Xunantunich!

The ferry

Off we go!

Saturday while the rest of the burglar bars were going on the windows, we set of for The Mayan Ruins at Xunantunich (soo-nan-too-nich).  It is known as “The Stone Lady.” This was by far the most impressive Mayan site we’d seen thus far! It was huge! Archaeologists believe that it was constructed between 600-950AD and was abandoned between 950-1000AD.  The journey begins with a ride across the Machal River on a hand cranked ferry. This one only holds one car at a time and its construction seems much more superior to that of the Spanish Lookout Ferry. Once parked at the entrance of the ruins we had to walk up a big hill then climb some stairs, the jungle was thick all around us.  At the top of the hill the jungle receded and revealed a flat grassy area with 5 stone structures! To the far left  jutting up into the sky we could see El Castillo, 130 feet tall and the second tallest structure in Belize! We decided to start with the smaller structures to our right and work our way toward El Castillo. 

JJ trying out what looked he thought was a Mayan bed- "not very comfortable" He said!

The Ruler's Palace!

As we started toward Plaza A-3 we passed another couple who told us to be sure to look for the stairs behind the structure so that we could see the view from the top. We headed toward the first structure and climbed some steep stairs. It was only from the top that we saw a second structure behind it! So down we went and headed toward this structure called The Ruler’s Palace. I was so glad that couple said something because the stairs on the front of the palace were roped off. It is the second tallest building at Xunantunich. We found the hidden stairs around the left side of the building and climbed up the 15 or so stairs (about 30 feet up)to get a great view of the rest of Xunantunich. We also made sure to tell others that we saw nearing the Palace about the back set of stairs so they could enjoy the view too. ** You might have wondered how we’re climbing and tackling all these stairs with two children 5 and under? Very carefully! Many of the stairs don’t have side walls and are very steep and can be slippery too. Most of the time Jonathan would go up with me behind him, Aaron would climb up with Kris behind him. Going down was a lot trickier. I would climb down with Jonathan holding my hand, we perfected the side-step as we inched down each stair. Kris had the utmost challenge with climbing down with a wiggly very uncoordinated Aaron, so Kris would just hold him (after instructing Aaron that he was to put his head on Kris’ shoulder and hold very still) and climb down one step at a time. Kris is not a huge fan of heights and adding Aaron to the mix heightened his anxiety a bit, but to date he & Aaron have made it down every stair without any issues.

At the top of the Ruler's Palace looking at El Castillo

AJ looking at the flowers down the backside of Ruler's Palace

 Next there was a smallish structure that wasn’t fully excavated- just the stairs. But it was only 10 feet tall so I let the boys climb up themselves and look around on the grassy top. We did find a small house-like area with what appeared to be a fire pit in the center. We supposed maybe it had been a kitchen. We investigated two other structures before gearing up for El Castillo, or The Castle. We also started hearing the loud bellows of howler monkeys from the jungle nearby and we saw a couple iguanas lounging on the rocks in the sunshine. 

We did it! All by ourselves!

Yep, this is one of the big structures!

Mayan fire pit?

My boys!

El Castillo- notice how small the people are at the top? (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 El Castillo was enormous! The people who were already at the top looked like tiny ants (makes me a bit intimidated to even think about the pyramid at Carocal, which is the highest structure in Belize)!  We each took a child and then took deep breaths and headed up. The first set of stairs was wide and easily traversed by everyone, even Aaron!  

Taking on El Castillo!

Pretty Butterfly #1

Iguana

Pretty Butterfly #2

Halfway up!

   Jonathan and I stopped to investigate some butterflies while Aaron and Kris continued up to get a head start. We found our way to the west side of El Castillo and started our way up a long set of narrow stairs… and we weren’t even halfway up yet!  We stopped in a grassy patch to get a good look at the West Frieze, carved into the side of the building. The west frieze was discovered in 1993. A fiberglass replica was created in 1996 to protect the original stucco frieze which remains buried and preserved about one meter behind the replica. Elements in this frieze represent the World Tree, or the central axis of the Mayan World, the Mayan sun god, and various ancestors of the ruling family.   

The route J & I took up the West Side

JJ on the Western Stairs

The West Frieze

 Once past the Western Frieze, the trek up El Castillo became much more perilous. Jonathan and I took our time going up shallow steep stairs that wound up and through a room before ending up on the top of El Castillo! I looked down to see Kris and Aaron sitting down nearly halfway down! He was just as surprised to see us at the top. I guess he’d been whistling and calling to us but we didn’t hear anything. They joined us at the top and we all sat down to catch our breath and take in the breath-taking view! We met a couple from Canada and they took our picture. It was certainly unnerving looking down, my stomach dropped quite a bit and we made sure the boys stayed way back sitting against the rock wall. We could see San Ignacio in one direction, Benque in another, and Guatemala as well.  

View from the Top- farthest building is the Ruler's Palace

Looking down! EEK!

Looking down the Eastern Side of El Castillo

The Fam at the top of El Castillo!

 After a good 30 minute rest at the top, we all went down the east side together. Once we reached the halfway point, a grassy area where the boys were all too happy to run around, I got my first look at the East Frieze.  It was first found and excavated in 1950. It is thought that the frieze went around the entire building, but all that remains today are remnants of the eastern and western sides.  This frieze shows the Mayan Pax gods, Chac (the center mask)- an important deity in the creation of the Mayan world, the u-shaped elements represent the moon, and it also shows figures holding up the sky. 

The Easter Frieze

Once at the bottom with our feet planted on terra firma, we brought out our picnic lunch and ate hungrily. PB&J never tasted so good! The boys ran around in the grass some more before we walked back down the hill toward the car.  Kris noticed a huge ball of mud up high in a tree, as we saw more of them we figured they must be a nest of some kind- maybe ants or bees? A guide and his group walked past as Kris was getting close to one and he warned us to be careful of the termite nest. The guide also said that termites are pretty tasty and a good source of protein! ICK! No thanks!

See my flower Mommy?

I found one too!

 Back across the ferry and 10 min later we were back at the apartment. Just in time too as the men installing our burglar bars had finished up only 20 minutes before. We all had a quiet rest time and laid low the rest of the day.