Key West to Beaufort - endings and new beginnings… dan

Key west was a little like coming home as we haven’t returned to many of our previous ports of call. Two movies, two pizzas, a tour of the Hemmingway house, two trips to Mallory Square, laundry, provisions, water, and fuel rounded out our actives.

The Hemmingway house was a joy to visit. It’s very well preserved and presented, complete with beautiful gardens and about 50 polydactyl (double pawed) cats that are all decedents of Hemmingway’s original herd.

We visited Mallory Square for the sunset celebration twice. Susan suggested we go early to watch the whole thing unfold; the slow accumulation of performers, vendors, tourists and cops. It started with a vendors & performers meeting. Spots were assigned and the magic began. We spoke to a senior performer (the Great Rondiene) who’s been performing here for decades.

Another evening we took the dink and toured the sunset celebration from the water. A unique and delightful perspective. One guy leaned out over the water and shouted to us; “Welcome to America”. I don’t imagine he could have known how true his jest-full welcome hit home.

Soon it was time to leave on what may be our last passage on Gypsy. Our next destination: Beaufort North Carolina to refit Gypsy and put her on the Market. It’s a tough decision but it would be hard to support both a land life and a cruising yacht at the same time. We’ve learned the economy of reduction and certainly some things are harder to give up than others but that’s when the real value of the reduction practice comes to fruition. Even so this is a bittersweet time for us. The knowledge that “when one door closes, many others open” gives me solace.

We left Key West early Sunday morning and made our way out in a light southeasterly breeze accompanied by a small fleet of fishing, sight seeing and dive boats. The beginning of the passage was marked by light airs and lots of ship traffic. We were only making 2 – 3 nmh until we got into the Gulf Stream with its 2 – 3 nmh push to give us a combined speed of 5 – 6 nmh over the ground toward North Carolina.

The calm of the passage not only allowed us time for reading, countless hands of gin and, surprisingly, it was even calm enough to play dominos. It’s funny how the game of dominos is a lot like life. What one does next is based on what has come before, one thing leading logically to the next. Even so, you often start on one track with a well thought-out strategy; invariably things change and you end up heading in another direction. In the game, once the stones are all played out and the dots are counted up, a winner is decided. In life, it’s not so straight forward. In life, it’s the quality of the dots, not the quantity that really matter.

Those first gentle days of the trip also opened a door into the ocean and allowed me hours of time to gaze into its incredible blueness. The shades of blue varied with the time of day and the sky but it was mostly what I would call a deep electric-ocean-blue. The calmness of the surface allowed me to peer deep down where shafts of sunlight played amongst the deeper shades of blue. The depth of the ocean has been compared to the human soul. Because of its tremendous vastness, I think a better comparison would be made to the soul of our planet and everything that lives upon her; all alive and deeper than we fully fathom.

The first few days of the passage were marked by light winds and afternoon thunderstorms. Fortunately we had positioned ourselves 20-30 miles off the coast in order to take advantage of the Gulf Stream. That distance had the unanticipated advantage of putting us just out of reach of the vicious southern Florida thunderstorms. You can see them depicted in the above photo on our chart plotter. We have XM satellite weather ported into our chart plotter which is a great boon for coastal and near offshore passages but it is mostly useless outside of the USA. We also have AIS (automatic identification system) ported into the plotter. AIS shows all the large ships that are within 20-70 miles of our position. Both those systems were incredibly useful during our trip up the coast of Florida. I thought back to when I was a boy and the only piece of electronic equipment we had on board the yawl I crewed on was a tube driven VHF radio that was often broken. It seems that something primitive and solitary has been lost with the acquisition of all this electronic wizardry and the accompanying information that it imparts. It seems the experience of sailing has been paradoxically diminished at the same time that it has been “enhanced” by modern gadgets.

