I cannot get enough of this Mayan history. It is so spectacular to learn about these crazy innovators. Unfortunately, the first day in San Ignacio was the spelunking tour. Cameras are not allowed because a tourist dropped their camera cracking the skull of one of the remains- I would say that is a pretty good reason to not allow cameras. The tour, Actun Tunichil Munkmal, is one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Maybe it's because I have never gone spelunking before, but it felt surreal.
We started out by hiking up to the cave, and this includes crossing a small river three times. At the top of the hike you drop down into the cave. You actually have to swim to the entrance which causes a mix of emotions because its beautiful but scary. Right after you enter the cave you swim to a part where you have to turn your head to the right and squeeze through a rock formation. This all takes place while your body (shoulders down) is under water. I am happy we got that out of the way at the beginning because nothing else was as intimidating as that first part. The rest of the two hours involved a lot of swimming and stopping to hear our guide explain the different Mayan rituals that took place. Mayans believed that the caves were the closest place to their gods, so there was human sacrifices that took place where we walked through. Part of me felt like I should not be there since it was such a sacred place for them, but I also love history and learning about such diverse people. At the turn-around point of the tour you come to a fully preserved set of bones which I did not anticipate. It was truly stunning to see all the different artifacts and skeletal remains, especially since the Mayans did everything based around their religion.
Our guide made a really powerful point about the human sacrifices. He said that the Mayan people lived their lives for their religion, so the sacrifices were probably an honor. While we can speculate between them being a form of punishment, he said it was unlikely because only the most holy people were allowed to enter the cave. The high priests would go through a period of cleansing before the cave rituals, so would they really bring in slaves or captives to sacrifice. Our guide believes these were volunteers, or chosen people, so it would have been an honor. It's interesting to think about it that way because in modern times we view human sacrifice as barbaric and inhumane.
We started out by hiking up to the cave, and this includes crossing a small river three times. At the top of the hike you drop down into the cave. You actually have to swim to the entrance which causes a mix of emotions because its beautiful but scary. Right after you enter the cave you swim to a part where you have to turn your head to the right and squeeze through a rock formation. This all takes place while your body (shoulders down) is under water. I am happy we got that out of the way at the beginning because nothing else was as intimidating as that first part. The rest of the two hours involved a lot of swimming and stopping to hear our guide explain the different Mayan rituals that took place. Mayans believed that the caves were the closest place to their gods, so there was human sacrifices that took place where we walked through. Part of me felt like I should not be there since it was such a sacred place for them, but I also love history and learning about such diverse people. At the turn-around point of the tour you come to a fully preserved set of bones which I did not anticipate. It was truly stunning to see all the different artifacts and skeletal remains, especially since the Mayans did everything based around their religion.
Our guide made a really powerful point about the human sacrifices. He said that the Mayan people lived their lives for their religion, so the sacrifices were probably an honor. While we can speculate between them being a form of punishment, he said it was unlikely because only the most holy people were allowed to enter the cave. The high priests would go through a period of cleansing before the cave rituals, so would they really bring in slaves or captives to sacrifice. Our guide believes these were volunteers, or chosen people, so it would have been an honor. It's interesting to think about it that way because in modern times we view human sacrifice as barbaric and inhumane.
The second day was such a unique combination of activities. We just happened to be in San Ignacio on the day of the Cross Country Cycle Classic, which is a major bike race. The riders travel from Belize City to San Ignacio, and then back to Belize City. I love that we had the opportunity to be spectators for such a major event- and the people flock to the streets in support of the riders.
After watching the race go by we headed to Caracol. We had to get there at a certain time to be part of the caravan that has a military escort. This is because people from Guatemala would try and rob or ransack the tourist vehicles, and so the Belize military stepped in to ensure their industry was protected. Caracol is a major Mayan city that has been slowly uncovered. Only about 10% of the ruins have been excavated which is truly fascinating because we saw some major structures. When you look around you see what appears to be rolling hills, those are actually uncovered ruins. Belize is a poor country so they don't have the funds to do a proper excavation of the entire site. Instead they keep it covered because it naturally preserves the site. To get to the highest temple you have to hike up over a hundred steps that feel more like lunges. The view from the top was worth the workout it took to get there.
The last part of our day involved another cave, Rio Frio Cave This one was nothing like the previous day, but it did have it's own appeal. It was much larger and had an entrance that was maybe 60 ft. The stalactites and stalagmites were easily visible, and I was finally able to take some pictures of them!! I have never been a geology nerd, but this spelunking has really peaked my interest. From the cave we traveled to Big Rock Falls. This was the perfect ending to the day because we were able to jump off cliffs and swim in refreshing water. I could write about this trip forever because nature is perfectly inspiring. I could sit at the falls and read Walden all day, but we had to get back before it got dark.
After watching the race go by we headed to Caracol. We had to get there at a certain time to be part of the caravan that has a military escort. This is because people from Guatemala would try and rob or ransack the tourist vehicles, and so the Belize military stepped in to ensure their industry was protected. Caracol is a major Mayan city that has been slowly uncovered. Only about 10% of the ruins have been excavated which is truly fascinating because we saw some major structures. When you look around you see what appears to be rolling hills, those are actually uncovered ruins. Belize is a poor country so they don't have the funds to do a proper excavation of the entire site. Instead they keep it covered because it naturally preserves the site. To get to the highest temple you have to hike up over a hundred steps that feel more like lunges. The view from the top was worth the workout it took to get there.
The last part of our day involved another cave, Rio Frio Cave This one was nothing like the previous day, but it did have it's own appeal. It was much larger and had an entrance that was maybe 60 ft. The stalactites and stalagmites were easily visible, and I was finally able to take some pictures of them!! I have never been a geology nerd, but this spelunking has really peaked my interest. From the cave we traveled to Big Rock Falls. This was the perfect ending to the day because we were able to jump off cliffs and swim in refreshing water. I could write about this trip forever because nature is perfectly inspiring. I could sit at the falls and read Walden all day, but we had to get back before it got dark.