Submerged Crocodile

We have booked another trip today as we move on tomorrow and when the taxi driver picks us up we get chatting about the upcoming elections. At the moment they have no prime ministers in charge but the old one is rerunning and his opposition is Shyne- the rapper - who has promised to get Belize out of the third world status it's in. We soon arrive at the landing area and in total there are 7 of us on the boat. Our lady captain is brilliant and the hour long trip allows us to see multiple birds iIncluding a jabiru stork and a couple of crocodiles. The wildlife here is amazing I'm just sad I never bought my good camera but then again I'm just enjoying the moment. As we travel along the river Brenda tells us about the mennonites.Mennonites from the Noah Hoover group in Upper Barton Creek and daughter settlements are extremely restrictive concerning the use of motors and electricity, that is, both motors and electricity are forbidden in the settlement by the members of the group. Their clothing is very similar to the Old Order Amish, and men wear beards like the Amish. Therefore, they are often perceived as Amish and called Amish, even though this is not the case. We arrive at the Lamanai Maya ruins.The Maya ruins of Lamanai once belonged to a sizable Maya city in the Orange Walk District of Belize. "Lamanai" comes from the Maya term for "submerged crocodile", a nod to the toothy reptiles who live along the banks of the New River. Lamanai. There is evidence on Maya life that dates from about 1500 B.C. At the site are structures that date from AD 625: The jaguar temple named for its boxy jaguar decoration; the mask temple adorned by a 13-foot stone mask of an ancient Maya king; and the high temple. In front of the mask temple is a single ball court, where an offering had been placed under its giant central marker. A lidded bowl contained 100 g of crystalline hematite, 19 g of cinnabar in a miniature vessel, and other objects such as jade, shell, and pearl, all atop of a pool of mercury. It is said that the games went on for days and at the end the winner was sacrificed. Winner winner tonights dinner. Archeologists first came to the site in 1974 and began their work. A lot of the ruins have been covered with replicas (mask on the temple) because as much as you tell tourists not to touch they always will. It's a 1 hour journey back down the new river to home. Rain is forecast tonight so we head out for dinner early only to find that most of the town is closed as there is a holiday today. We eventually find a Chinese restaurant and head home for an early night as tomorrow we head to the islands.Read more