Jungle walking

Walking into the jungle is an eerie feeling, with a very dense and cloying atmosphere. The smell is quite musty and a bit like pressing your face against moss on a rock. It is the noise that is most unsettling, with lots of rustling in the canopy, and the weird screams of the howler monkeys. These are quite large animals and will happily call the bluff of a human. If you do manage to scare then off, then they retreat into the trees and (as the guide put it) throw shit at you.

We followed a sequence of trails up into the jungle before coming to a Mayan courtyard. The guide spent some time helping us to understand how the rock carvings were interpreted, and discussing some of the reasons behind the demise of the Mayan civilization. Despite all the fanciful theories, it seems that they were just not very responsible at agriculture, and over 600 years managed to ruin the soil to such an extent that it could no longer sustain the population. the mayans spread out across Guatemala and Honduras to such an extent that there are now more than 21 separate Mayan languages spoken in the region.

After walking further, we came to the top of a rise to see the spectacular Temple 4. This rises out of the jungle in a series of very steep steps and was used to conduct religious ceremonies (often involving human sacrifice). The mayan guide spent some dime discussing the gruesome intricacies of this, including the removal of a maiden's heart whilst still beating for an offering. The temple is in quite a good state or repair, considering it lay undiscovered in the jungle for more than 1000 years and that there has been no money spent on restoration until very recently. The climb to the top is a killer with more than 200 very steep steps in a very humid atmosphere. By the time we reached the top, we were literally awash with sweat. The climb is definitely worth the effort though, as you emerge through the canopy to see clear into Honduras and Belize, and to see the tops of other similar temples emerging from the canopy at other points in the landscape. It really does look like something from another world.