During a particularly calm period in the middle of the third day I stopped Gypsy long enough for me to go for a quick swim. Besides being refreshing and cleansing it’s strangely thrilling to swim miles from shore in several thousand feet of water. It was a perfect sailing day; winds 8-10 nmh pushed us along under high puffy clouds. After a beautiful sunset the air temperature dropped a bit and I put on long pants for the first time in three months.

Dawn of the fourth day brought stronger winds (15-20 nmh) and the Gulf Stream picked up to 3 nmh. The wind was against the current causing the seas to form steep waves 6’-8’ high giving what we sailors like to call a lively ride. Needless to say any further domino games were out of the question and holding on became the order of the day. The up side of all this it that we were now making 9-10 nmh “over ground” towards our destination. We saw the water temperature steadily drop during the passage. When we left Key West the water had been 86° and by the time we were in the waters off North Carolina it had come all the way down to 74°.

Dawn on the sixth day found us in light air 60 miles out of Beaufort in blue green water the likes of which I’d never seen before. We motored north and when we came into cell phone range I tried to book us a slip in one of the marinas. Unfortunately our arrival happened to coincide with the start of a big sports fishing tournament and all the marinas were full. No worries; we were able to anchor in Taylor Creek, tucked in behind Carrot Island right in front of Beaufort.

After we dropped our anchor and looked around one of the first things we saw was a wild pony grazing on the banks right next to us.

Later we took the dink to explore the area and discovered dozens of wild ponies on Carrot Island just a little south of us.

Wild horses are beautiful and also a fitting metaphor for us at this stage of our lives.

One might think that there is a certain sadness associated with the end of such an adventure and yes there is but it’s probably much less than you might be imaging because such an adventure is never really over. It makes such a lasting impression that it’s something that stays with you forever afterwards.

It has truly been an amazing trip. In the past eight months we have traveled well over 5,000 sea miles, enjoyed enumerable exquisite sailing days, an equal number of star filled nights, visited six foreign countries, countless islands and secluded harbors. We left our footprints on beautiful and secluded beaches too numerous to count. We’ve hiked, biked, motor biked, rode horses, taxies, vans and chicken buses to many exotic and interesting places. We’ve watched hundreds of beautiful sunrises, sunsets, moon rises and sets too. I have nothing but gratitude for all the wonderful things we have done and seen on our journey. Even more gratitude that we’ve done it all without any serious injury to ourselves of our vessel.

As this marks the end of our sea born adventures it seems like a logical place to bring this blog to conclusion. It has been a great vehicle for chronicling our travels, processing our experience and sharing that all out. Thanks to all our family, friends and strangers too who have followed our adventures, added your support and comments to this chronicle. I wish you much joy and prosperity in your lives and also the courage to follow your own hearts convictions. May you all be free from suffering, may you be well, may you be at peace and may you all find true joy in your lives.

Om shanti shanti peace….

Mosquito Invasion and more… susan

Witnessing a swarm of honey bees was somewhat like what we experienced when leaving San Pedro, Belize; except we were swarmed by mosquitoes! It was awful! In our preparation for this trip Dan and I had discussed at length with our doctor the pros and cons of taking malaria prophylaxis when in the Central American countries where the CDC indicated it would be prudent. We secured the Chloroquin in the States and when it came time to start taking it we reconsidered and decided to follow our experience up to now, which was: there were no mosquitoes where we were. The wind was light and we couldn’t get away from them. We covered ourselves with insect repellent, light our anti-insect burner and swatted ourselves, and each other, as these invaders looked for a morsel of flesh to puncture. The open companionway invited these critters inside so the screens came up and we needed to “clear the way” if either of us needed to come below. It lasted all day! Countertops looked like battlefields when we at last were able to freely enter “our” home. Trying to take myself out of the situation I saw two large adults tormented by multitudes of tiny mosquitoes. It made me laugh. Hopefully our strategies worked and we didn’t contract malaria in the process.

