We woke up at 5 am and pretty much headed straight to the park. On the way we saw ocellated turkeys walking around in the parking lot. We admired how large they looked and commented on how different they look in the wild. We were happy to see one of them spread out its tail in the morning light but we wanted to proceed to the gate hoping to see a nice sunrise from Temple IV. Fotunately the morning felt cool in comparison to yesterday although it was still humid. We paid Q50 per person for re-entrance to the park, and we spent Q5 on a map of the ruins. We had to wait until the gates opened, which wouldn't happen until 6. While waiting we met Jennifer and John (both American, he lives in Antigua and she was visiting him). We walked with them to Temple IV and had a nice chat along the way.
Temple IV is supposed to have a spectacular view of the sunrise. This morning was rather foggy, so we didn't really see the sunrise, but there was still a beautiful pale yellow glow in the sky, reflecting off the fog. We saw some toucans from the top of the temple and although very tranquil and peaceful we decided that we only had a few hours remaining in the park and that we should use the time to see a bit more of what we were unable to see yesterday. We descended the temple and proceeded to Mundo Perdido, Temple Siete, and Temple V. Temple V is climbable but is also very steep, and we didn't attempt it because we wanted to try to cover more ground.
We had been hearing howler monkeys all morning, and when we arrived at the Gran Plaza, we finally saw some. There were five of them in the tree, eating, climbing, and jumping from branch to branch. You could see their tails wrapping around branches and it was so amazing to finally see these animals in their natural surroundings. We were very happy that we got to see them before leaving the park and we were also able to show them to a few other small groups of people that wandered along but hadn't noticed them. Feeling rather satisfied, but out of time, we headed back to the hotel. Tikal really is an extraordinary place and we were very happy to be there for an overnight. This gave us a chance to experience the park in the heat of the day, when there are so many other tourists, but also allowed us to enjoy an overnight and see the park in the tranquility of the morning light. It was amazing how few people had been in the park this morning. Quite a difference from mid-day yesterday.
We could have easily stayed at the park for at least another day and found plenty of interesting things to see but as always we needed to keep moving along. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, beans, fruit, biscuit, and plantains with Gerry and Judy, we got everything packed. This was the end of the Guatemala Easter trip for us but unfortunately we didn't see many of the folks in our group to say goodbye. We knew that we were to be picked up by a representative from Pook's Hill at around 10:00 so we needed to be ready. The front desk knew nothing of our plans but we were confident all would be fine. Soon after 10, Ben Cruz, our Pook's Hill guide, arrived. Roberto was our driver to the Guatemalan border. On our way out of Tikal we stopped at the visitor's center and converted our remaining 60 quetzales into 6 bottles of Gatorade. Making sure we were properly hydrated was very important after visiting Tikal and we were amused at the way we chose to convert our money before heading to another country with a different currency.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 day ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
2 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
4 days ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.