Mark & Claudia Ch. 3

Claudia and Mark's flight left early in the morning from Guatemala City. They were in Flores, the capital of the department of the Petén, before nine. Flores is actually a small island in the middle of lake Peten Itza, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. It consists mainly of tourist hotels and restaurants. The hotels all face out onto the lake. The level of the lake is rising, and many of the hotels are now literally in the water. The effect is incongruous -- a motley wall of modern hotels dropping straight into the lake.

Claudia and Mark checked into their hotel, the Hotel Peten. The Hotel Peten was just as modest as their hotel in Guatemala City. They had their own bathroom, but not much else. Their room had a view out over the lake. They could see the dusty sprawl of the rest of the town (actually called Santa Elena), across the water on the mainland. It was very hot.

From the moment the flight attendant opened the door of the plane, Claudia and Mark had felt the heat. Within a few minutes, their clothes were damp with sweat. It was so hot they found it difficult to breathe. Their hotel did not have air conditioning, but the overhead fan provided some relief.

On the phone from Guatemala City, they had arranged to go directly to Tikal from the hotel. Pushing against the enervating heat, Claudia and Mark hurried downstairs to catch the bus. It was a small, modern bus, but without air conditioning. From their hotel, the bus drove slowly around the island, picking up other tourists from their hotels. By the time they were making their way across the causeway to the mainland, the bus was full.

Claudia and Mark were too hot to make the effort to try to participate in any of the conversations going on around them. The other tourists were evidently better acclimatized to the heat; there were several lively conversations going on. It would have been difficult for Claudia and Mark to join in in any event. There was one couple near the front of the bus who seemed to be speaking English to one another, but the others were speaking what sounded like German, French and maybe Italian.

It is not far from Flores to Tikal, less than an hour. Admission was included in the price of their tour. So was a tour guide, but Claudia and Mark had already decided that they would make their own way around the ruins. They would come back after visiting Edward and take a guided tour; today they wanted to walk around together to admire the ruins.

The ruins of Tikal are enormous. To explore the entire site would take weeks if not months. To see only the largest and most important ruins at the center of the site, where most tourists go, takes at least two days.

The ruins at Tikal were left by the Mayas. Tikal was mostly deserted by about 1,150 years ago. At its height, it had a population of perhaps 100,000 people. The ruins consist of temples, pyramids and other buildings, all built of white limestone. There are hieroglyphs and other designs carved on stone stelae, and on the buildings. It is even possible to see original Maya graffiti, where more recent graffiti has not obliterated it.

Claudia and Mark spent a happy four hours in the ruins. They had a guidebook which helped them understand what they were seeing. Claudia and Mark, but especially Mark, were overwhelmed by the splendor of the ruins. It was Mark who raced to the top of Temple IV, the highest temple in the ruins, at some 210 feet high.

Both of them, but especially Claudia, also appreciated the setting for the ruins. The ruins are in the midst of the virgin rainforest that reclaimed the land when the Mayas left, and there is a wealth of plant, animal and insect life to see. Claudia was thrilled when she managed to coax several tarantulas from their burrows in the ground with long stalks of grass.

Back in Flores that night, Claudia and mark had pizza for dinner at a pizzeria called “Picasso.” Their pizza was surprisingly good.

******************

They woke up early the next morning. Edward had told them to be at the mainland end of the causeway by six in the morning. They were up at five. It was just starting to get light; they could hear the sound of roosters crowing faintly across the water. They got dressed quickly, and were in the street, their packs on their backs, by five thirty. It was a bright, clear morning. The heat would not begin for another few hours.

Mark spoke first.

"Excited?"

"Yes. This is going to be fun."

"I wonder what Edward's house will be like?"

"I bet he has servants. Probably horses too."

"Of course he does. His family is part of the ruling elite."

They had reached the causeway. Guatemalans get up early; there were already a few people out on the road. They walked at the edge of the causeway, away from the occasional truck or bus that drove by, kicking up dust and gravel.

Edward's driver was waiting for them at the end of the causeway. He was dark and looked very Guatemalan. He was driving a brand new black four wheel drive Isuzu Trooper.

"Hello. Mark, Claudia?"

