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Tikal, Guatemala

Sunrise at Tikal. A Child’s Perspective

Tikal, Guatemala

June 7, 2018 //  by Five Family Adventurers//  21 Comments

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David Netzer

 


“David, wake up,” my mom said, shaking me up.

“Fine,” I said groggily. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I took a second to gather myself and then realized what we were doing. “It’s so early,” I complained to whoever was listening.

“Get up and brush your teeth,” my dad said. I understood that what he said was not a suggestion. I pulled the sheets off and walked over to my bag. I grabbed my clothes.

“Shake them out,” my mom reminded me. “There are scorpions here; we’re in the middle of the jungle,” she added on.

I shook my clothes out and put them on. I trudged into the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it. I brushed my teeth, my eyes half shut. I walked back into the main villa room. I looked out the window. It was completely dark. The main lodge still had no lights, as the power didn’t come back for it until six. It was four, four in the morning. We walked over to the lodge.

Tikal Guatemala
Jungle Lodge Cabin

Our guide came in from the dark. He had brought some brown paper bags. “This is your breakfast,” he explained. We all took one and shoved them in the backpacks. We proceeded to hike to the trail.

I was still adjusting to where I was. I remembered that last night we had arrived in Guatemala and hopped on a small plane over to the town, Flores. From Flores, we took a van to Tikal to arrive at a small hotel in the middle of the jungle. I suddenly came back into reality as we approached a small shack. There were a few Guatemalan soldiers waiting there. They said something to my mom and she grabbed our passports. They looked at them, and after a few minutes gave them back to us. They gestured down the trail.

A Hike to Tikal in the Dark

It was now 4:30. We walked on, over roots and rocks, under thorns and branches. We kept like this for another fifteen minutes. Suddenly the guide put out his palm in a notion to stop. We stopped. He bent down and slowly gestured to a small thing that looked like a stick. I strained my eyes and realized that it was a spider. It was medium size, about five inches long. It glanced up at us and quickly scurried away, surprised by our encounter.Tikal Spider

We kept walking, and at approximately 5:05 we entered a small clearing. We turned to the right where there were no trees. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a large temple, with steps leading up to the top. I was in awe. The temple reached up to the top of the tallest trees. I walked over to it, and I stood five feet away from the behemoth of a temple. I took a few steps over. I extended my hand and touched it, running my hand up and down, feeling the smooth parts and the rough ones.

“Can I climb this?” I asked the guide. My brother nodded in agreement, and we both turned to face the guide.

“We will, but not yet. There is very much left to explore,” he explained. I gave a nod of affirmation, and with that, we got back on the trail. We walked farther, past trees that seemed to never end. We kept walking for what Mayan Calendarseemed like another two hours, but was only 30 minutes. We finally stopped at a large staircase. “Climb these stairs and the destination will be at the top,” the guide announced.

The Temple Climb

I took a look at the long staircase. It was hundreds of steps! How was I supposed to do this at 5:30 in the morning? I clenched my teeth and took a large step onto the staircase. I took another step, and another, another one, and just walked. After about two minutes I stopped and glanced over the side. The sight gave meTemple IV Tikal Guatemala vertigo. I must have been about 75 feet up. I waited for a second, then proceeded on with the steps. I looked up and realized I was only about halfway done.Temple IV Tikal Guatemala

After about 10 grueling minutes of vertigo-filled climbing, we made it up to the top. I realized that we were at the top of a temple! I walked as close to the main structure as I could, being careful to not look down at the ground 200 feet below us. I reached the stairs, and sat down quickly, careful to not stand near the ledge.

Sunrise, the View Above the Tree-tops

I looked out, and I was shocked by what I saw. It was a pitch black night still, but I could see fog at the tops of the trees. I admired the view, it was so beautiful. The rest of the group came over and sat down. I gazed out, encaptured by this wondrous view. I relaxed, realizing that for this moment, I did not have a worry in the world. I sat. And sat. And sat. For a half an hour, until the the sun started to rise. It was still not even dawn. But then, the jungle came alive. It was as if an Guatemala, Tika;alarm clock had gone off. The bird’s started singing, the monkeys started hooting. It was such a difference from the 2 hours of silence when we had woken up.

