Day 2
The cold wakes me up before my alarm. Yes, I’m in the jungle and it’s cold. I wish I’d brought a sleeping bag, if every night is going to be this cold.
Fortunately the cook is already awake and making a hot breakfast for us. I smile with gratitude as she pours me a mug of hot water for coffee, and savor the warm feeling on my hands.
The time is 5:50 a.m. and it is still dark. The others trickle into the dining area, and once everyone is present we are given plates of whipped black beans and eggs, with fresh tortillas in a basket. I give my eggs to Riccarda, the Austrian woman, and eat the beans with the tortillas. I’m not that hungry, but it’s good to get some grub in me for the long day of hiking ahead.
Once we finish eating, we help Miguel break down the tents and get all the rest of the gear ready for the mules. By then it is light, and several Blue Buntings flit around the campsite, brightening my morning.
During a bathroom visit, I find that my stomach troubles are over, at least for now. After 6 days of diarrhea, I am overjoyed. Still, I take a Cipro to help clear out any remaining bad gut bugs.
We are on the trail by 6:45, and pass some orange trees on the way out of camp. Miguel picks one for each of us, though they are still green. He then lights a cigarette and heads on down the trail with us behind.
Last night he told us the hike to El Mirador is about 30 kilometers from Tintal, which means roughly 19 miles today. And as the miles and hours pass, I find myself in a good rhythm. My body is adjusting to hiking with a pack, and by lunchtime it feels normal to have 25 lbs on my back.
While the cook is making meat and cheese sandwiches, I spy a jar of pineapple jam in her food bag, and ask if I can have some. She looks at me as if I just asked to shave her head, but gives it to me anyway. The others see the peanut butter and pineapple sandwich I’m making and ask if they can have pineapple jam, too.
We linger a long while after eating, enough for the malaise to sink in. It is quite warm, at least 80 degrees, and I am sweating. Franz, the Austrian, stands up and stirs us into action. I follow his lead and take the place behind him in our line as we march onward.
Around 3:45 we reach the edge of the El Mirador area at a small complex called La Muerta. Miguel takes us into a narrow passageway at the foot of a small pyramid and shows us the inside, in which we can stand. He points out the Scorpion Spiders, which are huge: the body is large, but the legs stick out as far as a dinner plate. Marc is horrified and leaves, but I stay and take some pictures for my niece, who loves spiders.
From La Muerta we walk another fifteen minutes to our camp at El Mirador. There is a large clearing there, which I imagine is a muddy pond in the wet season, and a number of covered tent pads. The cook has Tang ready for us when we arrive, and we sit together at a table to rest and rehydrate.
Once we’re feeling better, we help Miguel with the tents, then return to the table to talk. Across the clearing from the camp I see the official entrance to the ruins, including a map. Tomorrow we will get the full tour, so I fight the urge to take a sneak peak.
As the light grows long on the trees, I wonder if we are going somewhere for the sunset. Miguel hadn’t said anything about it, but my question is answered when we all gather up around five to walk to the nearby pyramid of El Tigre. It’s about a fifteen minute walk, so I grab my camera and flashlight for the walk back.
Even though it’s late in the day, the jungle around is full of activity. Birds call and sing, monkeys chatter and howl overhead. I am in such unfamiliar surroundings that every moment is a novel experience.
We reach the plaza below El Tigre and start to climb, the top 55 meters above us. It doesn’t sound like much, the but steep, tall stairs make it quite an effort. Behind and below us is a plaza ringed by the ruins of several buildings, and just below the top, there are three more pyramids. A sheet of visqueen covers much of the area, so we have to skirt around one side to get to the top.
Once there, we are treated to a fantastic 360 degree view of the jungle around us. We are atop the second highest structure in the complex; only La Danta stands higher. We’ll go there tomorrow.
We are the only ones present for sunset. Marc passes around a whiskey bottle to the group to celebrate our effort to get here. He also lights a cigar, and asks that no one take pictures of him smoking, lest his mother see. We laugh, and toast each other and our good fortune at being in such a remote and beautiful place.
Like last night, we grow silent as the sun approaches the horizon. I feel a sense of peace, being witness to such a magnificent sight. Shutters click as the sun sinks out of sight, and once gone, we pick our way down and back to camp.
For supper we are served heaping plates of veggie spaghetti, which we devour. Light is provided through a generator, which makes it feel a bit more civilized.
Before bed I wander away from the lights to look at the stars, which are brilliant. The only time I’ve seen them this clearly was from Thorung La High Camp in the Nepalese Himalayas.
In the quiet of the jungle night I stand in awe at the heavens lit up above me. And even though it’s February, “O Holy Night” starts playing in my head.
The afterglow of the sight is still in my eyes when I lay down to sleep.
Matt Dunn Online 