21 Feb
We get going this morning around 08:30. Today's 4 hour hike was unremarkable. The less-traveled trail did not have the sapling stumps nor the pervasive mud of the previous days. The other group headed back to Tintal today, as they had the 5 day tour. We have the 6 day tour and spend tonight in Nakbe.
Many chultuns on near the trail today. They are cisterns or cellars the Maya used for storage. They have an opening about a foot in diameter. You can see the ones without their lids. I wonder how many still have their lids and remain undiscovered?
We made it to Nakbe camp by 12:30. It feels more open and spacious than Mirador - nice breeze blowing. We are the only tourists here. Eating soon after we arrived , we then explored Temple 1 by ourselves. After the expanse of Mirador, the Temple 1 complex seems almost quaint. Its scale is much smaller and has a cozy feel to it. Nakbe I like. It has the feel of a place one would live.
Around 17:00 Eladio took us to a group of structures east of the camp. Now it was only Eladio and us. The guards didn't talk with us. Now looking at other's photos of Nakbe, there's a number of things he did not show us. And for what he did, no commentary. We saw a larger pyramid that didn't seem to have a way up to the top, and another one which did. We climbed the second one.
But sunset was approaching, and we wanted to view it from Temple 1, so we scurried down one pyramid only to scramble up another. It's a unique experience, having a Maya pyramid all to yourself for sunset. We saw the other pyramids we surmounted on the horizon.
H figured something out today: Eladio does not like to talk with her. He tries to talk with me, even though I do not understand him, rather than talking with H, who does (mostly). He's a traditional dude, so talking with a woman who is not his wife may be uncomfortable for him. Who knows. But at least now we know how we can communicate. However strangely and telephone-game-like.
Last night Eladio was up late taking with the guards that I tipped with whiskey. So we had a difficult time staying asleep. And tonight is barely better. They set up our hammocks inside the guard's kitchen.
Sleeping in a hammock is uncomfortable. The hammocks themselves are cotton canvas, which retains much of the humid air.
When controlling the mules, everyone here uses the same "sssst" sound that Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, uses. A Hispanic sound?
Meals:
- B - plantains
- L - bread, marmalade
- D - spaghetti and a light tomato sauce
Hiking: 9 miles, 3 hours 30 minutes
