A couple friends from Indiana, Danny and Hilary, came for a visit to Belize. They wanted to see Maya ruins, so we drove over to the Cayo District to show them a couple of our favorites. It was a fabulous day.
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| Our first stop was Xunantunich near the village of San Jose Succotz. This big sign is new since our last visit. |
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| You still take a short ferry ride across the Mopan River to get to Xunantunich. |
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On the drive there Cara saw a couple on the side of the road looking at something in the trees,
so we immediately stopped and walked over to find howler monkeys - yay! |
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| It was nice there weren't very many people there at 11 am on a Thursday. |
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| Danny and Hilary |
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| This was totally covered last time we were here. Now it is getting excavated. |
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| We're curious what's under the metal sheets. |
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Heading up to El Castillo, which was probably a multipurpose complex where the elite rulers
and their extended families lived and held court. |
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| Checking out the first tier. |
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| Eastern side view from the first tier. |
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| The courtyard at the back of El Castillo. |
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| Looking down at the courtyard from the top of El Castillo. |
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| Steps to the top of El Castillo. |
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| View of the Xunantunich grounds from the top of El Castillo. |
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| This was being excavated last time we were here. |
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| The western side of El Castillo and the friezes. |
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This structure is a small shrine that was likely used by the rulers and their families for private rituals. Also, in one of the
rooms they found a patolli board (for a game similar to Parchisi or Ludo) that probably also held ritual significance. |
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| The round columns are not typical in Belize and indicate influence from northern Maya lowlands. |
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| The structures straight ahead were still largely earth-covered last time we were here. |
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| El Castillo |
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| View of the Mopan River from the ferry. |
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After lunch and a quick stop at the Visitors Center in San Ignacio we headed to the Cahal Pech
Archaeological Site. In the Visitors Center this plaque shows some Maya history in Belize. |
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| Cahal Pech chronology. |
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The Cahal Pech site is smaller and more intimate, but equally cool in its own way. We kind of like it better than
Xunantunich, and so did Danny and Hilary. |
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| We only saw a couple other people here, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. |
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| There are lots more rooms at this site, and it's easier to envision the Maya living here. |
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| In case you can't tell, Cara thinks the doorways are pretty cool. |
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| View from the top of one of the tallest structures there. |
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| Narrow, steps lead to/from the top. |
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| You can barely see Hilary and Cara at the top of this structure. |
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| One of several ball courts at Cahal Pech. |
