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Friday: Time to Play
Can You Say "Xunantunich"? Our 23-person group from Portland Community College had spent the past four days, from Monday through Thursday, toiling in the hot Belize sun while fixing up the elementary school in San Antonio and laying the foundation for the new library in Succotz. As a reward for our hard work, ProBelize treated us to a “Play Day” on Friday before we disbanded and headed back to North America. In the morning, we were going to visit the spectacular Mayan ruins at Xunantunich (pronounced “Shoe-NAN-too-nitch”) near Succotz and in the afternoon, we planned to canoe through a river cave near San Antonio.
We gathered in the Chiclero lodge dining hall at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, then our cheery bunch piled into two vans and headed west towards Succotz. But rather than drive into the village, as we had done every morning this past week to work on the library, we pulled off the highway by the Mopan River just short of Succotz and drove, very slowly, onto a small ferry that was waiting there.
Now, I’ve ridden on some pretty small car ferries but this was the smallest I had ever seen. It was barely large enough for a single vehicle, but even more interesting was the method of propulsion: a hand-crank. The Mopan River here is about 50 yards wide and two thick cables, anchored on either side of the river, guided the ferry while a smiling operator hand-cranked the ferry back and forth across the river all day. This was something I’d never seen before so I took a turn at cranking us across the Mopan River, as did several other folks in the group. The hand-cranked ferry, like so many other things I had seen in Belize this past week, was simple, effective and quite ingenious.
With all of us safely across the river, we got back into the vans and rode a half-mile up the jungle road to the Xunantunich Visitor Center, where we met Jose, a cheerful and informative local guide. Jose briefly showed us around the museum and then spent the next few hours leading us around the impressive ruins as he described to us this once-expansive Mayan site.
The ancient Mayan culture emerged in Central America around 2,000 B.C. and peaked around 500 A.D. in most areas – though here at Xunantunich, a bit later than that. The Mayans had a highly-developed civilization, Jose told us, with a strong knowledge of art, mathematics and astronomy, and they had a sophisticated written language that used symbols instead of letters. "Maya" is a modern term used to describe the various peoples who inhabited this region, from southern Mexico to Honduras. They didn't call themselves Maya and didn't have a sense of common identity or political unity.
During their reign, the Mayans developed numerous civic and cultural centers throughout southern Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala, including the small site at Cahal Pech near present-day San Ignacio, which we had visited on Sunday, and this much larger settlement at Xunantunich. Larger and even more impressive ancient settlements are located several miles south of here at Caracol and, just across the Guatemalan border, at Tikal. This part of Belize was among the last areas the Mayans settled, towards the end of their civilization. Activity at Xunantunich peaked around 800 A.D. when thousands of Mayans lived in the surrounding area, then the settlement began to deteriorate and was totally abandoned, probably by around 1200 A.D.
Ancient Mayan settlements such as Xunantunich and Cahal Pech are scattered across the jungles of Central America and some archaeologists have estimated that most – perhaps as much as 90% – of them have yet to be discovered. Over six million distant ancestors of the Mayans live today throughout this area of Central America and speak a derivative of the ancient Mayan language. Indeed, I had worked with several Mayans in San Antonio this week who spoke both English (in town) and Mayan (at home).
In the late 1800s, British explorers (Belize was a British colony until 1981) discovered the Xunantunich ruins, long-since abandoned, partially destroyed and covered with thick jungle vegetation, and excavations and explorations are still ongoing. The ancient Mayan name for this site is unknown. “Xunantunich” is a modern Mayan name that means “Stone Lady,” referring to the ghost of an ancient Mayan woman dressed in full regalia who was allegedly seen here by a Succotz villager in the late 1800s.
Xunantunich is located near the Guatemalan border and occasionally Guatemalan bandits creep across the border to rob tourists here. To protect the tourists, several well-armed Belizean guards patrol the site while carrying loaded rifles. That made me feel safer – I think. The most impressive structure here is called El Castillo which, at 130 feet high, is the second-tallest structure in Belize (only the ancient Mayan ruins at Caracol are higher). And sure enough, two well-armed guards were on duty at the summit of El Castillo keeping an eye on everything.
I was blown away by the massive structures here and to learn how sophisticated the Mayan culture was. Their understanding of mathematics and of the calendar surpassed their contemporaries in Europe at the time and they created a sophisticated written language, using pictures, that has only recently been deciphered. I climbed to the summit of El Castillo temple with the rest of our group and from the top we soaked in a spectacular view of Guatemala, which lay just a few hundred yards to the west. Carolyn was bit by a scorpion as she sat down here (it felt like a bee sting, she said), but despite that, we all had a great time exploring Xunantunich and learning about the Mayan heritage.
Despite the occasional armed guard (they’re all friendly, I assure you), the semi-occasional scorpion and a name that's impossible to pronounce, Xunantunich is an impressive site and one that I highly recommend visiting if you ever come to Belize.
Above left: Laurie and Cecelia laughed when they spotted a wheelbarrow and shovel at the ruins – after spending the entire past week using a wheelbarrow and shovel. Just like old times! Above right: Tamera liked the armed guard. I think it was the uniform.
Above left: A Mayan temple at one end of the main plaza. That's our guide, Jose (in the blue shirt), giving us a great tour. Above right: Looking across the plaza to the main temple, which today is called "El Castillo." We don't know what the ancient Mayans called this temple (or this site, which today is known as Xunantunich).
Above left: The ancient ball court. It's believed that the Mayans played a game similar to basketball on these courts, which are commonly found at ancient Mayan settlements like Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. The captain of the losing – and sometimes winning – team was occasionally killed/sacrificed after the game. Talk about high stakes. Above right: Climbing under the frieze at the El Castillo temple.
Above left: Here's a close-up of the frieze. It's a modern replica of the actual glyphs that were carved into the rock by ancient Mayans over a thousand years ago. Translated into English, I believe this one says, "McDonalds, next exit." Above center: The impressive view from the second-highest structure in Belize, at the top of El Castillo. Above right: That's the Belizean border town of Benque Viejo with Guatemala just beyond it.
Above left: On top of the temple we were greeted by more armed guards. You can see Guatemala in the background and occasionally bandits have tried to sneak across the border and rob tourists here. But with all the guards around I felt totally safe. Just keep your finger off the trigger, please. Above center: Riding the ferry back across the Mopan River after our fascinating tour. Above right: Sheila enjoyed cranking her way across the river, as did just about everyone else in our group.
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