I.III.I.II – Flores: Day Two
FLORES
I.III.I.II – DAY TWO
01/10/22
Admittedly, Belize left me a bit dry when it comes to Mayan ruins. Sure, there were Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, the ATM cave and the Marco Gonzales Archaeological Reserve (if one can actually count that), but, these totalled three days of excursions in three weeks. That’s it! Back in Mexico, visiting ruins was almost a daily event. And finally – finally, I was in Flores. And you know what Flores’ famous for? Yip, it’s the ruins of Tikal!
Accompanied by Joaquin, my guide for the day, I set off early in the morning to explore the ruins of the grand city along with a bunch of other tourists. Our way there felt quite like a wildlife expedition in the middle of the jungle, as we stopped plenty of times to admire all the fauna we’d come across. Like the slaty-tailed trogon (a beautiful green and red bird that’s related to the legendary quetzal), the snail kite (a hawk-like bird that soared gracefully above our heads), the orange-breasted falcon (a gorgeous black, white and orange plumed beast) and the brown-hooded parrot (a tiny multicoloured cutie with a grey-brown head). We also made a stop to observe a giant anteater as it lay unmoving on a tree branch and multiple others to allow coatis to cross the road.
Once at the site, we couldn’t help but marvel at the hundreds of spider monkeys and howler monkeys that jumped from one tree to another over our heads. As excited as I had been to see my first howler monkey ever, it took me about a hot damn minute to start cursing their existence – their relentless crying and moaning quickly getting onto my nerves. Did you know they used their voices to make dinosaur cries in Jurassic Park movies? Imagine being surrounded by tens of them as they screeched their lungs out at any point in time! And I’m not even gonna mention those horseflies… Bastards!
The Ruins of Tikal
The city of Tikal, once one of the most important centres in the Mundo Maya, dates back to around 1000BC, reaching its height of power in the Classic period, with different sources claiming that it was either abandoned due to famine and climate change or after being conquered by Teotihuacan in the Late Classic period. With latest evidence suggesting a core population of around 500,000 to 1,000,000 people, the influence of the city extended throughout most of the Mayan Lowlands and they had relationships with other major cities like Teotihuacan and Caracol.
The name given to it by the Conquistadors means “City of Voices”, with the original one being Yux Mutul. To this day, the site still boasts of a large number of spectacular temples and constructions that were used for both civic and ceremonial purposes, being oriented to the cardinal points with those on the east and west being used for astronomy and those in the north and south for religious rituals. While the site core is around sixteen kilometres squared, the residential area covers around sixty kilometres squared, which is in turn surrounded by around 576 kilometres squared of dense tropical jungle.
We started off to the northeast of the Grand Plaza on a trail marked by a one-hundred-year-old ceiba tree. At the Complex Q, we climbed over a five-tiered platform conferring a view of the courtyard with eight stelae placed right in front of it. Then, we made our way northward to the North Enclosure, located within the same complex – an open-air structure with a triangular entryway as a reference to the shape of Orion’s Belt, housing a stela and an accompanying altar at the centre, portraying the ruler Yax Nuun Ayiin II marking the end of the Katun.
After this, we headed westward, taking note of the three pyramids that make up Complex R that are still mostly unexcavated and buried under mounds of dirt and overgrown trees and roots. Then, we walked straight to the Temple of the Two-Headed Serpent; a huge, seventy-metre-tall pyramid consisting of seven tiers built atop a massive platform making it stand out as the tallest structure in the entire site and the second one in all of Mesoamerica. This, Joaquin told us, was probably built as a funerary monument for one of the rules of Tikal. We climbed over a huge staircase that left most of us out of breath by the end, leading us to the fifth tier. From here, we had a panoramic view of the thick, exuberant jungle – the canopy broken only by the summits of three other pyramids jutting out in the distance.
From thereon, we made our way southward, climbing over yet another pyramid, that of Temple V where we got to get to spend a few minutes admiring the stupendous views of the once thriving city that was now enshrouded in trees and mystery alike.
Then, it was finally time for the pièce de résistance as we started nearing the site core. We climbed Temple II from the backside, and, as we turned the corner at the top, we were met with a fantastic vista unlike any other – the Grand Plaza, in all its glory.
We made our way down, and, as we stood in the centre of the plaza, accompanied by a few thousand coatis, Joaquin went on with his explanation. Standing right in front of us was Tikal’s main attraction, the imposing 47-metre Temple of the Great Jaguar. The nine-tiered structure, facing the east direction in reference to the sunrise, was discovered in 1960. Some seven metres underneath the impressive building was found the tomb of Lord Chocolate (yep, that’s his actual title), and, together with his remains were jaguar pelts, jade, shells, and carved bones featuring a canoe referring to the story of the Popol Vux, a jaguar and the sun. On the top of the highest tier, is a room containing three chambers, with a combed roof surmounting it. Truly a spectacular work of art!
After some time spent revering the incredible temple and examining it from every possible angle, we then made our way around the plaza, ogling at more stelae and the ballcourt. Here, Joaquin told us, no evidence of human sacrifice was ever found, with the pelote being played for recreational and ceremonial purposes. After, we headed towards the Acropolis flanking the southern side of the plaza, roaming around a series of corridors and staircases that used to connect the residential areas of the elites.
As we started on our way back, I couldn’t help but wonder how amazing the Mayan civilisation was (as I always do), and how unfair it seems for us to never be able to experience it. I guess that’s the best we can hope for – a glimpse into their lives.