Except for this unwanted send-off we had a flawless sail for 4½ days. The winds were mild, Dan navigated us along the favorable currents and we did not witness any of the oil spill. This languid type of sail lends itself to reading, gin rummy and introspection. The pursuit of a floating bottle – there was no message, only barnacles galore – prompted us to write our own message in a bottle and release it in the Gulf of Mexico.
Once we reached the Gulf of Mexico we were sometimes in the shipping lane. Our AIS alerts us to the location of these vessels and it also alerts them to us. The information provided by the GPS tells us the vessel’s length, speed and destination as well as their heading and the nearest approach to us. Two times an approaching ship called us on the VHF radio and indicated that we should hold our course and they would alter theirs.
We eat nourishing foods on Gypsy but the options are limited by the ability to find the ingredients in the market and by the ability to store them. The luscious colors of the rainbow that emerged after a light shower reminded me of the gelato shop in Placencia. Rich raspberry, creamy lemon – an active imagination serves me well…

The light shed by the moon glow is much appreciated during the darkness of night. The rhythm of the sunrise and the sunset and the moonrise and the moonset creates a framework to relate to the passage of time as day blends into night. I did notice that the moon gets slighted when the sun is in the sky simultaneously.
Dolphins blessed us with their presence once again. I never tire of their graceful flow through the sea. I find myself calling out to them and welcoming them to come near. Who am I kidding? It is their home; I’m the visitor!
We rarely see birds when we are far off shore so it is “a sign” when birds start to once again be part of our landscape. Land is near! It is daunting to me to think of the pelagic birds that soar continuously far out over the landless seas, returning to a spot of earth only for mating.
We decided that we could come into Key West at night because we had been here before and even though there are some place where there is shallow water, we know where they are. The lights of Key West were several miles in the distance when a vessel approached us on our starboard side and once within “our space” they flashed their lights and identified themselves as U S customs and immigration. After asking a couple of preliminary questions across the waves they told us they needed to board our vessel. Two young gentlemen with guns strapped to their hips stepped across the chasm once their boat positioned herself alongside Gypsy. Our official papers are always in a portable briefcase so providing the necessary paperwork was relatively easy except for the lack of sufficient light. Headlamps work wonders in those situations. One of the first questions asked was if we had stopped anywhere on our way from Belize to Key West. I felt that we were believed but just to be sure the customs officer asked to look at out GPS which showed the path we had sailed to get here. While one official sat with Dan in the cockpit going over our paperwork, I turned lights on down below and made the space accessible for the second official to peer into every nook and cranny looking for any illegal immigrants. It was a friendly visit that even when you are innocent of any wrongdoing it does cause some feelings of trepidation. Even with this inspection we were required to call first and then go to the immigration office first thing the next morning.
As we approached the U S an unexpected excitement came over me. I never fully appreciated all the conveniences and opportunities available to me when I lived here. There are plenty of embarrassments about how our country has behaved in the world but I do feel a newly inspired commitment to exercise my responsibilities as a citizen to make the difference one person makes.

Mango Sushi – dan

Last night I made sushi. The beautiful local mangos happened to be on the counter and a surprising thought popped into my head: mango sushi, why not give it a try? So I did. Cruising tends to encourage a daring, playful and whimsical approach to life.

Our friends the Hills have departed and it’s time for us to be leaving too. It’s bug season in Belize, very hot and getting hotter. It’s not just bugs and the heat that’s driving us on. The big driver is the hurricane season. We don’t want to mess with any of those bad boys.

Our long-term plans have been changing and evolving as we go. We were originally planning on leaving Gypsy on the Rio Dulce for hurricane season but have decided to head for North Carolina (a beautiful area with lots of relatively inexpensive marinas) where we’ll haul Gypsy for routine maintenance. Once Gypsy is squared away we plan on taking a long road trip around the country visiting the national parks as we go, at the same time seeking out a new home base. We’d like to continue to travel and we both feel a strong need to have some kind of a permanent, land based home. We’re not exactly sure what that will look like or where it will be but at present Oregon seems to be calling us.

