Last night we slept in hammocks. It's much safer than it sounds, they could completely wrap around you. I slept really well until 4ish when I got cold. Yes, cold near the equator!
Yesterday another tour came in. An American called Ben and an Austrian called Alex. Fortunately they both fluent Spanish and are very kindly translating. However, I'm surprised by how much I understand due to words making sense or sounding similar.
We were also lead to a nearby cave and got to see the millions of bats fly out for the night. Despite their numbers it was over in about 30 seconds. Apparently they have a king bat that stays in the cave to protect it and when they get back they fly around it for half an hour before settling down.
This morning they cooked us pancakes for breakfast! Pancakes, in the Jungle! They even had maple syrup. I don't even get that at home!
Apparently the howler monkeys call out at 2-3am, and according to Mayan traditions they are calling to the gods for rain. Fortunately for me I slept through that. At the moment I can hear them calling in the distance. It's a ferocious sound. Imagine what it would be like for the first western settlers!
Also during the day the jungle is so quiet, but at night the noise is tremendous. I wish it was the other way around!
This morning we went to the lost temples in El Zotz. On the way our guide showed us all the medicine they got from the plants, sometimes Ben had to translate. He never seemed annoyed for which I'm very grateful.
We came across an ants nest which the guide hit to bring out the warrior ants, which were massive! He picked one up and let it crawl on him, then he passed it to Alex and it shortly bit him in between the fingers. It bled more than I expected. Ben let one bite his fingernail and wouldn't let go, eventually he pulled its body off!
Later on our guide explained a Mayan dance and asked if we wished to see it. Once we'd agreed he headed off and mentioned that the Mayans danced naked! Fortunately he cam back fully clothed and wearing a palm leave costume.
From the top of the second temple it is said you can see temple 4 of Tikal. So I expected it to be quite close. It wasn't! Off, far on the horizon you could just see the top of it!
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