Mud, Bugs and Ruins: a 6-day Trek
Trip Start
Jul 03, 2008
1
3
17
Trip End
Aug 11, 2008
El Mirador, Guatemala
Friday, July 11, 2008
Day 1 was the roughest. After a 4-hour drive that shoud have taken 2-3 hours, starting at 5 am, we hiked on a trail still soaked from rain three days earlier. Heavy mule traffic, mostly carrying supplies for the El Mirador dig, had churned the mud to depths well beyond the height of any boots. What should have been a 4-5 hour hike took six hours, partly because the slowest hiker wore low cut boots. The rest of us had mid cut or gum boots but managed to keep our feet dry.
The mud had a thick consistency and tended to grab and stick to boots. I carried several kilos of mud through the long bajos (old lakebeds that are now seasonal wetlands), slowing me down and wearing me out. The hiker with the low cut boots gave up and rode back on a mule on Day 2 while the rest of us carried on.
We were all exhausted when we reached Tintal, but after half an hour{s rest, we climbed the main temple, felt our first cool breeze, beheld the tree tops of the vast jungle in every direction, saw the jagged edges of El Mirador and Nakbe so far away on the horizon, smiled, laughed, got to know each other, and realized that this was going to be a very satisfying trip.
My companions were two Norwegian university students, Trygve and Tor Bjarne, A New Zealander, Blair, and four students at Oxford, Dave, Simon, Abby and Alex. Abby and Alex left after Day 1 because of Abby{s boot situation. Our guider were Hector, Angel, and guy with an unpronounceable name. All were great, buthere was tension between Hector and the others.
Day 2 was long 24 kilometer 8-9 hour push, but the bajos were much smaller. I put my hat and sunglasses away, which allowed me to better read the trail stay cool. Aside from a few short stretches through bajos, the trail was great and it was easy to get into a zone. The trail was only two years old, almost completely on a causeway built 2,000 years ago. Aside from small ruins that we passed from time to time, the trail looked completely like jungle. But, we could see gently sloping dropoffs on either side of us. The cause was built 30 meters across and 2-3 meters high, an amazing piece of engineering.
We met an archaeologist along the way and I was amazed at how happy and willing he was to talk with neophytes such as us.
We encountered a small necropolis half an hour before El Mirador called La Muerta. We were able to climb into some of the chambers.
We finally arrived in El Mirador, rested our customary half-hour, and climbed El Tigre, the second highest temple in the complex. The cool breeze as the sun set was immensely pleasing and again lifted our spirits. The son of the head archaeolist came up and was very friendly and informative. He has grown up spending months out of every year in the area.
Being the only Spanish speaker was a bit of a curse at this point as I had to negotiate extensions from 5 to 6 days for three of the trekkers. I had also had to negotiate the return of Abby and Alex. The guides were not of one mind on money matters and pigeon-holed me individually to settle. This wento on to the end of the trip, but I will not bore you with the details.Allīs well that ends well.
Day 3 was the only day without a forced march. We toured the enormous complex for a solid six hours, in contrast to the 3 1/2 hours I later spent in Tikal. The highlight was La Danta (the tapir), the tallest structure in the Mayan world at 77 meters, and thanks largely to a base roughly 600x300x10 meters, the largest pyramid by volume in the world, according to chief archaeoligist Richard Hanson. There has been consderable restoration done on the top two levels, but it is very much a work in progress. We had a long conversation with Richard Hanson, which was very gracious of him. I could write more, but reading a site about El Mirador would be more enlightening.
We finished the day atop El Tigre, stayed up late (ītil 8:45!) talking and playing cards.
Day 4 was a short but hot 3-4 hours to Nakbe. Tor Bjarne ran down a hill early in the day, spraining his ankle badly enough that he could not hike for the remainder of the trip. Angel rearranged the loads on the mules allowing Tor to ride the rest of the way.
Nakbe was my favorite, a very large and remote site. We didnīt meet anyone on the trail, not even any chicleros. The only inabitants of the site are two park rangers, and we were the first vistors in a week. The rangers were happy to have company and cheerfully showed us the highlights of the site. Although Richard Hanson has worked Nakbe more that El Mirador, very little has been restored. Most of the excations have been filled in because of lack of resources to maintain them. The facade of the main temple has a series of masks, each several meters high, but sadly they were all filled in.
I took a walk through the jungle by myself for an hour or two, content in my isolation and marvelling at all that I could see and hear without the noise of a large party.
Again, ended the day atop the highest temple, seeing where we had been, playing cards and talking.
Day 5 was our longest march, roughly 27 kilometers. I strained my calf two hours into the hike and limped at a fast pace for several hours until Simon wisely suggested that I take ibuprofen, which helped immensely. I was uncomfortable, but again enjoyed the isolation of the trail, again encountering no one until we reached our final camp, La Florida. We encountered a group circling the other way, having just completed their first day. So, our splendid isolation ended, but we enjoyed our final evening talking and playing cards.
Day 6 - The return to Carmelita went quickly at 2 1/2 hours. The mud of Day 1 had dried for the most part. We said our goodbyes to Angel et al, tipped them, and rode 2 1/2 hours back to Flores. I had mixed feeling as I washed off six days of filth and sweat. A shower was most welcome, but it meant that a wonderful trek was truly over.
Later, we met at Los Amigos for drinks, then watched the sunset as we ate cheap tacos from the roof of my hostel, Hostal Dona Goya Dos. Back to Los Amigos for drinks and farewells.
