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At the Guatemalan border the guard manually lifts the gate
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Many school buses full of kids were coming in to Belize to go to school. The Guatemalan parents send the kids here to learn English and have the kids teach them, so the parents can negotiate with tourists!
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The roads in Guatemala are bad anyway and today's rain made them even worse
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Our driver had picked up a local guide for us for the day as the Belize guide license is not good here. The history of Tikal is complex and fascinating. No room to write about it here.
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The north acropolis and the often-photographed Temple of the Jaguar. Tikal was a huge thriving city almost 2,000 years ago.
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Stairs help access to climb Temple IV, the tallest structure here
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As you ascend you come out above the treetops
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Views would have been fantastic if it had been a sunny day
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From Temple IV, looking across the forest to the tips of Temples I, II, III.
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The clouds lend a mystical aura to this view
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Coming down is a bit more scary as the narrow board rungs are wet and slippery
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Temple II, the Temple of the Masks
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View from Temple II across the Great Plaza to Temple I (Temple of the Masks)
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On the Plaza are many altar stones and carved stelae, some protected from the weather by little thatched roofs
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Temple I, Temple of the Jaguar
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I did not go all the way to the top here
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From other side of the Plaza
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One of the "mask" carvings. This is Kinich Ahau, the sun god. Our prayers to him today did no good!
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This is the condition of most of the structures--unrestored.
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This was the "public shuttle" to help us get to the more distant areas. They let the ladder down the side for us to get on.
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Lake Peten Itza and the hill called the sleeping crocodile
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Another day we visited Xunantunich, not far from Chaa Creek.
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We had to take this little one-car ferry across the Mopan River
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The ferryman hand winched us across
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As you can see, it was another rainy morning
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The river was almost at flood stage
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Album: Travels 
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