I challenge you to research Tikal and not come across the name Roxy Ortiz. Every google search about Tikal guides brings up her name. Every TripAdvisor forum post about Tikal guides mentions her name. Every guide book has her name at the top of the list for Tikal guides. She is synonymous with Tikal.
We were wavering about whether or not to make the trip to Tikal at all, and then whether to do it as a day trip or an overnight. The idea of an overnight trip was appealing for several reasons, but the logistics of a day trip are significantly simpler. Finally I decided to email Roxy and see if she was available for our dates. If she was, I would take it as a sign that we were meant to take an overnight trip.
Roxy is a native of the Peten region of Guatemala, although she spent part of her childhood years in the United States. She is an archaeologist by training and by occupation (in addition to guiding). Because of that, she is often away for a week or more at a time, working on an excavation site somewhere deep in the jungle without email access. So it was not surprising that it took a little over a week for her to get back to me.
When she did, I was very pleasantly surprised that she was available for our dates, especially given that our visit was on Easter weekend. We booked a sunset group tour and a private morning tour. I thought it was important to have the morning tour be private for a few reasons: 1. we wanted to set our own timing (i.e. we wanted to start early but didn’t want to start at 4am for the sunset tour), 2. we wanted to put a heavy emphasis on wildlife during the morning tour, and 3. we just didn’t know what shape the boys would be in after the long day of travel and touring the day before so thought it best to be by ourselves. Happily everything worked out and we were able to book exactly what we wanted.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do exactly what we booked. At the last minute, some of the sponsors of one of her archaeological digs came to town and her boss insisted that she give them a private tour of Tikal. I will admit to being slightly devastated when she gave us the news. We had literally planned our whole trip around her being our guide and I felt a little abandoned and a lot disappointed. But of course she did not actually abandon us. She brought in a colleague of hers (with even more years experience as a Tikal guide than her, if that is even possible) and offered us a private tour with him for half price. While obviously disappointed, we understood the situation and appreciated that she found a good alternative for us. (And Andres was a good guide too, although not nearly as dynamic as Roxy.)
So finally after all the reading, research and anticipation, we met Roxy at 6am on Easter Sunday and headed out on our not-quite-sunrise tour. As we were walking to the park, I reminded her that we wanted to focus on wildlife and she raised her binoculars and said she was ready. She started us off quickly by spotting parrots and woodpeckers in the trees by the entrance and ocellated turkeys in the parking lot.
Our tour with Roxy did not disappoint. Her level of knowledge about the Mayans is stunning and her ability to convey it in a compelling way is equally impressive. She seems to know literally everything about Tikal – from the history to the archaeological artifacts to the native plants and wildlife. As an archaeologist who has worked at Tikal (among other sites), she has a unique perspective and depth of knowledge.
Not only was Roxy knowledgeable, but she was a great storyteller as well. She explained things on the kids’ level and expanded when she sensed they were interested in a topic. She engaged the kids, answered their questions, and turned it around to ask them questions too, challenging them to help decipher Maya glyphs and the sculptures on stelae.
The boys were most interested in the wildlife, and I was a little disappointed that we didn’t see more (not Roxy’s fault of course; the animals were just not cooperating that morning). Roxy made the most of it though – she spotted a toucan high in a tree and some spider monkeys, as well as many other birds. But the biggest excitement of the morning was a group of coatimundi that we followed through the woods, much to the delight of my boys. Roxy heard them and tracked them down, and then helped us follow them through the woods for twenty minutes or so. To be so close to them for such a long period of time was the highlight of the trip for my boys.
Roxy knows Tikal like the back of her hand and often took us on a route off the beaten path so that we could see a unique view of a temple or capture that perfect photograph. I appreciated that she continually offered to take pictures of the whole family for us. It is rare that we are all in pictures together, and I am so happy to have several family photographs from different gorgeous spots around the park.
Overall we had a fantastic tour with Roxy. Her passion for her work and pride in her country’s Mayan sites shines through on her tours. She is extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and fun to be around. A visit to Tikal with Roxy is one you are sure to remember for years to come.
