Folks,
On Nov 17, 2004, at 4:06 PM, Travis Edmunds wrote:
http://www.livescience.com/history/myan_canals_041116.html
Where the rain forests of Guatemala now stand, a great civilization once flourished. The people of Mayan society built vast cities, ornate temples, and towering pyramids. At its peak around 900 A.D., the population numbered 500 people per square mile in rural areas, and more than 2,000 people per square mile in the cities -- comparable to modern Los Angeles County.
If you ever get a chance to visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal (http://mayaruins.com/tikal.html), in the Northeast corner of Guatemala, do it. They are spectacular, memorable, surprising, awe-inspiring. A British couple we met on the top of Temple II (http://mayaruins.com/tikal/r1_057.html) said that they'd been to both Giza and Tikal and preferred Tikal.
It's vast, but not incomprehensibly so -- Peggy and I gave ourselves three days to wander around, and it was about right. The site is mostly level, but the pyramids require strong legs and lungs. And guts. On Temple IV (I think), while walking around the ledge that surrounds one of the upper levels, I was glad to have my wits about me as I rounded a corner to find a gap in the ledge that would have led to a very dangerous fall. Most of the temples can be surmounted by walking up the steps that have been restored, but at least one has had a steel ladder added (in one of those gaps, IIRC) to reach the top.
I'm lost in the memories of the place.
Thanks, Travis!
Dave
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