He had a heavy accent.

“Yes.” Mark answered.

"Please."

He motioned for them to get in the back seat. He put their knapsacks in the rear of the vehicle. Without another word, he got in and they were off.

Claudia leaned forward, her phrase-book in hand.

"Como te llamas?"

Her pronunciation of "what is your name" was far from perfect, but the driver evidently understood the question.

"Ruperto."

"Cuantas horas de viaje son?"

"Son dos horas y media. No es lejos."

"Gracias."

Claudia turned to Mark.

"His name is Ruperto. He says that it's not far; two and a half hours drive from here."

Santa Elena is not a large town. They were soon past the outskirts. The countryside was mostly pasture, with a few grazing cattle. There were some stretches of jungle. It was very flat. They passed several small towns. The road was unpaved. Ruperto drove a fast slalom, avoiding most of the potholes.

An hour into the journey, small round hills began to appear. There were now patchwork fields of corn running up and down the hills on both sides of the road. Some of the fields were blackened from having recently been burnt. The road began to climb between and around the hills. The potholes got bigger, and Ruperto slowed the Isuzu.

After half an hour of gentle, winding ascent, Ruperto turned off the main road and onto a dirt track. He stopped the vehicle and engaged the four wheel drive. It had obviously been raining here; the track was very muddy. Ruperto drove slowly, but the vehicle still skidded from side to side in the mud. In places, the Isuzu got stuck. Ruperto would rock the vehicle forward and backwards in the mud, the tires spinning furiously, until they were free.

The hills around them were virgin jungle, with occasional small plots of corn. Some plots had been freshly cleared; they could see the charred remains of the forest that had been cut and burnt. The track continued to climb, although twice it dropped steeply down to a river. There were no bridges. The rivers were broad but not deep, and the Isuzu forded them without difficulty.

As they drove deeper into the jungle, Claudia found herself remembering Edward’s angular features and his British accent. He was certainly a man of mystery. And very sexy.

They came to a wooden gate. Ruperto got out of the car, unlocked it, and swung it open. Beyond the gate were broad grassy fields, with horses grazing. The fields were enclosed by striking white limestone cliffs, topped with dark green rainforest. They could see the outlines of a river snaking along the cliffs furthest away from them. To their left, on a small hillock, was a house. They drove up.

Edward was standing waiting for them at the front of the house.

"Welcome to Callejon de las Flores!"

Edward shook hands warmly with Claudia and Mark.

"Gracias, Ruperto."

Ruperto got back in the Isuzu, and drove around back of the house.

"The name means 'canyon of flowers,'" Edward explained. "Did you have a good trip?"

"Yes, thanks," Mark answered. "Ruperto is a fast driver."

"He knows the road well. He has worked for my family for many years. Come, let me show you the house."

The house was larger than it looked from the outside. The floor was cool white tile. The walls were high, and fans turned slowly overhead. The house was immaculately decorated. They would never have guessed that they were deep in the jungle.

Edward showed them to their room. Their backpacks were already leaning neatly against the canopied bed. Through the open window, they could see the river and the white cliffs beyond.

"You'll want time to settle in. Why don't you join me for a late breakfast in an hour?"

"Thank you Edward. This is wonderful," Claudia answered.

Edward closed the door behind him. Claudia and Mark looked at one another, and then looked together out the window. They could hear the sounds of the forest. It was very peaceful.

Mark gave Claudia a quick kiss, and then went into the bathroom to shower. Claudia looked out the window for a moment. She had never seen anything as lush as this. It was beautiful.

Claudia stripped down to her bra and panties. She got on the floor to do her leg lifts. She could feel the cool breeze from the slow overhead fan against her back and her leg as she began her exercises.

*************

When they came in to the dining room an hour later, Edward was sitting at the table, talking to a dark-haired woman. They stood as the couple came in.

"Claudia, Mark, allow me to introduce Sibila. She manages this farm for my family."

Sibila shook hands with Mark and Claudia.

"Please, sit. Breakfast will be served momentarily." Edward continued.

"Edward say you like to go riding."

