Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tikal

Oil on canvas 9"x6" $95 plus shipping
If you are interested in purchasing this painting please
email me at katherine@katherinetreffinger.com

In the early 70's I took off in my car and drove to Guatemala.
I did not speak a word of Spanish. Mexico and Guatemala
were very different then, especially southern Mexico. This
could become a very long story but I'll keep it somewhat
brief. I fell in love with both places and it became my
passion to return over and over.

I went back to San Francisco and took a full college
schedule of Spanish and returned the next year by
plane to Guatemala City. I stayed on a Finca (ranch)
for a couple of weeks and then took off for Belize.
I flew by cargo plane into the Selva (jungle) to the
incredible ruins of Tikal. I stayed in a plywood and
screen shelter on a cot next to the air strip. At sunrise
the next morning I took off to see the ruins walking a
15 minute trail that took me an hour. I was in complete
awe. The jungle came to life as I made the journey,
tropical birds and monkeys screeching warnings of
my impending arrival in their territory. I saw beetles
there that had the patterns on their backs I had seen
in pictures of Mayan artifacts. When I finally made it
to Tikal my traveling companion and I were the only
ones there. There were monkeys playing all over the
ruins. The experience was sublime!

We left Tikal that afternoon by bus into Belize, but
that is another story.

2 comments:

Dianna Woolley said...

The story of your adventure to Tikal sounds wonderful. The world has probably outgrown those wonderful uninhibited journeys with the danger now inherent in drugs and crime - but the memories you have of those days must just be incredible. Thanks for sharing one of them here!

Katherine said...

I have been hesitant to return to Mexico for many years because of the changes and population growth. It was an innocent time when I was there. Norte Americanos were still a novelty in much of the country. But yes I have many stories of my travels during those years, some very funny.