My alarm went off at 5AM and met my shuttle bus at 5:30. I opted for the shuttle bus because it was free and I really needed a day off the bike. It took about an hour to get to the National Park where I bought a ticket for 150 Quetzals or about $19USD. I decided to go with a guided group so I could hear a little more about the history and ask some questions. I'm so glad I did. After a light breakfast we set off on foot to explore the site at 7:30. The site was massive and it took about 5 hours to walk around. Tikal was one of the largest Mayan cities the existed from 600BC to 900AD. Only about 15% of the estimates 1600 buildings have been excavated from the jungle. According to the guide there is no plan to excavate more building due to the impact on the environment to do so. Archeologist now rely on Lidar technology study the layout of the city without then need to excavate. It takes more than a decade to extract the roots of the trees from the limestone for each building that has been excavated. The density of the jungle is impressive which is ironic because it is theorized that the abandonment of this city in the tenth century was due to catastrophic deforestation and drought. According to my guide, current research estimates that the population of this city could have reached as much as one million (Though I could not find any information to support that claim. Wiki says 450,000). There is no evidence that any metal was used in the city. All of the construction was wood and limestone. The limestone quarries were later used as water reservoirs. When you view my photos it will be difficult for you to understand the scale. The temple you see behind me in my selfie shot is 52 meters (170 feet) high. Roughly as high as a 14 story building and it is not the tallest structure. Standing on top of one of the temples and looking at the spires poking out above the canopy it was easy to imaging the impressiveness of this capital. The walk through the jungle to the different archeological sites was also very fun. I saw Toucans, Spider Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, Ocellated Turkeys and hundreds of cute Coati which are in the raccoon family. Even though it was overcast and 78º the humidity was heavy. By the time I got back to my hotel in the early afternoon I was hot and tired. Nap time.