Our plans are written in sand, not concrete but that’s where we stand right now. There is a lot of water between us and North Carolina and a big nasty oil slick too. Our current thinking it to head back up the coast of Belize to San Pedro where we’ll check out of the country. From there we’re thinking about proceeding straight to Key West Florida. That way we’ll skip the Yucatan coast of Mexico, which is mostly poor holding and high entrance fees. That would also be quicker and the sooner we get past all that oil the better.

By the way; the mango sushi was as delicious as it was unique.

Growing friendship…

You probably don’t really know someone until you spend a week with him/her on a sailboat. Gypsy is a small 42’ vessel. There is a dance that Dan and I have worked out to pass each other between the nav station and the galley. We cannot walk side by side! So, add two adults and the intricacy increases. Elaine and Tom Hills are accomplished sailors and they know the challenges. Last Saturday Dan and I haled a taxi and headed out to the airport to meet our friends. We were 40+ minutes early but as we rounded the entrance we saw Tom and Elaine walking back from the beach. Did we mix up the time? The airlines fills the planes and the Hills were put on an earlier flight; because they were there and because the flight was not full, the Hills made it early; not so their luggage. A cool beer on the beach allowed us to get caught up; the luggage came on the next flight.
Dan had done his homework and he had a proposal for a 3-5 day sailing adventure starting the next morning. So we were off! Sailboats need wind and we had it!
With a reef in the main we tacked our way around the cays and made our revised destination in time for lunch. We had intended to land at Rendezvous Cay but as we approached it we saw the backhoe and the rooftops and it was obvious that development had taken over this spot. Our revised anchorage, North Long Coca Cay, provided calm and aquamarine waters and some snorkeling. We circled the cay in our dinghy but landing was not allowed. Elaine had a lengthy conversation with a raptor and random calls continued throughout the evening. We drank cool beers and ate the appreciated repast of outdoor living. What is it about being out in the air that makes the food, however meager, taste so delicious?
I think it is safe to say that the card tournament got started the first night. We were able to remember the rules for poker and popcorn served as chips. As the week went on and the competitive spirit livened up we resurrected the rules for pitch, and so it began. Teams rotated from couple versus couple, men versus women and odds versus ends! The laughter and the joking rounded out in the end so that each one of us had been on a winning team!
On day two we sailed to Queen Cays, a series of three cays that make up a preserve. The snorkeling revealed several new species of fish and coral and even squid were observed undulating through the water by the acutely observant. (Dan and Elaine).
One Cay was a bird nesting sanctuary that we did not disturb. The surprise of the evening was the 35nph winds that kept us rolling all night long. Dinner was abbreviated to Ramen and leeboards and cockpit sleeping kept us all content.
After breakfast we sailed off the mooring to Ramguana Cay; another beautiful location along the Barrier Reef. Pat and Ernest were our hosts at the open-air restaurant & bar located on this small cay. We enjoyed fresh snapper cooked on a wood fire, conch, coleslaw and coconut rice. We swam and snorkeled, had a violin lesson, played with the local dogs and even got in some beach raking.
We wobbled off our mooring and barely made a ripple in the water. Dan had hoped for a spinnaker sail as Tom had expressed interest in a spinnaker lesson some many months ago in Connecticut. Under Dan’s patient direction we all worked together to fly the spinnaker and slowly, ever so slowly, the wind began to build. We had a delightful sail back to Placencia and for an added “challenge” we set our anchor without the engine. Since it was Dan’s birthday the cake had been baked underway. After a harbor swim to cool down we made our way to our new favorite restaurant: RumFish. Tooti Fruiti gelato was closed or we would have over- indulged in one of their confections as well!

Our Captain held a meeting for us to decide our next move and we decided to come back to Placencia to take in a few more activities there. The winds were very slight – what a contrast!

