Previous day here.
We all woke at 5:30 a.m. and started getting ready to hike to El Mirador. It was still dark so we all had a torch in one hand and our stuff in the other. It didn’t take long to get ready and then we were sitting at the breakfast table. Breakfast was eggs, beans, plantains, and tortillas from the previous night. I’m not a fan of eggs and beans but I ate what I could. At 6 a.m. we were all ready to set off; the mules had our big bags and we had our small bags and walking sticks (if you had one – I had my own personalized one :)).
I was more wary of the second day since I had seen how far we had to walk. The walk from El Mirador was mainly over the Sacbe (Mayan road system). It was covered with layers of dirt but every now and then you could see where bits of the white road had be broken and come to the surface. We were under the canopy more the second day but it was still hot! We saw lots of turkeys, heard many different birds and even saw a few monkeys! I absolutely LOVED seeing the monkeys!
I did ask the guide about seeing a jaguar since I would be ecstatic to see one in the wild. However, our guide said in the 10 years he has been doing the hike (legally) he has only seen a jaguar four times!
The hike itself isn’t hard because it is mostly flat, there is just a lot of distance to cover over two days. The second day was meant to be about 23 km (14mi). Since we were making such good time we decided not to stop for lunch but wait till we got to camp. Right before you get to El Mirador camp you reach two pyramids called La Muerta.
HISTORY OF LA MEURTA
I did some research on La Muerta when I got back and read that each Pyramid is in fact a royal tomb. One with a sad history. Apparently, there was a codex in one of the tombs that would have given archaeologists information about the origins of El Mirador. However, when the tombs were raided by looters they did not realize what they had and the codex disintegrated.
Another favorite part of the hike for me was getting to go inside of one of the La Meurta pyramids. Our guide told us there was an original wooden beam from the Mayans so in we all crawled. You duck in the first room but from there you practically crawl into the next room. There were so many scorpion spiders in there that I was scared for my head to touch the ceiling and one of them to start crawling on me!
We walked the final way to El Mirador and dropped our stuff like last time. The guide decided where he wanted us all to sleep while we took in the surroundings of the camp. This camp was nearly deserted, especially compared to El Tintal. It felt slightly eerie. They told us that next month it would be packed like El Tintal because that is when work starts here, but for now we had the place to ourselves. We got our stuff set up in the tents like we wanted and then sat down for lunch. We had tuna sandwiches and biscuits with fruit juice like the day before but also got a slice of pineapple bread that the cook had made for the first time.
After lunch I went to rest in the hammock. My feet were so sore and swollen from the heat and the walking that I fell asleep. Hector wanted to go and see the Toucans but I couldn’t move! We all spent the afternoon restingbecause, just before dinner, we were going to walk to El Tigre so we could climb the Pyramid and watch the sunset!
Since El Mirador is quite a large site we would have the whole next day to explore. Also, La Danta is only about 3km (1.8 mi) away so we would go see that before sunset tomorrow so we would be at the top during the sunset. It was nice to know that the next day would be sort of a rest day. We still had a lot of walking but it would be around El Mirador and broken up with seeing all the ruins.
HISTORY OF EL TIGRE
A little before sunset we made our way over to El Tigre (55 meters tall). El Tigre is the 2nd tallest pyramid (after La Danta) in El Mirador. It was in the center of what was once a bustling Mayan city and is thought to be the site where rulers would perform human and animal sacrifices. It is a truncated pyramid meaning it is the shape of a pyramid with the top chopped off. On the truncated pyramide part (base) are three more pyramids known as a Triadic pattern and one that can be seen in the constellation of the Orion.
This was another fun pyramid to climb. When you get to the top of the first platform/base there are three more smaller pyramids on top (explained above). We climbed up one of the smaller side pyramids to take some pictures before heading to the top of the main pyramid in the middle.
Like I said in my last post, being at the top of these pyramids in the middle of the jungle is kind of a surreal experience. When you look around and just see jungle for miles you really realize how small you are in the world and how much there is to see. The five of us stayed up there as the sun set before climbing back down and towards camp in the dark.
While researching and writing this post I read that about 3000 people a year make the trek to El Mirador (compared to 350,000 that visit Tikal a year). A large number don’t make it to El Mirador dues to fatigue and weather. I can’t wait to show you around El Mirador in my next post. Make sure to stop by and discover what is known as the cradle of the Mayan civilization! You won’t be disappointed!
Lots of Love,
Buffy x
