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sangria, served in the lounge.  During lunch the ship re-positioned itself in the "English Channel" to Goff's Key, another Larson-esque cartoon island with five coconut palms and a thatched hut and nothing else. We snorkeled off her beach in the afternoon and enjoyed cool beers relaxing on the beach as the sun set.

Saturday, May 3, 2003
   This is departure day from the Sea Voyager.  Green tags on our luggage denote the thirteen of us who are going on to Tikal.  Our Toyota minibus driven by Lascelle Tilleti, the same guy who took us to Cockscomb, picked us up wharfside.  Although not on our itinerary, we took a vote and agreed to make a short detour to the famous Belize Zoo.  Those who were going to the airport did have the Zoo on their schedule, so we met them there.  We saw Spider Monkeys, Crocodiles, the Tapir (national animal of Belize) and two panthers.  One was all black (Lascelle called him an albino) and the other, sleeping in a tree, the normal coloration.

   We traveled further to the Mayan excavation site of Xunanunich, a small site with a pyramid-tomb, ball court and ceremonial courtyard. It is in the process of excavation and restoration.  There are some steles, but they are not carved with hieroglyphics.  It was very hot. Lascelle told us it was over 100 degrees.  The humidity matched and we were consuming half-liter bottles of water to ward off dehydration.

   A short further ride down a dusty un-paved road brought us to the Chaa Creek resort where we are to spend two nights.  Although it was on our schedule, they were not prepared to serve us lunch and had to improvise, with the bartender doing his best to be the chef.  Most of us had some variety of fruit platter or Caesar salad and then retired to un-air conditioned thatched roof cottages for siesta.  They have hammocks to hang on the porch and Paul sacked out on one of these.  Others tried the Butterfly Farm and reported that all the butterflies had died from the heat.    We gathered for cocktails at the outdoor bar and had a nice candlelit dinner (scampi, pepper steak or vegetarian platter.)   Sleeping under the thickly thatched roof, all windows open to the passing breeze, with the fan set to maximum, was quite comfortable.  We began to realize why they provided six bath towels per room… cold showers at regular intervals was the only way to go.

Sunday May 4, 2003
   Rosemarie decided to take advantage of the spa for a manicure/pedicure while Paul hung out at the bar working on this log and editing the pictures.  Chaa Creek is a quite beautiful, though rustic, camp offering canoeing and swimming on the Mopan River, horseback riding, birding and various nature walks.  If it were not so very hot, it would have been a delightful place to unwind from the rigors of the Sea Voyager.  It is very much in the Lindblad tradition, advertising itself as an "inland expedition."  The temperature however was well over 100 degrees with humidity to match and the lack of air conditioning made any effort an experience.  Even the staff, who live there were complaining.

Monday May 5, 2003
   A minibus met us at 9:00 am and drove us to the Guatemalan border where we cleared customs and bounced over a rough road toward the Hotel Camino Real, Tikal. This is a modern hotel set above a large lake, about 19 km from the archeological site.  On the way we passed many shacks that served as home for the locals.  The people seemed well dressed, however.  The children are in school uniforms.

   Arriving at the Tikal site we began a quite arduous hike over rough trails to reach the excavations. Rosemarie soldiered on but this was the most hiking she has done since the hip was replaced.  There was a lot of up and down over the bare rock (or thin soil, covered with the surface roots of nearby trees). There is only about 8-10 inches of soil covering the limestone, so tree roots cannot grow down in the normal fashion.  The roads and paths are simply places where the soil has been swept from the underlying rock, but no effort has been made to smooth or level the surface.
   We saw lots of wild life including a pair of Toucans, Spider Monkeys, Oscellated Turkeys, Green Parrots, an Oro Pendula, and a Sandpiper with three chicks hopping on the lily pads - just out of reach of a snoozing crocodile.  We were at the site from 3-6 pm.  The late afternoon visit minimized our exposure to the tropical sun but still we dehydrated quickly as we sweated profusely hiking up and down the rough terrain.  We were glad to get back to our hotel for showers and dinner.

   Tikal is a huge city, covering 220 square miles.  Only about 15% has been excavated so far.  It was discovered by westerners in 1848 by a group seeking the sapodilla tree, from whose sap, chickle, (chewing gum) is derived.  It is comprised of large mounds, some of which are partly cleared of the trees and invading jungle.   Compared to the other Mayan sites we've seen, Tikal is only semi cleared and much remains to be done.  The walking is fairly rigorous, over dusty trails covered by tree roots.  There are a lot of steep hills to negotiate.  The wall carvings are of much reduced detail compared to Copan and many of the decorations, masks and the like, are missing.

Tuesday, May 6, 2003
   Our guide, Willie, decided that the hiking today would be too arduous for Rosemarie and two other guests, so he arranged for a van to carry them up the steep hill to the furthest point from which they could hike down hill back through the jungle.  We saw Temple IV, the tallest Mayan construction.  Only the top of the structure has been cleared.  The bulk of the pyramid remains covered by jungle: mahogany trees, fiscus, sapodilla, and dense undergrowth.  Along the way we encountered a Coatimundi (of the raccoon family, known locally as Nasua Nasua or nose nose).  After a nice box lunch on picnic tables covered with white linen table cloths (that quickly became covered with tiny ants) we headed back to the entrance, where the local ladies have set up a market. We bought a cloth table runner of a Mayan design for a gift.  Two black vultures welcomed us.

  All told, we'd spent 7 hours at Tikal over two days.  Our trip is over.  Tomorrow, the bus will take us to Flores where we catch a small plane for Guatemala City where we will connect to our international flights up to Miami, Houston etc.