A yoga class, a walk around town eyeing the souvenirs, a dinghy ride up the lagoon in search of manatees and happy hour with the latest harbor arrivals rounded out our week. Tom and Elaine opted to take a jungle trip on Friday; Dan and I had lived the jungle life on the Rio Dulce so we passed.
No, I don’t think you know someone as well until you have spent a week on a small boat with him/her. We each added our special traits and unique contributions to the “group”. We meshed: we laughed and talked and talked and laughed. We each paid attention to tasks at hand: manning the helm, coiling the lines, tacking the boat, preparing dinner, cleaning up the boat, waiting in line for the head. Yes, Chuck at HSR, they really were here with us in Belize. Dan and I feel blessed to have grown our friendship with this great couple of people.

22 Hours from Rio Dulce to Placencia – dan

It was early when we left Rio Dulce, 5:50 and quiet. Only a few fishermen in their dugout canoes were stirring. We had spent the previous evening with our marina neighbors Lorraine & Dan of Zephyrus sitting in Gypsy’s cockpit drinking mimosas, swapping sea stories, past lives, future plans and possibilities. Wonderful people! Again it’s hard meeting and then so quickly letting go of friends. They’re leaving Zephyrus on the Rio and heading back to their home base; a 26’ sloop in San Francisco for the hurricane season. And us, we’re still writing and rewriting our plans.

The day before the marina staff had smoked a hive of bees out of a neighboring boat’s mast. A couple of hours afterwards Susan noticed bees mysteriously appearing in our saloon. I started killing them but replacements would appear as fast as I could knock them off. I then stuffed a lit citronella coil in the base of the mast. That put them off. We were also still dealing with a horde tiny ants that were relentless in their desire to board Gypsy, many of then successfully. This is after all, the jungle where billions of living things compete for space and resources. A nearby boat had two large birds nests aboard and air plants growing on its headstay. One thing I’m not going to miss about the Rio, in fact was very much looking forward to leaving behind, is the feeling that I was a walking buffet, 24/7 for all sorts of things that were feeding on me. Was coming here worth it? Definitely! I’ll just be glad when the swelling goes down, the puss dries and the itching stops.

So it wasn’t with complete regret that we untied our lines, drifted away from the dock and slowly built the engine rpms as we headed down the Rio. As wonderful as this place has been, it felt like time for us to be moving on. The unsettled skies over El Golfete was a good match for my mood that morning as we passed through this broad section of the river.

It has been said that one never steps into the same river twice and that is certainly true of our trip down this one. The river was every bit as magnificent as when we went up it but somehow it wasn’t nearly as powerful for us going down as it had been coming up it. There’s something special and charged about a first encounter.

Lately we’d developed an uncanny way of running into people we know. We pulled into Livingston to check out of Guatemala and called Raul on VHF ch16 to enlist his services as an agent. He answered immediately; he’s so personable it was like talking to an old friend. As soon as we got off the radio with Raul, Maggie of Sea Tryst called to say hi. She and Bob were working with Raul to check in. We had never met them in person but had spoken to them over a year ago on the phone having been introduced by a mutual friend. What a treat to finally meet them in person. Unfortunately we were literally two “ships passing” so we didn’t have a chance to really get to know them.

When we finally got to Raul’s office he greeted us like old friends. He’s an impressive businessman and seems to have the offices of immigration, customs, port captain, health and agriculture all working as smoothly as a symphony orchestra. He had all our business completed, stamped and duplicated by 11:00, unfortunately low tide was at 12:00. So we decided to hang in Livingston for a couple of hours to let the tide fill in some in order to give us a little extra margin when we went back over the bar. So we decided to wander about town spend the last of our Quetzales while the tide built.

As we wondered the streets we ran into Philip who we had met three weeks ago when we checked in. We was as engaging as ever. We talk about where we’d been and what he’d been up to recently; organizing local Garifunas to help balance social injustice. He also spoke with much angst about; deforestation, the war in Afghanistan, climate change, over fishing and Guatemalan youth issues. Philip has keen intellect but I fear that he makes himself unhappy with his own unrelenting focus on local and world issues. None-the-less our meeting with him did feel like more that just another coincidence and I paid keen attention to his words and reflected on the significance of our meeting.

