Un like baja, the national reserves in Guatemala have over a bazillion insects.
No doubt one nomad or another has some kind of secret in depth knowledge of how to deal with the fruit flys and the rest of them, not to mention the
cocodrilos, and how to get water from a vine in absense of a river, and other things.
What does this have to do with Baja? The TJ airport I guess.
No one else seems to know anything about the jungle.
The Maya built a civilisation greater than ancient Egypt. With out gold as a lure, much of it remains under the jungle. There are citys grander than
Tikal undiscoverd.
By the way Blanca,
National Parks have a variety of yearly and lifetime passes in the US.
I make a yearly visit to the Olympic National Park beach hike.
[Edited on 4-21-2018 by joerover]
[Edited on 4-29-2018 by joerover]bajagrouper - 4-20-2018 at 08:58 PM
Seems the headlines are a little miss leading, the ceremonial part of this city was discovered many years ago... I visited Tikal in 1967, flying in on
a DC-3...Now a days bus tours drive in daily from the Belize side and tours from Palenque...
What is new and discovered with the help of Lidar is the thousands of smaller platforms and house foundations making this a huge city, when I visited
they thought the whole center was 50 square miles ( size of San Francisco,CA ) now it is found it is many times the 50sq. miles...
I was able to climb Temple 1 since it was cleared of plants and Temple 5 which no restoration work had beed done so I had to climb by hand being only
able to grab roots all the way to the top...
As far as bugs go you have the big four mosquitoes*, ticks, bitting flies, spiders and scorpions... I always carry 100% DEET bug spray, a mosquito
net, bug spray for hotel rooms, long sleeve shirts, pants and lots of water...
* Mosquito diseases = Malaria-Dengue- Zika- Chikungunya........wilderone - 4-21-2018 at 08:59 AM
"...how to get water from a vine in absense of a river, and other things."
What's your plan exactly? You're asking an RV crowd who wants a bathroom and shower when they travel. Watch Naked and Afraid re-runs.bajagrouper - 4-21-2018 at 10:56 AM
joerover, The hotels supply you with bottled water, I am not sure what you are planning...Are you planning to drive to Tikal? Camping in the
surrounding jungle? Which Mexico / Guatemalan border crossing do you plan to use?
It's a Jungle out There
MrBillM - 4-23-2018 at 01:57 PM
But, safer than South L.A.joerover - 4-29-2018 at 09:44 AM
As usual I plan bicycle tours.
Tikal is not my favorite place. There are other sites much older and deeper in the jungle, the bus dont go there.
What about fruit flies? Sort of like colorfull and giant mosquitos. Ouch, they suck a quart or so of blood at a time.
Sleeping on top of a 2,500 year old observatory, priceless.wilderone - 5-1-2018 at 08:14 AM
Yes, the bus don't go there, and neither will a bicycle. Many areas are fenced. No campgrounds, per se. Rain, mosquitos, ants, impenetrable jungle
(no joke - in some places, you can't walk into the jungle 4 feet). There are small villages with their milpas, some regions are biospheres. The men
in Chiapas, Yucatan and Panama wear rubber boots in the jungle to protect feet in wet, muddy conditions, as well as snake bite. The ants are
voracious. You'll need hiking boots, backpack, DEET, hammock, water purifier, compass (once in the jungle with no trail, it all looks the same).
There is insect repellant clothing treated with Permethrin that might be a good thing. You will stand out and be noticed wherever you go - so get
permission or a guide. The local folk are usually very accommodating. The ancient ruins deep in the jungle are covered over in thick vines and trees
- only a mound shape suggests their existence. There are many unexcavated Mayan structures and milpas next to excavated areas that are full of
artifacts (exciting to hold in your hand an incense burner, or handle of an olla, painted pot sherds), i.e., you don't have to go deep into the jungle
to enrich yourself with Maya history. I totally understand your sense of adventure and exploration - be prepared and go.joerover - 5-1-2018 at 04:52 PM
The bicycle is to carry my bag, because the hotter it is, the more I do not like backpacks. There are many Mayan ruins as you say, just a mound.
There are also some where partial clearing has ben done. Seems few things make it to the museum. In the 80s the president of Belize sent the police
to loot Guatemala ruins. If you know how, google earth can show you a site much grander than Tikal, and unknown.
Boots are not a bad idea, mud splashing over the top of my shoes in unfun. Hammock is often better than a tent in the jungle. In some places you
walk into the jungle 10 feet and find an ancient elevated road. I like the Steri pen better than a filter. Compass, yes.
Recent info suggests some ruins are older than they thought. The undisturbed queens chamber in El Naranjo gave a date of 2,800 years old. what was
left of the ulna was carbon dated.
[Edited on 5-1-2018 by joerover]joerover - 5-2-2018 at 11:09 AM
jungle photo
her ancestors built these
[Edited on 5-2-2018 by joerover]pacificobob - 5-3-2018 at 05:23 AM
never wear shorts whilst roaming those jungles. unless of course, you are with friends who are willing to help remove ticks from your most precious
areas. trust me on this.bajagrouper - 5-3-2018 at 10:13 AM
never wear shorts whilst roaming those jungles. unless of course, you are with friends who are willing to help remove ticks from your most precious
areas. trust me on this.
