7/15 -- Lamanai Ruins in Belize

Today we headed to our last archeological site, Lamanai in northern Belize. The site was continously occupied from about 1500 BC until 1700 AD. It only started getting excavated in the 1970s and is in a more 'natural' (i.e. not dug up) state than the other sites we visited. Part of the fun of this trip was a 1.5 hour boat ride up the New River.

Unfortunately, this was also the most mosquito-ridden site. Despite my liberal use of bug juice, they apparently found a site at the bottom of my right sleeve that I missed and got me 4 times in a small area. Plus they bit me through my shirt and pants. I'd forgotten how nasty they were!

Our group of 14 plus guides fit comfortably in one of these boats.

Some sort of egret, probably

Called a Jesus bird because of how it appears to walk on
water, this beauty is really a Jacana.

Three little swifts or swallows.

The black things on the tree trunk are sleeping
bats. There are no caves in the area, so they
have adapted. Given the number of mosquitoes
we encountered, we say "hooray for the bats!".

The site name is a slight corruption of the Mayan, meaning
submerged crododile.

Temple of the Jaguar Masks

Jaguar closeup

Living areas for royalty

High temple

Mask temple. The mask looks more Olmec than Maya. Olmecs
are now thought to be Mayan progenitors instead of a
completely different group. The mask was covered by a later
layer of temple and the one on the left has been left hidden.

Climbing up the stone steps to the top. They
appear to be made too tall to walk up so the
priests would be bowing to the gods all the
way up and back down.

View from the top looking at the folks who didn't climb.

View from the top to the jungle and the river.

A museum on the site had some interesting displays. What
caught my attention about this one is that talks about research
done by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh,  my alma mater.

The yellowy green stuff is vegetation clinging to a tree, but
at first glance, it looks like a BIG snake.

Kingfisher

Another bird

 

Howler monkey

After the boat and bus ride back to Belize City, we had time to rest (or start to pack) and attend the Farewell Dinner. It has been a great trip!