Back out on the boat we up anchored and headed out to retake our bar exam. We passed again but this time with even less margin than before, 6.1’ being the shallowest water we experienced this time.

It’s 63 miles from the Rio Dulce to Placencia as he crow flies but Gypsy’s no crow. She flies over waves but can’t fly over mountains, cays or reefs. She also can’t go straight up wind without tacking and tack we did. After everything was said and done, we ended up traveling a total of 90 miles to get to Placencia and it took us 22 hours in total.

In spite of the contrary wind direction we had a wonderful sail back to Placencia. Initially it was blowing 14-16 nmp out of the NE but soon built to 20-24 with 6’-8’ swells. We reefed Gypsy down and carried on. By late afternoon we got inside of Belize’s barrier reef and the seas settled right down and the sailing got very civilized. As the sun set behind the hills of Belize the wind settled down to pleasant 12-14 nmp range from the same direction. We then got a short rainstorm that had a remarkable clearing effect on the atmosphere. Once the clouds cleared we were treated to a crisp sky full of millions of stars with the Milkyway looking like a huge glowing mass above us.

It was extricating and challenging night sailing as we made our way past reefs, cays, unlit channel markers and ship traffic. It was even more exciting when we entered Placencia harbor in the dark. Fortunately the harbor has a wide entrance, no shoals and a generous and even depth of water throughout.

We pulled into Placencia at 4:30am and dropped our hook just south of a mixed group of sailboats; some with anchor lights, some without. The next day we checked in at Big Creek and enjoyed the friendliest and cheapest such session we had yet to experience in Belize. It had cost us only $25US to check in. When we originally checked in at San Pedro Belize it cost us $75US there and they messed up our paperwork. Checking out was the biggest difference. In Punta Gorda the port captain charged us $150US to check out, here we learned they charge just under $25US. Go figure. Clearly not all ports-of-entry are equal in Belize.

On our way back to Gypsy we were treated to two glimpses of manatees; one in the creek and the other right out in our anchorage. It was the first time that either of us had seen a manatee.

We had one more less-than-coincidental meeting when we got back to Gypsy. Gail and Lee came by in their newly repaired center console fishing boat. We had met them our last time in Placencia and Gail had gotten us started on the 100 wishes exercise, which we been having fun with ever since.

It’s good to be back in Placencia, it’s a lovely place, a meeting place and we have good friends that will be joining us on Saturday for a week of sailing.

Jungle life on the river -susan

Living on the river at a “jungle lodge” offers unique experiences. At 5 A M I woke and gazed out the opened hatch. The moon was framed there on its path across the sky. The sounds of the morning came into my awareness. There was the chirp of the tiny bird that was perched on the lifeline peeping into our cabin and the slurp of a paddle as it dipped rhythmically into the water close by. I ventured off the boat and into the canopy of vegetation that makes up our “home”. That was when it really hit me: I am living in a jungle! The click of the insects in a nearby tree, the chatter of another species, a tweet and a twitter, a gulp and a caw- blending into the symphony of the morning. The walkways in our land “home” weave us through this lush foliage, over water lapping against the shore, and past cabanas where guests are retreating from the stresses of their “real” lives.

