Mon, 1 Mar
...sorry for the long delay again ... i've been travelling to Guatemala ... more on that journey later ...
for now ... i'll continue ...
March ...already ...???????? ...and i'm still here .... anyone seen any crocus yet ? i hate to miss those sweet bright cheery flowers, ....but ... life is about choices, ..and right now, this is the right one for me.
after breakfast Eddi and i caught a ride into San Ignacio to see Cahal Pech Maya Ruins; it's right on the outskirts of town and their interpretive center is very well done. gives you a lot of background on the history of this settlement of the Maya culture. Cahal Pech stands for "Land of Ticks" because there were so many dogs ... not too inviting, but today there are no ticks, thankfully :)
Cahal Pech is one of the first major settlements of the Maya civilization in central Belize. it began in 1200BC and grew to be one of the most important sites of Maya history over a 1000 year period. it reached it's peak between 600-800AD with major achievements in astronomy, mathemetics, religion, science, medicine, and cultural evolution. it declined around 800AD, along with the rest of the maya settlements and was abandon in 900AD. there is debate on the reason for the collapse of the civilization. but it is agreed it was not due to earthquake, disease, etc, ... most agree that it was likely social, political, and economic deterioration. their museum is a very nice one with artifacts covering such objects as incense burners
chocolate pots, my personal favorite :)
and other pottery which was used for ritual purposes ... burial was also a highly developed ritual whereby the body was placed under the house of the residence with some of their belongings and and ancestory were respected and revered by the family as shown in this picture.
We then headed for the site. it was quite comfortable, walking around under trees, not out in the open field (which for some reason was what i had expected).
photo of the mural inside the interpretive center, of the main entrance, with temple, tall, in the background
this is what the entrance looks like today
this is what remains of the original temple ...
from the top of this, the Maya sent smoke signals off to Xunantunich (zoo-nan-tunich), another Maya settlement, which you can see in the distance
those of you who have traveled with me know how i love to photograph doors, doorways, arches, entries, etc .... so not surprisingly, i took advantage of this opportunity
more archways
after touring Cahal Pech, we walked into town, had some ice cream, and booked ourselves on a cave tour for Wed.
as i mentioned, we are dependent upon the 'charity' of the drivers to get to and from Chaa Creek to San Ignacio. the plan was to meet Lucino at 2:30 for our ride back home .... at 3:30 we were still waiting. i had bought a bottle of rum and and some coke in town to take back ... trying to keep our 'spirits up', i suggested we make use of it while we waited.
a half our later, we decided we should get a cab to take us to the dirt road back to Chaa Creek and then walk the 3 miles to the lodge .... once we got out of the cab, we needed a refill .....
along our long walk home we passed this beautiful Brahma Bull ...
and continued walking the long, hot, dusty road ... no one offered us a ride ... wonder why ?
the day ended with a dinner of shrimp pasta and a chocolate brownie. the internet was down again, so early to bed.
chocolate pots, my personal favorite :)
and other pottery which was used for ritual purposes ... burial was also a highly developed ritual whereby the body was placed under the house of the residence with some of their belongings and and ancestory were respected and revered by the family as shown in this picture.
We then headed for the site. it was quite comfortable, walking around under trees, not out in the open field (which for some reason was what i had expected).
photo of the mural inside the interpretive center, of the main entrance, with temple, tall, in the background
this is what the entrance looks like today
this is what remains of the original temple ...
from the top of this, the Maya sent smoke signals off to Xunantunich (zoo-nan-tunich), another Maya settlement, which you can see in the distance
those of you who have traveled with me know how i love to photograph doors, doorways, arches, entries, etc .... so not surprisingly, i took advantage of this opportunity
more archways
after touring Cahal Pech, we walked into town, had some ice cream, and booked ourselves on a cave tour for Wed.
as i mentioned, we are dependent upon the 'charity' of the drivers to get to and from Chaa Creek to San Ignacio. the plan was to meet Lucino at 2:30 for our ride back home .... at 3:30 we were still waiting. i had bought a bottle of rum and and some coke in town to take back ... trying to keep our 'spirits up', i suggested we make use of it while we waited.
a half our later, we decided we should get a cab to take us to the dirt road back to Chaa Creek and then walk the 3 miles to the lodge .... once we got out of the cab, we needed a refill .....
along our long walk home we passed this beautiful Brahma Bull ...
and continued walking the long, hot, dusty road ... no one offered us a ride ... wonder why ?
the day ended with a dinner of shrimp pasta and a chocolate brownie. the internet was down again, so early to bed.
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