Some more Mayan Sites

          Che Chem Ha - Our second morning in San Ignacio (Friday January 18th) we were paired with a couple from UK (he is a pig farmer from Norfolk and she is a veterinarian) and a local guide named Hugh. In the morning we drove to a small farm up the Macal River. There we met William, who is the son of the owner. Ten years ago he was walking in the steep jungle hills that are part of his father's land, and his dog chased a gibnut into some bushes and disappeared. Following his dog William discovered the entrance to a cave. Later explorations revealed a remarkable collection of Mayan pottery, and evidence of their use of the place a sacred site.

          William was himself a remarkable man. He has made his discovery into a career, and now makes his living offering tours, narrating his discovery, and explaining the significance of its contents. He had grown up on this farm, connected with the outside world only by a cart track - an unpaved road was cut to build a nearby dam 15 years ago. Nonetheless he demonstrated an intellectual curiosity and knowledge of the relevant anthropology that I might have expected from a college professor. William reported his find to the Belizian government, which claims 'ownership' of all Mayan artifacts. They sent in a team of archaeologists to survey the cave and audit its contents, which left everything in place. The government allows William to show the site to the public, pretty much just as he found it.

          The cave was mostly a narrow cleft in limestone, with enough room to walk erect most of the time, and punctuated by tall, mostly narrow caverns. It extended back into the mountain about 250 yards, and sloped gradually down. William had fashioned ladders which allowed us to climb up to see artifacts on high ledges, and to descend safely some of the steeper pitches. The floor was damp sand, kept sticky by the erosion of limestone 'cement' from the ceiling. Of course there were the obligatory stalactites and stalagmites. The final chamber was larger, and contained a (reconstructed?) ceremonial ring and stela.

          The cave contains more than a hundred clay pots and urns, many of the best specimens we had seen even in museums. It is believed to have been used for food storage and rituals. Until I get some photos online HERE are some other peoples' detritus.

          A freshly prepared lunch of chicken, rice, and beans (again) was provided by William's wife. Jane still says it was our best lunch yet. After lunch we piled back in the Isuzu Trooper and pounded the potholes up to our afternoon destination. Have I mentioned that Belize, although wonderfully friendly, seems very poor. At any rate they have not paved many roads besides the few main highways (and i use the word advisedly). Everything else is mostly potholes, connected by other potholes.

          Xunantunich - We crossed the Macal river on a one car ferry, the kind worked by a cable and a crank. Close by the other side is yet another Mayan temple site. WIKIPEDIA Perhaps this is a good time to explain that the letter 'X' in Mayan is pronounced 'SH.' So this site is pronounced shu-NAN-tuh-nich, at least in my idiosyncratic phonetic system. The Mayan languages are guttural and filled with clicks and stops. A name like 'Xtoctel' is pronounced 'SH-toc-tel,' with a vocal stop between the 'SH' and the 'toc.' The Spanish (and Mexicans) don't seem to have strong opinions to the contrary, so in this part of the world there are lots of names which are diffficult to pronounce for a non native tongue.

          Our guide for the day was named Hugh. He was older than our two previous guides to Mayan sites, and had 25+ years experience guiding. He was refreshingly opinionated, offering contrary theories on many things Mayan. Actually Jose and Andy had not spouted a party line -- rather what we were seeing was the benefit of differing perspectives. Even the most scholarly researchers are only proposing theories to explain what they find in the ground. So I found the diversity of opinions refreshing.

          Xunantunich was built and stayed populated later that either Tikal or Caracol, probably 600 to 100 AD. It was also smaller, maxing out at perhaps 10,000 inhabitants. We climbed several towering pyramidal temples, the last of which was an acrophobe's terror. Jane had done so well on the previous heights, but this one got to her. We did not need the stretcher this time, but . . ..

          Hugh questioned the conventional wisdom about why the classical Mayan cities collapsed after 900 AD. Rather than climate and water shortages, he blamed the education of the commoners and the arrogance of the elite. He wondered aloud how the Mayan cities had dealt with waste. Where were their kitchens? What provisions for medical needs, even childbirth? He left us with more questions than answers, a circumstance with which I am familiar.

          All this climbing made me tired, so we returned to our cottage where Jane took the hammock. I am still frustrated that I have not been able to get my photos our of the camera and into these reports, so I have flagrantly plagiarized someone else's picture (below). This is the top two thirds of El Castillo, the tall one that almost got Jane.