Belize Day 2--Cave Tubing & Ruins

We woke up to a woodpecker beating on our shutters. I thought it was Evin, so I yelled at it. 

We had breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. It’s been a while since I’ve had pancakes, and although these were not as good as Scott’s or McDonalds’, these were still mighty tasty.

Next we went to the Mayan ruin, Xunantunich.  According to the Internet, which is always reliable, it’s the second tallest Mayan structure in Belize and was used by the ancient Mayans as a ceremonial center.  It was allegedly abandoned after an earthquake.

To get to the ruin, we had to take a hand cranked ferry across the Mopan River. The man in charge of the ferry was more than happy to let a couple of dorky tourists run the ship.

Over the river and through the woods, followed by a pretty good uphill hike to get to the ruins, we saw an impressive ancient city. It was absolutely incredible. To think the ancient Mayans built that temple is so hard to belive! No cranes or bulldozers. Just man power. 

We climbed to the top of the Castillo, which was where archaeologists say was where the Mayan priests lived. There are replicas of reliefs on the sides of the building. The complex also included residences and a sports field.

The reliefs on the side of the Castillo are replicas.

The actual artwork is on display in a museum.

Looking straight down. Yikes!

Historians think these may have been the
residences within the Castillo.

The rest of the complex from the Castillo.

We climbed to the top of the ruin and could see the Guatemala border from there. 

Guatemala in the distance

It was quite a hike up to the top and we were amused to find no guardrails near the top. Scott and Evin were a bit more daring than me.

For someone that is as accident-prone as me, I stayed as far away from the edge as possible. I have to admit, it made me a bit nervous.

But I got a little more brave. After all, we were on a mission to find our 2011 Christmas card.

This one won't make it. I'm holding my head funny.

Probably won't use this one either.
It might make it into a frame.

In an attempt for a funny picture, I got a little more brave. I always wondered...if you climb on the ruin, does it ruin it?

Next on the agenda—cave tubing!  I LOVED it! Sadly we don’t have pictures. I made the mistake one time of taking a camera on a tubing trip down the Guadalupe River and was not about to sacrifice another camera to the river. I took a waterproof camera, but the pictures were too dark to post. Although we had to hike a long way with our tubes, we got to see some rainforest. The caves had stalactites, stalagmites, waterfalls, and other very interesting rock formations. Our guide took us back into some secret parts of the cave to see some ancient Mayan pottery. I highly recommend doing this.

On our way to Placencia, we drove through Belmopan, the capitol city of Belize. The capitol was in Belize City, but after a hurricane wiped out the city years ago, they decided it would be safer to have the capitol further inland. The photo below is of the Beliziean president's office. He doesn't live there, but does all of his work there.

Belieze's version of the White House.

Next we drove to Placencia and enjoyed a night at the Tipsy Tuna, Tony’s brother’s bar. It is right on the beach and is awesome. The place includes an indoor sports bar complete with sand floors; an outdoor beach bar with an outdoor dance floor; beach chairs, and a yummy grill. The place was so awesome that we returned the next day and sat by the beach all day long.