Cafe con Leche por favor!

    It is 3:30 and Jen and I popped right out of bed anxious to see what this morning is going to bring us. Jon and Kara decided to stay in so, we are meeting up with Oliver on our own. We walk up to the front entrance and there is the security guard for the hotel, greeting us with a fresh brewed pot of coffee. We are continually impressed with the hospitality and small gestures of consideration that everyone at Casa De Don David has shown to us. Oliver arrives and off we drive to get to Tikal bright and early for the sunrise. We drive carefully since the road belongs to dogs and horses of the small villages that we pass along the way.
    We get to Tikal, enter the park, and meet up with one of the employees that works on the different archeological sites here. Jen and I both have flashlights in hand, since it is pitch black outside and Oliver has told us that we need to keep our eyes open for animals jaguars, cougars, pumas...oh my. While I would be completely excited to see one, I don't think I want one to see me. Jose, the driver, pulls up next to us in a beat up toyota pick up truck and proceeds to take us on a crazy 4x4 adventure through the jungle and to the base of Temple IV. We are the first ones here. We got out of the truck and looked at this half uncovered temple with wooden stairs zig zagging up the side of the eastern face. Using our flashlights, we carefully worked our way up to finally reach the top unscathed, no incidents and with no spider bites.. the black widows there are huge!
    For half an hour we sat alone on the top of Temple IV, built by the Mayan Civilization around 820 BC. We watched  the planets, the stars and the most brilliant dark blue sky turn into a rainbow of blues, purples and reds of an amazing sunrise. We listened to the jungle come alive with the sound of nature-- the howler monkeys calling from tree top to tree top, the spider monkeys responding, the colorful birds flying between the branches of the most amazingly large, unique trees to the tops of the surrounding temples. We watched in silence sitting above the jungle top and imagined what used to be. It was an experience words fail to capture or express. There were about 50 other people sitting with us by the time sunset arrived and all you could hear, besides the sounds of the jungle, were the sounds of cameras everywhere trying to capture the moment. It was unreal as I sat there and thought about all the people I wish were there sharing this experience with me. Then I realized, being up there, with just my girlfriend Jen, our guide Oliver, who referred to us as his Mayan Princess' was all I needed.

    I felt thankful, awed and overwhelmed by how lucky I am to live the life I lead.

    After the sunrise, we climbed down and Oliver proceeded to take us on a jungle walk in some of the back areas of the forest. We walked through intense vegetation, ruins that were still covered and through an area where Oliver showed us there is an entrance to the underground city of Tikal. Unfortunately, as a result of people abusing the ruins, the underground city is no longer accessible to the public. Too many people were actually destroying the walls, masks, and structures... I can't believe what little respect people have for the history that they are able to be surrounded by. Sucks. We  find our way to some of the ruins that had been excavated on the outskirts of the main structures and are actually able to go into a couple of the ruins where there is still paint and writing visible. I stood inside this structure and put my hand against the wall. If anyone has ever been to Sedona, Az., it felt just like this.. an energy seemed to emit from the walls, a sense of peace, quiet, calm flowed through my body and I felt... for a lack of better words- enveloped in peacefulness. As much as I love to write, sometimes my vocabulary just fails me.
    After another great breakfast Jen, Oliver and I headed back to town. Oliver had a football game to play and we found out that he had come in on his day off to show us around. He was amazing, and we truly appreciated all the help that he gave us. We would recommend him to anyone who ever needed a guide and wanted to head to Guatemala. From Tikal, we are now headed to Belize. However, on recommendation from Oliver, we are stopping at another set of ruins on the way... they are smaller, but are a little bit newer, built around 900 BCE.. amazing.
     We head back to the hotel, pick up Jon and kara and drove on to the next adventure, we turn off the main highway and down about 11 miles of twisting, turning hilly dirt road.  I feel like I have mastered manual transmission and 4x4 driving.  Jon is driving the rest of the way, I am tired. These ruins are smaller but equally amazing. I lay on a sacrificial alter, we climb a couple ruins and get back in the car to head to the Belize Zoo, then on to the airport to catch a water taxi to the Ambergris Caye.