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| Up the trail |
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Today we set off to see the ruins at Xunantunich, but the site was closed because the river was too high and so we couldn't get across on the ferry. So we asked the archeological reserve worker stationed at the ferry gate if there were any other ruins nearby that we could visit, he told us about El Pilar. We traveled about 5 minutes out of San Ignacio and saw signs for El Pilar, it was just 10 miles ahead! The road quickly became rough and those 10 miles took us about 50 minutes. We were so blessed to have the Suburban though because it handled the bumps, rocks, and ruts beautifully! We didn't even have to put in in 4 wheel drive! Ironically Aaron slept through the whole thing. He awoke rested and refreshed ready to hike. After a quick stop at the office where we paid our fee- $5US for Kris, J and me, AJ was free, we drove a bit more then parked.
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| JJ in a Mayan room |
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This was really deep deep into the jungle! Trees and vines everywhere... the trails were harder to discern due to all the vegetation. Apparently most of the sites at El Pilar have not been excavated yet, so there are big mounds of dirt (covered with hundreds of years of trees and leaves) with some ruins showing but no full plazas like we saw at Cahal Pech. The hike was flat and easy, and the scenery was breath-taking. The weather was sunny but cool and not humid at all. We started down what was called "The Chikin Trail" and went deeper into the jungle. In the midst of this trail we heard a deep grumbling/moaning sound... it was coming from pretty far away it seemed and Kris thought it was a howler monkey... but it was enough to unnerve me and we quickly turned around and headed back toward the car. Supposedly this site is great for birdwatching... not so for us with a noisy 5yr old and 3yr old in tow. We did see and hear a couple of birds. We saw lots of bugs, including the biggest grasshopper relative we'd ever seen before. He was at least 3 1/2inches long! Also lots of ants and anthills, some leaf-cutter ants too. We stumbled across a tarantula hole and Kris tried to lure him out but the most we saw of the big spider was a couple of his legs. Another interesting find was a group of cactus vines growing on a tree. These looked just like the cactus plant (complete with pokey needles) but grew like a vine around and up the bark of the tree.
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| View from a lookout point |
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On our way home we picked up more corn tortillas (20 for $1US) from our favorite lady and also found a lady selling flour tortillas, 10 for $2.50US (these are so big and fluffy!). We grabbed some milk and cheese from the market and came home. I made homemade pizza for dinner and was excited to see that my yeast wasn't killed by the heat in the car on the trek down here. Our pepperoni, onion, bell pepper, and tomato pizza was yummy! It was a long day, I'm sure we'll all sleep well tonight!
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| REALLY big grasshopper-like bug |
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| The Fam at El pilar |
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| Butterfly wing we found |
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This was really deep deep into the jungle! Trees and vines everywhere... the trails were harder to discern due to all the vegetation. Apparently most of the sites at El Pilar have not been excavated yet, so there are big mounds of dirt (covered with hundreds of years of trees and leaves) with some ruins showing but no full plazas like we saw at Cahal Pech. The hike was flat and easy, and the scenery was breath-taking. The weather was sunny but cool and not humid at all. We started down what was called "The Chikin Trail" and went deeper into the jungle. In the midst of this trail we heard a deep grumbling/moaning sound... it was coming from pretty far away it seemed and Kris thought it was a howler monkey... but it was enough to unnerve me and we quickly turned around and headed back toward the car. Supposedly this site is great for birdwatching... not so for us with a noisy 5yr old and 3yr old in tow. We did see and hear a couple of birds. We saw lots of bugs, including the biggest grasshopper relative we'd ever seen before. He was at least 3 1/2inches long! Also lots of ants and anthills, some leaf-cutter ants too. We stumbled across a tarantula hole and Kris tried to lure him out but the most we saw of the big spider was a couple of his legs. Another interesting find was a group of cactus vines growing on a tree. These looked just like the cactus plant (complete with pokey needles) but grew like a vine around and up the bark of the tree. 
Wow! Such amazing sights! I'm with you...at that strange sound, I would have turned back as well. You are an adventurous family, for sure:-)
ReplyDeleteThis morning, steering team is meeting. We miss you. So far our regular meetings and play groups have gone well. MNO is tonight. It probably seems like eons ago since you were here and doing MOPS.
Blessings,
Alice