I looked everywhere and there was not an Ewok to be found. This is where George Lucas and friends filmed one of the exterior shots for Return of the Jedi. Check out the photo and you'll probably remember.

It was the earliest and most painful wake-up call on the trip so far. Shortly after 4am. We wanted to catch the sunrise at Tikal, reportedly quite impressive. So Aaron, Rinat and I decided we'd try to catch the first shuttle that way at 5am. We were waiting at ten till five, but of course it didn't arrive for about 20 minutes. Then we had to pick up a van load of passengers and wait another fifteen for what appeared to be a spare tire. Then we sped off into the Guatemalan night.

"The Mayan skyscrapers."
Tikal is the most impressive of all the ruins I've seen so far. It's almost completely in the jungle; only small parts have been cleared.

Rinat and Me on Temple II

Most of the day you're walking around through trails cut through the jungle. The temples are also way bigger than anything the other sites have. At least they're taller. My guidebook calls them the Mayan skyscrapers.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel. We discovered dramatically that we're staying next to some kind of evangelical church that enjoys all-night gospel singing. It began around seven in the evening and was continuing as I fell asleep. There's shouting, clapping of hands and horribly out-of-tune singing. They sounded like they were having a very good time, but I could have suggested some more appropriate times for spirited worship.

"And what music it was."
Also, the lovely guests next door have a boom box. Smashing. Sometimes it was blaring along with the singing from the next building.

The Fourth Guest in our Hotel Room

This continued through the night as the drunk guests appeared to pass out without turning off the music. And what music it was. It would seem that in some cultures a concern for the needs of others, sometimes called courtesy, is quite simply absent. Oh well. That's what earplugs are for.

Today likely brings a trip to Belize. Rinat and Aaron have decided to accompany me at least just past the border. So we'll attempt to hop on a chicken bus for Belize. This should be interesting. I'm told on these buses, recycled American school buses, they occasionally load three grown adults into each seat. There are also real, live chickens.