Xunantunich

My favorite part of the entire trip was our expedition to Xunantunich. Xunantunich is about 5 different structures that date back around 200 to 900 AD by the Mayans. They say that up to 1,000,000 people lived there at one point. Xunantunich means "stone woman" because in about 1892, people started claiming they saw a ghost of a woman dressed in white with fiery eyes. Xunantunich is close to the Guatemalan border and when you climb to the top of the highest pyramid "El Castillo", you can see it. It takes about 2 hours to drive from Belize City to the ruins. You go through all these little villages. They're very interesting! Finally, we got to the river. The only way to get across is by a manually operated ferry...one car at a time. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but I guess they do that to try and keep the ruins sacred still...without having too many tourists at one time.People still swim, bathe and wash their clothes in this river. The day we arrived, Belizeans got in to the ruins for free. So my friend Edna and her niece Shawn argued with the guard for a while to try to convince him that Kenyah and I were Belizeans, too. He didn't buy it, but he did give us a discount. :) There is a small hike and when you get to the top, you just aren't prepared for it. It's beautiful and it takes your breath away.
Edna, Kenyah and Shawn were not interested in climbing to the top with me, so I had to go it alone. It really wasn't that hard of a climb. You just automatically start to think of the history and the sacrifices. I automatically get swept away.

(Yes, I know my hands are shakey and the videos stink. Operator error.)

I think I was so excited to see Xunantunich because of the carvings on the sides. They are so stinkin' cool! Those were my favorite part.

At the top, I met a man from (of all places) Houston. He was there with his guide and was really nice so we took each others' pictures and I made a new friend. Once I was finished dilly-dallying around, we checked out some of the other structures and there is also a building that houses 3 stelae.
I thought the trip to Xunantunich in Cayo was utterly and completely worth it. It's a long drive, but it's really fun to check out the villages and stuff along the way. But you can just feel the history here and try to imagine what life must have been like back then. The jungle is thick, but I was sure there was some virgin that ran through there trying to escape becoming a sacrifice!