Maya Treasure - El Mirador Mystery Cache
Maya Treasure - El Mirador
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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El Mirador is a pre-classic Mayan city in the tropical rainforest of Guatemala near the Mexican border. You can find the largest temples on the highest pyramids of the whole Mayan area there. Only a small part of the former inhabited area is excavated but the most spectacular places are accessible.
El Mirador is far off any recent town or village in a very remote area of the Yucatan peninsula. The nearest airport is in Flores, the nearest village from where you have to start your tour is Carmelita in the Guatemalan province of Petén. So this is going to be very tough and the D/T rating is certainly not overestimated.
In Carmelita or at a travel agency in Guatemala or by internet you have to hire a local guide, some mules for tents, food and water, an arriero and a cook. (Be advised though, there are false guides advertising in the web!)
You won’t starve or die from thirst but don’t expect haute cuisine and be prepared for one of the hardest hikes you’ve ever done. The whole path leads through tropical rainforest of about 40 km one way. So you need two days to get there plus one day to visit most of the ruins and two days back, all in all five days minimum with at least 90 km including the hikes among ruins. You’ll be staying in simple camps with even simpler showers (extra costs for water). There is an option to extend the trip to visit another famous place, Nakbé and this takes six days in all. There are ticks, mosquitoes and spiders of all sizes amongst other nice creatures like toucans, jaguars, tapirs etc. (You’d be extremely lucky to see one of the latter)
La Danta is the highest pyramid of all Mayan settlements, 72 m above ground. You will climb all the way to the top to enjoy the view over a sea of green vegetation with some other grown over temples sticking out.
Note: This is NOT the place of the cache!
To find the cache you have to answer several questions on your way from Carmelita to la Danta. The guides are well trained - ask whenever you have doubts. Google does not work there. The cache consists of a waterproof Lock&Lock box with a new geocoin as FTF present and some geocoins and travel bug to be moved on. Please bring your own pen and - if possible - a new logbook.
Questions to answer (Each letter equals a number , A=1 B=2, …; calculate sum of digits until you get a single digit ):
- Your first camp is at El Tintal; Correction: the name of the temple nearby (which you will climb most likely) is “Henequen”. (Single digit of sum of digits) -7 = A
- At the camp in El Tintal the information desk is gone. I have to change this and to make it easier I give the number B = 9
- On your second day of hiking you’ll get to a wooden bridge spanning a small stream (usually dried out except in the rainy season); ask your guide for its name.
Single digit of sum of digits = C
- When you arrive at the southern outskirts of El Mirador about 2,4 km away from the final camp you will probably visit a group of small pyramides called la Muerta; how many cleared buildings are there? Number = D
- As you have got your GPSR at hand you should be able to measure distances. How long is the straight distance between the two largest temples in El Mirador in km (round number, no decimals=E)?
- In direction 263° and about 350m from the highest point of La Danta there is another cleared pyramid that belongs to the same complex; what is its name (.)? Number of letters in name = F
Now you are ready to calculate the final coords:
N 17° F5.ADC
W 89° 5F.EBF
Enjoy your trip and feel free to add some of your photos of birds, spider monkeys and the like!
FTF: Cache-Hopper
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
fcbvyrecvpfnobhggjbzuvturegunagenvyolbc