Sibila spoke with an accent. She had more Guatemalan blood than Edward; her skin was darker. However, she was taller and slimmer than most Guatemalan women. She obviously had some Spanish ancestors.

"Wouldn't it be great to go riding?" Claudia asked Mark.

"I'd love to go. We want to explore as much of this area as we can."

"Could we ride through the trees? I've always wanted to see a rainforest up close."

As they were speaking, a short, dark woman with her hair tied severely back silently brought in heaping plates of toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and tortillas. There were already two silver coffee pots and two large jugs of orange juice on the table.

"Of course. Then it's settled. Sibila will take you riding. Please, help yourselves."

Edward poured the coffee. They all dug in.

"I would go with you, but I have some business I must attend to on the farm. I will join you later this afternoon. Perhaps we can go swimming."

After breakfast, Edward led them around to the stables. A stable boy had four horses waiting for them. Claudia and Mark had each been riding before, but they were by no means experienced riders. Sibila helped Claudia up into her saddle. Claudia was surprised by how strong Sibila was. Mark was able to get up into his saddle without assistance.

They started off. Edward went first. Mark and Claudia rode slowly and hesitantly behind him. Sibila brought up the rear.

Edward turned to the young couple.

"I must be off to attend to the business I mentioned. I'll see you later this afternoon."

Edward galloped on ahead. Mark and Claudia's horses made to follow Edward's mount, but they were able to pull up on the reins to stop their horses.

As they rode slowly on, they watched Edward gallop to the river and across a small footbridge. Then he climbed at amazing speed up a steep forested path. In a moment, he had reached the summit. He turned to wave at them, and then he was gone.

Sibila came up to ride beside Mark and Claudia. The land was flat and grassy all the way to the river, and they rode three abreast. In another few minutes they had come to the bridge that Edward had crossed. Sibila brought her horse to a halt.

"Better I go first. The path is narrow. You stay close behind, OK?"

Sibila started across the bridge, with Mark and Claudia following. The bridge was narrow, but the horses were evidently used to the crossing, as they showed no fear. Only a few feet below, the water was the color of milk chocolate. The river ran deep and fast.

On the other side, they could see the beginnings of the path that Edward had taken. It rose steeply through rainforest, between two sheer white cliffs. The summit above them was obscured by the trees, but the cliffs were at least two hundred feet high. Sibila did not take the forest path, but turned right onto a track that cut between the cliffs and the river.

Mark shouted ahead to Sibila.

"What's on the other side of the cliff?"

"Very dangerous. Best you no go that way."

"But what's up there?"

"Coffee trees. We grow coffee here."

Sibila slapped her mount, and they cantered along the path beside the river. Although the path was more or less level, it was very narrow. The cliffs to their left were so close that they could have reached out and touched them. The river was only a foot or so below them on their right. With any more rain, the river would swallow the path entirely. Tree branches swept past them in the river. The river was running very fast.

After ten minutes, they were nearing the point at which the pasture on the other side of the river gave way to rainforest. Sibila slowed her horse to a walk, and turned to speak to the couple.

"Here begins the forest."

One moment there was pasture across the river; the next moment there was a dense wall of vegetation, with huge trees reaching high overhead into the sunlight. The jungle was full of noises. They could hear the songs and chirps of many different birds. There were also choruses of insects louder than anything they had ever heard before. One sound was like the hum of high tension wires, only much louder. There was also another loud whirring that rose and fell rhythmically, as if a thousand insects were trying to start their tiny chainsaws in unison.

They rode along for another half an hour beside the river, always with white cliffs on their left. The jungle on the other side continued unbroken.

They came to a small clearing at the base of the cliffs. A huge tree had been felled from the other side of the river to form a narrow log bridge across the river.

"Best we leave the horses here."

They dismounted, and Sibila tied their horses to a tree.

"Isn't this fabulous?" Claudia asked.

"Yes. It's unbelievable," Mark answered.

"Come. You can see something very old."

Sibila started across the log. She walked confidently, apparently unfazed by the water flowing swiftly below her. Mark and Claudia exchanged a glance. Claudia went first. Once she was on the log, it wasn't so bad. Someone had cut away at the wood to create a flat footpath. Still, she walked slowly and carefully. Mark followed close behind.