We sat and listened. After about another hour of listening to the wake-up calls of the jungle, we started heading down. I took one last look down, and with that, we headed back onto the trail. We took the long, never-ending staircase back down. In these two hours, I had connected to nature so much more. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. We reached the bottom and ate our packed breakfast. It had a sandwich, an egg, Tikal Guatemalaand a nectar “juice” box. I was still thinking about what had happened just 15 minutes ago. I was ready for a day that would bring us so much excitement and enjoyment.

https://www.fivefamilyadventurers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Tikal-at-Sunrise.m4v


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Category: Family Travel, Guatemala, Tips for Kids, Tips on Travel, UncategorizedTag: Guatemala, Tikal

Five Family Adventurers

About Five Family Adventurers

I have been an avid traveler since a young child, exploring the world by myself and with my family. I am a mom, wife and individual. When not running after three little dependents and a fat Labrador, you can find me working on our next destination plans. Somehow I also manage to fit in a job. Life is short. Fill it with family travel and adventures. You will not regret it. Embrace what the world has to offer. Oh we are also baseball obsessed, not sure how that snuck into our lives.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarLa_Fede

    June 11, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    I find the idea of telling the journey through the eyes of your son very interesting, I like it very much

    Reply
  2. AvatarRein

    June 12, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    You’ve really got parenting figured out!^^ Your son experiences so much more than what he could learn at school about this place, I love these instructive and adventurous family travel stories 🙂

    That spider picture though… your son is definitely braver than me, haha ^^

    Reply
  3. AvatarValentini

    June 12, 2018 at 10:32 pm

    I enjoyed so much reading your son’s perspective! He is so cute! And what an adventure, it sounds an amazing place to be, well done for the experiences you offer to your family!

    Reply
  4. AvatarLyza

    June 13, 2018 at 5:32 am

    You’re son is snart and adorable. He made me feel what happened and I want to experience that too! I have never been inside an ancient temple or watched a sunrise, lucky kid 🙂 You’re cool parents!

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 13, 2018 at 11:28 am

      Thank you. I love the fact he wrote it so hard to get them to do things these days

      Reply
  5. AvatarJenni

    June 14, 2018 at 10:02 am

    This was a great read through a different generation’s perspective! I felt that I was living it too!

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 14, 2018 at 10:19 am

      Thank you. I’m hope to motivate him with all of these wonderful comments.

      Reply
  6. AvatarKristie

    June 14, 2018 at 10:11 am

    I love this! He is a great writer. Seeing new places through the eyes of kids is fascinating. I want my daughter (11) to write a travel post for me someday, but she prefers writing fiction. 😊

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 14, 2018 at 11:23 am

      At least she writes. She can take your travel experiences and use them in her writing.

      Reply
  7. AvatarErin

    June 14, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    I love that you son wrote this. What a great idea! He’s a wonderful writer.

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 14, 2018 at 2:00 pm

      Thank you 😊

      Reply
  8. AvatarRobin

    June 14, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    What a great writer you are! Those scorpions and spiders do not sound like something I’d want to see!! But that view above the tree tops looks amazing!

    Reply
  9. AvatarMissy

    June 14, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    That was wonderful. It is great to hear others perspectives on a trip.

    Reply
  10. AvatarJanine

    June 14, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    What a fun adventure! And I love that you had your son write it from his point a view. You have quite the budding writer on your hands! I bet that sunrise was absolutely amazing to behold.

    Reply
  11. AvatarDoreen Pendgracs

    June 17, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    David, how fortunate you are to have experienced such a magical place like Tikal. I could do without the insect life, but I know they have a right to be here, too. Keep on travelling!

    Reply
  12. AvatarNeha

    June 17, 2018 at 11:17 pm

    I could never imagine a 12 year old having so much perspective about a place in the middle of jungle and that trek to sunrise! Your son has a depth there. And it’s so much more fun when our kids like travel as much as we do, isn’t it?

    Reply
  13. AvatarSandy N Vyjay

    June 18, 2018 at 9:57 am

    Loved reading this post. Especially as it is by your 12-year-old son. Loved reading his perspective. It brought back memories of my own childhood and trips with my parents. The hike in the early morning sounds fascinating, especially the climb to the top of the temple in the dark sounds like a real adventure. Kudos to your son, way to go!

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 18, 2018 at 11:49 am

      It is wonderful that he is contributing. Helps cement the experience and bring it all home!

      Reply
  14. AvatarYUKTI Agrawal

    June 18, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    Wow what an adventurous hike with family. Waking up 4:30 in morning and too with young boy must be difficult but kudos to you and your son’s spirit. Tikal never heard before sounds interesting.

    Reply
    • Five Family AdventurersFive Family Adventurers

      June 19, 2018 at 3:14 am

      Howler monkeys. They are loud

      Reply
  15. AvatarKartik

    June 21, 2018 at 2:50 am

    Beautiful and slow adventure, patiently explained. The tougher part was in convincing the kid to be part of this. I have never been able to wake up my kid, except when we are getting out of a train at 4 in the morning. Great that you expose kids to early morning hikes.

    Reply

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Five Family AdventurersI have been an avid traveler since a young child, exploring the world by myself and with my family. I am a mom, wife and individual. When not running after three little dependents and a fat Labrador, you can find me working on our next destination plans. Somehow I also manage to fit in a job. Life is short. Fill it with family travel and adventures. You will not regret it. Embrace what the world has to offer. Oh we are also baseball obsessed, not sure how that snuck into our lives. Read More…



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