Belize, Day 5: Maya Ruins and Iguana Conservation

I didn't notice a little gift left by the housekeeping staff until I needed a tissue Wednesday morning. Isn't it cute?

A smiling tissue

We got an early start to try to beat the tour buses from the cruise ships to Xunantunich. As we crossed the Mopan River on a hand-cranked ferry, the ferryman pointed out some bats hanging on the underside of a tree. They are well-camouflaged. Look for the slightly darker bumps on the right.

Bats roosting on the underside of a tree (right)

The gate across the road to the ruins was of a different design that we typically see  in the U.S. It was a pole with a weight on one side and a rope on the other. Having lived for 13 years with a gate that swung sideways, which I had to walk across the driveway every day, I loved this design. All you have to do is release the rope, and up goes the gate. Brilliant.

A Belizean gate that goes up and down  instead of swinging sideways

Barnaby started our tour with a brief history of the Maya. There were 1.5 million Maya in Belize in 600 A.D. The Belize River valley was very densely populated. As a point of comparison, the population in Belize today is 350,000. There are over 600 documented Maya sites in Belize and Maya artifacts in most Belize caves.

Barnaby gives us a brief overview of Maya civilization

Xunantunich was mostly used for ceremonies. Here we are on the east facade of El Castillo.

Group shot on El Castillo

We weren't the only ones on that side of the ruins that day. This is a black spiny-tailed iguana. Note how the sides of the structure look like piles of small rocks. These were originally large blocks of limestone that were broken up by tree roots after the site was abandoned in 1050 A.D.

A black spiny-tailed iguana on the side of El Castillo.

I made it abundantly clear that if anyone was afraid of heights it was perfectly okay for them to not climb to the top. In fact, Kate was conflicted about it and would be happy to walk around. But everyone did it, and for some this involved overcoming considerable trepidation.

Left to right: Megan, Becca, and Amanda G. at the top looking out over Belize and Guatemala

We climbed down and went through the ball court on our way back to the van.

Barnaby and the students standing in the ball court

Running short on time, as we always seemed to be on this trip, we went to the Iguana Conservation Project right after lunch. Nigel was our tour guide and explained the Conservation Project to us before we went into the screen house where the iguana are captively bred.

Nigel explains captive breeding of iguanas in front of the screen house where the iguanas live

 We went into the screen house, and Nigel helped everyone who was willing hold an iguana.

Left to right: Kaina, Megan, Becca, and Mel with their new friends

Next, Nigel gave us leaves so we could feed the iguana. Kate was very brave and got close enough to get in on the action.

Kate feeds an iguana

Here is a video of me feeding my iguana, taken by Kate.

We went to the next room to hold the baby iguanas. They are getting pretty big. I think this must be the same batch we saw last year. Nigel asked who wanted to hold them all. Kaina was one of the volunteers.

Kaina with lots of baby iguanas

Kate was very, very brave and actually held one of the punier babies.

Kate holds an iguana! Does her smile look forced?

After a thorough hand washing, we went to our last stop of the day, Cahal Pech. Cahal Pech was a residential and administrative center during the peak of the Maya civilization. Even after the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization, trading continued in the plazas. Here is a picture of Plaza A.

Plaza A at Cahal Pech

The Maya used a Corbel arch, which required thicker walls than a round arch. Barnaby suggested that the Maya knew about round arches but may have avoided using them because the circle was a sacred symbol for them.

Corbel arch

The Maya also had a version of the spiral staircase.

Looking down a Maya spiral staircase made with perpendicular angles

We got back late to the lodge and had supper at 7:30. After such a long day, the fruit punch was a most welcome refreshment.

Fruit punch adorned with a snail-shaped lemon wedge

In the middle of supper, Megan jumped, looked up and behind her, and said, "Did something just fall on me?"
Nothing seemed to be dripping from above, so she went back to eating. I think it was Kate who said, "Something did fall on you! There's a tiny gecko climbing up your rice."
The gecko had picked a good target as Megan was not at all squeamish about crawly things. She picked the little guy up and held it so I could take a picture.

Megan's tiny gecko--so adorable!

After supper, Rupert surprised us with a burlap cacao sac. He gave us one last year, but this year, he decorated the back. We had all the students sign it. Kate will keep this one in her office.

Rupert presents us with a burlap cacao sac. It says, "Presented with [hands and heart image] from Rupert Errol Smith, Quality Leader to the group of Xiban River Farm Tour and Maya Mountain Cacao LTD Processing Facility visit on 14th December, 2015"

And we spent the next day getting home. We totally need to re-think that entry through Miami. But we made it to Chicago all in the same day and did not spend the night in the Miami airport. We must take what victories we can.