  I found it interesting to see people pay top dollars to do “sunrise” tour here all the time and yet there is seldom normal sunrise in Tikal or Belize interior.  Due to the evaporation from vegetation in the jungle, it would be usually misty or cloudy in the early morning and by 9-10 o’clock, the sun would just pop out after burning through the clouds.  The park was almost deserted when we got in.  We walked the trail to Temple VI which was not restored but left in its original state.  We saw many wildlife like coatimundi, wild pigs, ocellated turkeys (which look like peacocks), and spider monkeys on the trails and in the bush.  It’s a totally different feeling to be able to wander among the awesome ruins just the two of us.  Hard to imagine that this was a cosmopolitan city state just over a thousand years ago.  Lesson learned: “Mow your lawn and clean the moss off your roof often because if you don’t, your house will be overtaken by a rain forest!)

Coatimundi on the road to the Tikal ruins

Wild pigs on the path to Temple VI

Original state of Temple VI.  All cover with vegetation and trees

Oscellated Turkey at the ruins

After an hour, we reached the back side of Temple V.  Just as we followed the trail to the front of this building, we saw one of the most impressive buildings we have seen on this trip.  Temple V is the tallest building in Tikal (57m high) and it formed the most perfect iconic Mayan temple you can imagine.  Climbing this temple is not allowed.  From there, it was a short walk to Grand Plaza, the downtown of Tikal.  By this time, more tourists had arrived but we had already done our second magical day in Tikal.

Temple V - the most perfect looking Mayan temple building I have seen.  Can you spot Yiling?

Temple V - the highest building in Tikal at 57m

Back to the Grand Plaza for a look at dawn

Looking to the Grand Plaza from the East

We left Tikal after breakfast at the hotel and drove back to the border town of Melchor de Mencos to do some shopping and fill up on the cheap gas (just like filling up on the cheap US gas at the Canadian border).  Going through the border in the opposite direction is easier but those kids were again trying to help in order to earn a tip.  It was a breeze comparing to yesterday.  From the border, it was 45 mins to our next stop, Blackrock Lodge, through a rough unpaved road.
Blackrock Lodge is one of the many jungle lodges in Belize interior which offer upscale off-the-grid away-from-it-all experiences to travellers.  It is located on a striking rock canyon on the bank of Macal river.  Everything is self-sufficient here.  Electricity is from solar and hydro.  Vegetables and fruits are grown on their own farm.  Their cabins all have nice view of the river.  We chilled in the restaurant and just watched all kinds of beautiful birds visiting the bird feeding station.  They served dinner family style, grouping the guests into different tables to promote conversation similar to a cruise ship.  Their food was good but as expected, price was also high for the captive guests.  Our tablemates include two professors from Montana (researching on bees here), a retired geology professor from Waterloo, Ont and his wife, and a guy who retired from Intel.

View of the river canyon at Macal River from the lodge

Our cabin at Blackrock Lodge

View from our cabin

Our cabin front entrance

Restaurant terrace

Trail to the vegetable garden of the lodge

Stairs access to the river

Lots of birds eating from the bird feeding station