One Last Time

With less than 24 hours left in Belize we decided we needed one last adventure: the Mayan Ruins! All of the doctors and nurses at the clinic have been asking us over and over "when are you going to visit the ruins?" We had tried to join a tour 2 weeks ago, but they never showed up and we decided to spend the day in Caye Caulker (thank goodness we did!). With only one day left in Belize, the clinic staff said we had to take Friday off, since it's a slow day anyways, and visit the Mayan ruins.

So off we went!

Waiting for the van! 

We were heading to Lamanai, one of the larger ruins in Belize. To get to the ruins, we first had to drive an hour north to the town of Orange Walk, where we caught a boat for another hour trip to the ruins. We arrived a little earlier than the group joining us so our tour guide, Ian, gave us a tour on the boat of Orange Walk. 

This town is home to a large sugar factory. We learned that sugar cane is the second largest source of income in Belize, following tourism. Located next to the sugar cane factor were 2 rum distilleries. We asked if we could pull up for samples, but unfortunately they weren't open at 10 AM. 

Starting the tour 

The emissions from the sugar cane factory  

Part of the rum distillery. The air smelled like molasses, which is apart of the rum making process. 

We continued to cruise down the river and had a few more interesting stops. The first being the backside of a rehab center. Ian told us that this used to be a popular rehab center for artists from America to come to; however, it closed down 6 years ago because a patient hung himself and the center was forced to go out of business. It was quite an interesting story. 

The second stop was feeding a local monkey, who the tour guides had named "Pepito." We fed him chocolate chip cookies since our tour guide forgot to buy bananas. The monkey was very curious and greedy for food. Ian said that since a lot of different tours come to this spot everyday, Pepito may eat up to 40 bananas each day! He's quite a popular fella in the area. 

The abandoned rehab center

Feeding Pepito 

Ah I was so nervous he was going to climb onto the boat 

We even saw a baby alligator (he's sitting on the log) 

After all the stops, we finally headed up the river for an hour to reach Lamanai

The entire ride felt like an episode of Mario Cart as the diver whipped around corners at full speed 

Finally we arrived! 

Lamanai is one of the largest ruins in Belize. We saw a total of 4 different ruins, including the famous jaguar temple. We were fortunate enough to be able to climb to the top of all of the ruins to overlook the scenery of Belize and the river that we had traveled on. Our tour guide didn't give us too much history on all of the sites (which I appreciated since it all starts to run together eventually anyways) so here are all the photos from our day! Enjoy! 

The first ruin, the Jaguar Temple
This ruin was used for ceremonies and the grass I am standing on was filled each day at noon, with nearly 80,000 people, for daily prayers

Climbing to the top of the Jaguar Temple
You can also see from this angle how large the field is for people to gather on

Yay I made it!  

This day consisted of a lot of selfies, be prepared  

This was a a smaller temple we stopped at between the larger ones.
When archeologists discovered this temple, inside they found the remains of 5 children. They are assuming that the children must have been royalty to have a temple built for them. 

Obviously I was more excited than Karilyn about this trip 

This was the largest temple at Lamanai, and yes we climbed to the top

This was the halfway point

I continued all the way up to the top where I saw beautiful views of the river, Lamanai, and the surrounding village of Orange Walk 

After I came back down from the top.
There is no shade while climbing those stairs, I don't know how the Mayans did it  

Heading towards the 4th and final ruin

This was a smaller, yet very intricate temple with faces on the front of the ruin

The temple was so peaceful and beautiful! 

Close up look at the carved faces on either side of the temple  

There I am climbing up to the top again

Lamanai was so beautiful and a truly special experience. The people of Belize are very proud of their Mayan heritage and the temples in their country. We are so happy to have been able to spend our last day in Belize connecting with the culture and people of this country. 

What a great day! 

Tomorrow we are off to Guatemala to meet our class for a 7-day medical mission trip in the Lake Atitian area. We have been so blessed to have had this opportunity in Belize for the past 4 weeks. Words cannot begin to describe all we have seen and have had the opportunity to experience. Until next time!