Wandering from the remote Temple of the Inscriptions back to "civilization". Besides the sacred ceiba tree, the forests in this area include large Spanish cedar, mahoganies and the zapotes (the sap is used as the base in chewing gum) as well as a variety of palms. They have also recorded 285 species of birds in the Tikal park. In the surrounding jungle are jaguar, puma, ocelot, small deer and of course snakes, most being harmless except for the coral snake and the deadly-but-reluctant fer-de-lance --- we fortunately did not encounter any of these. It is the jaguar and the fer-de-lance that was so much a part of the ancient Maya religion and appears in the Tikal art. And last but not least . . .

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