Temple of the Sun

It was a wretched sleep. Cold and dreamless. Rest on the rocks. Howler monkeys don't care if they wake thier neighbors. Crying out to one another in a display of ferocity. Concealed by the darkness of the jungle canopy, these monkeys sound much larger than they actually are. Cute and playful by day, becoming demons after dark. They are masters of balance in thier kingdom of bark.

I'm only a stones throw away but I feel a world apart. Laying under a blanket of stars and just a few steps down from the temples top. These stones were laid over 1300 years ago as a means of getting closer to the Gods. Three hundred steps closer. So close you can almost make out thier faces. Smell the breath and take it in. At once I feel surreal and inexorably connected. The stars shoot, one, another. For each one I make a wish.

Oriented to the East we will face the rising sun straight on. We purchased the best seats in the house , though I cannot say from who. All the gaurds are in on this secret, and we've been granted acess for one mystical night.

The monkeys roar, signalling the end of the night shift. The crickets turn off thier chirps so the bees can take over. Fireflies go out, making way for the sun. The forest swarms with birds, and it sounds like they're having fun. I don't speak the language, however, so they may just as well be at war.

It's easy for something to be lost in translation, there's plenty of room to make a mistake. Like last night, when one of the archeological excavators snuck us underneath the pyramid for a tour of the tunnels. I thought he was warning me it was goi9ng to be really cold below, so I suggested to my friends that we should wear warm clothes. It never struck me as incongruous that our guide wore shorts and a tshirt until later. It was so hot in the tunnels, we were severley overdressed. Sorry friends, my bad. Inside we saw evidence of another pyramid, smaller and older, enveloped and covered up by the greater temple. They are searching for a tomb, but progress is slow. It takes a month to advance the tunnel 3 feet. The race is on to discover it befor 2010. Before it's too late?

Surley the sun is sliding closer, though we're still in the dark when the alarm pulls me back from the unconcious abyss. I feel strangley recharged in spite of the short duration of my nap. I attribute my full tank to pyramid power. We've been asked to hide the evidence of any nocturnal activity. Conceal the blankets, and especially the rum. If anybody asks we just arrived... Minutes after we've condensed our belongings, the first tourists clamber up the stairs. Huffing and puffing thier ooh's and aaah's, they admire the vista for which they have come.

The stars are extinguished by the suns early light. The horizon is painted with pink and yellow. The monkeys are still howling, like they've got something important to say. The forest is hidden in fog though the sky is quite clear. The Great Temple of the Jaguar pierces through the forest and the fog, too big to hide. It knows that this will be a sunrise not to be missed.

Colors mix and blend until the sun makes it's entrance. It recieves a warm welcome from us early birds. Atop this temple we feast our eyes on the proverbial worm. For the time being beauty floods the Earth. That´s one wish down, and two to go...