TIKAL!

Well, today is lunes (Monday) and we got back from our trip to Tikal yesterday. We flew from Guatemala City early Friday morning, to Flores, the small island-city where we stayed. The flight was about an hour, in a puddle-jumper, which made the kids really nervous. There was lots of hand-holding and nervousness!

We stayed at the Casona de la Isla, a nice hotel in Flores. Flores is a teeny-tiny island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza, and about an hour from Tikal. It´s in the Peten region of Guatemala. Flores is really just a collection of shops, restaurants and hotels aimed at the tourists who come to Peten for the weather or the Mayan ruins. Although the restaurants cater to tourists, we had to use a great deal more Spanish, as the people in Flores speak mainly Spanish.

The only disappointment during this trip was finding out how little our students know about restaurant etiquette. There was much yelling, snapping fingers at servers, refusing to speak Spanish and reticence regarding tipping. A note to our principal: we need to develop etiquette classes for MetEast!

On sabado (Saturday), we took a van to Tikal, leaving early in the morning. We had an EXCELLENT guide named Julio, who had the sensibility and sense of humor to reach our kids! Julio showed us not just the ruins, but a great deal of nature as well. The students were really exited to see spider monkeys, a toucan and some amazing trees, as well. The bugs were biting, but not too bad, and it was mainly clear the whole time we were in the jungle, with the exception of the end. It rained when we reached the tallest temple, but many of us climbed it nonetheless. In all, we climbed three temples and visited palaces, ball fields and el mundo perdido (the lost world). I felt great climbing the temples! The view from the top of the treeline was breathtaking. I can´t wait to post some photos, but they really don´t do justice to the view!

We learned a great deal about the Mayans from Julio. Of interest-- the game that they played, similar to football, was played with a rubber ball with a wooden center, which weighed 7 pounds, and they had to play with every part of their bodies except for their feet and hands. The games would last for days! It´s like playing hacky-sack with a bowling ball! Then, at the end, the best players would be sacrificed to the gods. Amazing!

I think the students all enjoyed the jungle very much, and they dealt well with the tropical heat and the exercise. They were happy to return to Flores, however, and to jump into the hotel pool after our excursion. The pool was one of the most important parts of this trip, for the kids.

Also, I must rag on Sabriel, who insisted before we left that only an idiot would lose his passport, and then lost his own in transit to the airport in Flores. Luckily, Mr. Levy found it, but my prediction that Sabe would be the first to lose his was proven correct!

It was good to get back to Antigua, especially because I missed Mayra so much! We´re back in the swing of things with classes and whatnot, and the time is flying so fast!