Sibila was waiting for them at the other side.

"This way."

She started off into the forest. The narrow path snaked through the trees. The largest trees had huge web-like buttresses supporting them. It was cool and dim on the forest floor. The forest had looked thick and impenetrable, but now that they were amongst the trees, there was surprisingly little undergrowth.

The path started to climb gently, then leveled off. Sibila stopped.

"Look."

She swept her outstretched arm around her. Mark and Claudia realized that they had entered a huge amphitheater. Except for where they had entered, they were surrounded by sloping walls or buildings. The forest had not been cleared, but beneath the trees and the undergrowth, they could clearly see the white stones. In places, the walls were almost a hundred feet high. The plaza in the center was perhaps a hundred yards across. When they looked more closely, they could see that stone stelae were scattered through the trees. A few were standing upright, but most had fallen over. Some were almost entirely covered with vegetation.

Mark walked over to the nearest stelae, with Claudia close behind. The stelae was covered with figures and hieroglyphs.

"What is this place called?" Claudia asked.

"The campesinos call it Piedras Hundidas -- it means ‘sunken stones.’"

Claudia and Mark spent the next hour and a half exploring the unexcavated ruins, hand in hand. It was impossible to tell what the buildings had looked like before they were buried by the jungle. At the near end of the plaza, what had looked like a wall turned out to be one side of a huge pyramid. The top of the pyramid was a much smaller plaza, surrounded by three small pyramids. They might have been temples. Some of the stones that they could see through the undergrowth were carved; some clearly had hieroglyphs on them.

The ruins had a slightly ominous quality to them. It was dark under the trees. Some of the fantastic carved figures were sinister: earth monsters with enormous jaws, fierce jaguars, and beasts that looked like nothing they had ever seen before. On one of the stelae was what Mark thought was a kneeling captive being beheaded. The carving had eroded over the years, and Claudia could not see the figure as clearly as Mark could.

"How old do you think this is?" Mark asked Sibila. While they had been wandering all over the ruins, Sibila had stayed down in the plaza. Having finished their explorations, Claudia and Mark had now rejoined her.

"I do not know. Maybe one thousand two hundred, one thousand three hundred years."

Mark thought of all the people who must be buried under the forest. Kings and peasants, all were food for the trees. He tried to imagine what the site looked like when it was new, with light and talking and colors and people everywhere. Now there was only the forest growing silently.

"Come. Edward will be at the house. Let us go."

In silence, they walked down the path to the river. As they came out of the forest, the light of the sun was blinding. As they crossed the fallen log over the river, the dark ruin seemed part of another world.

The horses were where they had left them. The horses strained to canter as they started back. They knew which way was home. The forest gave way to pasture, and they could see the house in the distance.

Edward was waiting for them when they reached the front of the house.

"Did you have a good ride?"

"The ruins were huge! This place is amazing. I'm glad we came." Mark answered.

"I am too. Thank you, Sibila, for taking us."

"It was my pleasure." Sibila was already leading the horses around to the stables.

"Come inside. Why don't you get changed, and meet us in the back for a swim?"

*********************

Claudia and Mark expected that they would be swimming in the river. But when they found their way to the back of the house, they found Edward and Sibila swimming in a good-sized swimming pool.

"Come join us!" Edward called out.

Mark and Claudia eased their way slowly into the water at the shallow end of the pool. The water was pleasantly cool.

Edward had climbed out of the pool and was at the end of the diving board. He bounced once, executed a perfect single forward somersault, and knifed cleanly into the water. Claudia and Mark could not help noticing how muscular he was.

Mark was next at the diving board. He managed a simple but clean dive. As he sped on his brief trajectory through the air, Mark could feel the warmth of the sun on his back. The air was hot, and it was delicious to enter the cool water.

They swam and dove for an hour as the afternoon wore on. By the time they all climbed out of the pool, it was nearly five o'clock. Edward suggested that they sit at the side of the pool, as it was not yet time for dinner.

Edward went inside to make drinks. When he came back, the four of them sat under the large beach umbrella, pleasantly tired, admiring the view of the pasture and of the cliffs beyond.