Supporting access to El Mirador
I read Ben Brazil’s article on El Mirador, Guatemala, with great interest [“Atop the World of the Maya,” Jan. 7]. I have been there three times and met with Richard Hansen several times as well.
El Mirador is in the only remaining rain forest in Guatemala, so I hoped your article would emphasize what a treasure it is and how important it is to protect it.
Allowing it to be fully uncovered and turned into an eco-tourism site like Tikal would not only allow the world to see this wonder but would also provide jobs for the locals. To my dismay, he chose to hike into El Mirador in the rainy season, against the advice of others, and then complained about the difficulty of access and the abundance of bugs.
I don’t know what motivated him to try to make the journey when he did, but as a result, he did a great disservice to all of us who are supporting the work of Hansen, who has spent years, and substantial sums of his personal savings, to try to secure this area from looters and to uncover these amazing pyramids for all to see.
LINDA M. BLANK
Los Angeles
Send letters to Travel, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012; e-mail to travel@latimes.com. Please include your name, address and phone number. Letters will be edited.
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
