Decemeber 28, 2013

We woke up early this morning to drive to Lamanai Ecotours about 45 minutes away to catch a 1 ½ hour boat ride to the 2^nd largest excavated Mayan ruins in Belize:  Lamanai, means Submerged Crocodile. 

There are structures, or what we would call pyramids to climb, there.  The Jaguar Temple, the Mask Temple, and the High Temple which  was the tallest and had 16 “stairs” on the first level, 43 on the 2^nd level and then another 12 to get you to the top level.  It was very high up above (112 feet only)  the canopy (it was here I remember that I am very anxious about falling from such a high and unprotected area!!) and  gave a great view up the snaky New River.  The top platform was used for what we would call very strange rituals --- you’ll have to look this up or ask us later…quite gruesome! On our descent, the younger boys took off down the steep stairs.  How the short Maya made it up and down without a rope to hang on to  is beyond me.  Glenn was able to find the geocache that was hidden there and I found him while he was pulling out the rock behind which is was hidden!  I was the last of the 20 on our boat to go down the ruin….while another kid from another boat was literally running down the temple.  The “stairs” are anywhere from about 15-20” high and they vary, of course, so maneuvering up and down them is not easy on the thighs in particular.  That kid made me really nervous, but he made it down there in one piece, just in time to slip in the mud.  Amazingly, he landed on his feet.  Maybe he was a cat.  I don’t know.  All I do know is that the Lord has been working on showing me something about my fears on this trip….I didn’t think that I had any.  Boy was I wrong! I think actually facing them was a cool thing….even if I didn’t realize I had them!

We then went to the gift shop area where I was going to buy some jade necklaces and other souvenir items.  Had them all picked out, ready to pull out my credit card when the Mayan lady said that they don’t have electricity there and can’t process cards.  Well, Glenn didn’t have any cash, I didn’t either, so, I put my nice things back and headed back to the boat.  What took us 1 ½ hours to arrive to Lamanai, only took us 45 minutes to return because Eddie our boat captain decided to drive Belizean style on the river.  We passed a few other boats along the way and didn’t stop.  On our way down the river, which is flooded still, we did not see any crocodiles because the river banks are covered and there’s nowhere for them to bask in the sun.  But we did see the smallest bat in Belize (and maybe anywhere?) called the insect bat. We saw  a tiger heron, a night hawk, a snowy egret, a kingfisher, a woodstork, a spider monkey (that Timothy got to give a banana to) and howler monkeys at Lamanai. 

We drove back to Corozal, found the pharmacy and bought Curtis some Amoxicillin to carry him through until we get home (he’s been feeling poorly much of the trip with head congestion, sore throat, headache), did a drive 7 miles north to Consejo and Consejo Shores, an expat community/subdivision there.  A lot of available seaview lots or seafront properties.  Really nice homes.  Then we drove back through Corozal, to the Almond Tree Hotel Resort.  Timothy and I met the resident coati mundi, Rocky.  She is wild but lives here at the resort, and stays inside at night with the owner.  He made friends with one of the guard dogs, Pepper, and swam in the pool for a bit before we ate at the restaurant.  It is lovely here.