It is October 15, 2009, and we are in Coban, Guatemala. After leaving Belize, we went to the Guatemalan border and processed out. No big problems. We went to Tikal, Guatemala. It is a National Park of Mayan ruins. Tikal was the main political, social, military, and economic center for the Mayan civilizations during the classical period ( 700 AD).
We stayed at a great place called La Casa de Don David. He is an American who has lived in Guatemala, for 35 years, with his wife and daughter. You couldn’t have asked for a more gracious and informative host. The hotel was great. Here is a view to the lake from the open restaurant.

We hired a Mayan guide to take us around Tikal. Here are a number of the temples that were constructed during 700 AD by King Chocolate and his children. As you are aware the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012. Don David said the place will be full.

Our Mayan guide believes that the end of the calendar will usher in a new era of hope not despair.

This is a famous shot from one of the Star War series. We are on top of a pyramid overlooking the jungle.

Here is Graham and Sue on the pyramid. You will find me holding on to the stairs at the top.

Here are some of its current residence. A good reason not to just lay around as some uniformed tourist do.

An army of ants. They were all over.

The jungle is dense as you make your way from temple to temple.

On October 15, after a two day stay at La Casa Don David, we departed for Antigua. We are currently in Coban. On the way to Coban, you must cross a river by ferry.

The drive to Antigua is about 350 miles of dense mountain jungles. Some people had to follow their trucks with big rocks. If the truck started to roll back, the would jump out and put the rock behind the tire.

We will arrive October 16, in Antigua. We should be there for about 2 weeks. Graham and Sue will be studying Spanish. We will tour some of the other nearby towns. We went from the low lands to the mountains.