Mounting Mayan Ruins




I like to climb. Hills, mountains, volcanoes or anything offering a scenic backdrop inspires me to scale untold heights. I never seem to feel the same inspiration for climbing stairs. I think my legs are spoiled from climbing so many stunning structures. A climbing standout was in Belize, at the Xunantunich Mayan ruins. The site is a classic period (300-900 AD)ceremonial center adorned with large plazas and pyramids. The tallest, El Castillo, rises 130 feet. I watched barefoot children scamper up the crumbling stones and I eventually followed them. The climb is steep and the sun blazes down mercilessly. I was rewarded with a gorgeous panoramic view of the jungle canopy, Belize River and a glimpse of Guatemala just over the border.

Comments

Jason said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
November 14, 2009 at 5:45 PM
A Cuban In London said…
Thanks for the view. I love trekking as opposed to climbing. Mind you, in the Sierra Nevada, where we go every two years or so, there's a lot of both trekking and climbing combined. Lovely post.

Greetings from London.
November 15, 2009 at 2:34 AM
Kelly Virella said…
I didn't know you were into hiking too. We gotta make some mountains locally and then go. Here's a pic I took on my most recent camping trip, on the summit of a hill at a California state park, just north of San Francisco:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2185137&id=711366564

It's unreal isn't it?
November 15, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Amanda said…
Looks spectacular. Which reminds me, I need to climb more ruins...
November 15, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Fly Girl said…
Cubano, I wouldn't mind treking the Sierra Nevada, sounds beautiful!

Kelly, I think loving to hike and climb is a capricorn thing. We will have to climb some mountains together. You're right, that view is unreal!

Amanda, I know you do plently of climbing in Switzerland but Mayan ruins are a whole other thing!
November 15, 2009 at 9:58 AM
marina villatoro said…
Ironically, i never did the mayan ruins in belize. I did them in mexico, guatemala, and honduras.

They look gorgeous. I love belize!
November 16, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Heather Dugan Creative / Footsteps said…
I'm a climber too. I always appreciate my view a little more when I've had to work for it!
November 17, 2009 at 8:39 AM
Fly Girl said…
Marina, I think those countries have you covered as far as Mayan ruins!
Heather, I know you love to climb and hike everywhere. I think you're a little more inspired than I am!
November 17, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Jean-Luc Picard said…
What a spectacular journey. Such beautiful sights.
November 17, 2009 at 12:51 PM
shantiwallah said…
It's not so much I climbing part I like, but I always do it because of the reward at the top. I especially love the feeling of the inevitable breeze that cools you down once you get up there.
November 17, 2009 at 6:36 PM
Fly Girl said…
Jean-Luc, it's the beauty that motivates me.

Shanti, you are so right! That breeze is part of the reward.
November 17, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Beauty Is Diverse said…
I've never been hiking before I would love to go one day.
November 17, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Catherine said…
This does look a really beautiful site... and one I haven´t been to yet... did you enjoy the rest of Belize as a travel destination?? I have only briefly been to Caye caulker. A favourite site i recently discovered here in Mexico is El Tajin - gorgeous place too
November 18, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Fly Girl said…
Tifanny, you should try it one day, there are lots of stylish hiking boots!

Catherine, Belize is great, although I was only there for a few days.
November 18, 2009 at 5:02 PM
kristine said…
hey when were you here? I hope we didnt miss each other?
November 20, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Fly Girl said…
Kristine, no, this is from a couple of year ago. I'd let you know if I come back to Belize!
November 21, 2009 at 7:52 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Puerto Rico's Taino Culture

Image
The original inhabitants of the Caribbean region of North America were the Arawak, Taino and Carib  native peoples.  The Tainos are a subgroup of the Arawaks and are recognized as the founders of the island of Boriken or Puerto Rico.  These were the people who offered a peaceful welcome to Columbus in 1493.  They didn't know the cruelty and violence that would follow his so-called "discovery" of the land that they had cultivated for centuries. Despite official government pronouncements that the Taino have been killed off by the massacres and slavery that followed in Columbus' wake, they live on.  As demonstrated in the photo above by  members of  the Puerto Rico Folklorico Dance & Culture Cultural Cente r, Taino traditions, food and names remain strong. Throughout Puerto Rico, town names like Mayaquez, Utuado and Caquas echo the Taino language as do the musical instrument maracas and hamaca or hammock. Legends of Taino warriors, like Hatuey, who organized the ba
Read more

Traveling Through A Liberian Childhood

Image
I like to explore the world with books as much as I like to actually travel. A well-written narrative can transport you to places that you'd never experience with just superficial details like photos and descriptions. I've been interviewing writers about the criteria they use to select books for Summer reading and it made me think about my own general reading criteria. As a journalist, I'm really drawn to biographies, autobiographies and memoirs more than fiction. There's something about using the facts to entice readers into your world that gets me. It's no coincidence that some of my favorite writers--Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Zora Neale Hurston, Hemingway, started out as journalists. So when I glimpsed The House at Sugar Beach , at my local bookstore and saw it was a memoir written by a journalist, it was pretty much a done deal that I would buy it. Now it wasn't only that the author Helene Cooper was a journalist, it was that she was a Liberian journalist chro
Read more

Switzerland's Fete Des Vignerons

Image
                                               Once every generation, the centuries-old viticultural festival, Fete des Vignerons, unfolds in Vevey, Switzerland. Watching this spectacle of music, dancing, wine and fanciful costumes, felt like I had been transported to something out of a Dr. Seuss story. With a law that prohibits the fest from taking place more than five times in a century, I felt incredibly lucky to witness this celebration of Swiss wine traditions dating back to the 17th century.  Some of the fetes 5,500 performers in costumes strolled the narrow streets of Vevey after a show that featured fairies, bees, royal courts, playing cards and 17th-century wine growers. The performance was in French but the drama transcended language barriers. It's a difficult experience to describe but if I had to sum it up, I would explain it as the magic of Cirque Du Soleil combined with the pageantry of the Olympics, topped with the history of folk celebrations.  Take a peek at my v
Read more