Dan and I have taken to doing our yoga practice in the dining room – a large open air space with a thatched roof – rarely used for meals in this low season. The other morning we were settling onto our mats, centering our minds when Dan pointed out a relatively small snake that had fallen from the ceiling and was making its way out of the space. Needless to say in some of the reading I have done the great gurus sit quietly in meditation with snakes crawling over them – I’m not there yet!
Tijax offers a jungle tour and although Dan and I have been doing a lot of our own exploring we decided to sign on to the tour with a knowledgeable guide. It was well worth it. We had access to places that on our own we could not access. Our guide was well versed on the local flora and fauna as well as the many medicinal uses of the wild vegetation. We ventured first into the new forest where the growth was younger and allowed more light onto the jungle floor. The guide pointed out that this light and lack of moisture affected what would grow and live in this space. There were petrified rock formations along with samples of the wood harvested from these parts in the informal museum we walked through on our way. Our trail took us on a detour around a termite nest that had been taken over by Africanized killer bees. Once into the old forest we experienced the immensity of the plants towering over us. The canopy walk carried us high over the jungle floor – as long as you could put one foot in front of the other. My breathing helped me move forward. It really was breathtaking.
Life on the river has its added bonuses. The net fisherman come by in their dug out boats to fish the waters around us. They are so very skilled at what they do. Just getting in and out of that tippy vessel makes me in awe. Sometimes they don their snorkel masks and dive into the water, I assume to free caught weights. The process of draping the net over the arm and shoulder of the caster to propel it out over the water in an even circle is an art form. Lovely to watch. Bird island houses many of the feathered creatures but this morning an egret poised itself on the bow of the boat next to us. We all get along harmoniously together. Dan has his pet fish here as in other harbors. He has this fancy for cultivating a mobile school of followers wherever we go. Leftover rice is a favorite of the fish and usually twice a day Dan and I perch ourselves on the rail watching the flurry of eating activity. These fish take on personalities that we embellish as we watch their antics. The day we gave them leftover spaghetti we imagined them playing tug of war. Maybe we have too much time on our hands!

Tikal – dan

We took a two-day road trip to Tikal, the largest Mayan archaeological sight. We started our journey at 8:00 am with a water taxi from our marina into the town of Rio Dulce. From there we took a 4-hour bus ride to Flores were we caught a van arriving at Tikal 4:00 that afternoon.

The first thing about Tikal that hit me was the setting and not the structures. It’s located in the center of a rainforest preserve that’s over 200 square miles. It’s lush and full of wild life; the trees are huge and alive with air plants, hanging nests, spider monkeys, howler monkeys and birds of all kinds.

The next thing that surprised me was how much of a work-in-progress it is. Exploration and excavation is continuous as they have only uncovered and restored a tiny fraction of the over 3000 structures.

The last big surprise for me was how long the sight had been occupied by the Mayans - over seventeen hundred years of continual use. Makes New York City seem like a newborn in comparison.

We hiked into the park and made our way to Temple IV to watch the sun set and hear the jungle come alive for the evening. Right after the sun set we were treated to the sight of the full moon raising over temple I. We made our way out of the park in the last dim light of the day and it was completely dark by the time we got back to our hotel. We went straight to bed after dinner as we had made arrangements to meet a park guide at 4:15 the next morning.

It was pitch black when we meet our guide Chino and three other travelers (one from New Zealand, one from Australia and a guy from Boston). As we hiked into the sight thunder and lighting split the black sky and gave us dramatic glimpses of temples and pyramids. It seemed like the ancient gods were indeed speaking and they had a lot to say. We made our way on to Temple V (probably the steepest climb of all) to watch the sunrise. Susan was glad it was dark when we went up this one; it made it easer for her to cope with the height. Up, up, up we climbed until we reached a small ledge were we all perched to witness the start of a new day in this incredible place.

Because it was overcast we didn’t get to see the sunrise but we did witness the veil of darkness being slowly lifted and the temples of Tikal emerge from the mist. The cry of Howler Monkeys and the songs of birds provided the background accompaniment.

The place is filled with altars the one in the above photo is located in the Central Plaza between Temple I & Temple II. This contemporary altar is used for Mayan ceremonies today.

The above photo is of the pyramid at the Mundo Perdido (Lost World) Complex.

Besides walking around we did a lot of climbing throughout the day. Inspecting the buildings at our leisure and integrating the information provided to us by our guide, we were able to begin to imagine what this civilization might have been like when the population reached an estimated 100,000. Being introduced to a site such as this asks more questions that beg to be answered. Our interest has been titillated.

It was after 10:00 PM when we finally got back to our marina. We got some more thunder and lighting accompanied by light rain that lent more atmosphere to our boat ride home and the end of two very long and fulfilling days of travel and exploration.