Tikal is every hardcore homeschooler's dream. It was an ancient, prosperous Mayan city built in the middle of a jungle, a center of culture, economics, history and politics. And on top of all that, Tikal was filmed in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
It really did feel like we were in a movie, with strange plants and trees, spider monkeys hanging around and ruins all over. At Tikal it is estimated that there are around 4,000 ruins, but many of those remain unexcavated.
As a 10-year-old archaeologist, I fascinated myself with "excavating" old trash dumps and "ruins" around our farm, so you can imagine how excited I was to visit a real historical site with undiscovered remains in my midst. It was pretty awesome.
Our tour was led by Carlos.
-Bethany