Day Two took us to Guatemala, my first time visiting this country. It was beautiful!! And driving along I was struck by how similar it was to rural Ecuador. I wanted to go explore. I had to follow the bus though, and that was good too.
Our first stop was the Maya ruins at Quiriguá. This site is not far from the famed site of Copán in Honduras. It is renowned for the tall stelae which dot the Grand Plaza, larger than any found at any other Maya site. The carvings are intricate and beautiful. They tell the stories of the foundation and growth of Quiriguá, from its important position along the Río Motagua, where it controlled trade in obsidian and jadeite, to the overflow of 18 Rabbit, leader of Copán, to the end of the current cycle of the Maya calendar on December 21, 2012. It was a stunningly clear day, and we had the site to ourselves.
They've erected thatched roof structures to cover the stelae and provide some measure of protection from the elements.
This is the west side of stele A.
Part of the east side of stele A.
A detail from that same section. How clear the carvings still are! They did talk about these but my notes are awful. And since I'm not an epigrapher, you get nothing detailed.
East side of stele C.
This side shows the ruler and several symbols of his office and rule.
Another key element of the site of Quiriguá is this zoomorph, a carving that combines animal and ruler images to demonstrate the supernatural infusion of the office. In this case, the animal is the jaguar, a powerful symbol of the underworld often aligned with Maya rulers.
Front claws and glyphs.
Can you see the fangs and the eyes? The ruler is being eaten....
and then comes out the back with the extra powers. This was truly stunning and incredibly impressive. The carving! So intricate and beautiful.
Yup, climbing a few steps, going from the area by the ball court over to the Acropolis. These steps were neither overly steep nor overly numerous.
Beautiful in the shade, aren't they?
And the Acropolis. Much of this is being reconstructed. Houses of the nobility and their families surrounded this lovely court.
In keeping with my love of signs, this is what is and isn't allowed in the park.
Some of the more interesting modern "glyphs." We were all puzzled by the bottom left: no running with scissors and fire extinguishers on the temple steps? Not sure.
We also had some good birdwatching. I opted to roam and explore and climb, but did myself see a blue-crowned motmot, the Montezuma oropendula, and a great hawk. Before jumping on the bus, we literally ran through the marketplace, where I used my quetzales to buy a runner hand-embroidered with butterflies by Aricel, a Kakchikel Maya lady who ran the stall with her daughter.
Then we headed to lunch, which was a lovely buffet along the Río Dulce. Protective overhang, calm breeze off the river, watching the boats in the marina.....
The downtown of Santo Tomas had many stalls and shops, again reminding me of Ecuador. However, this was a new chain in my experience.
Then it was off to San Felipe Fortress, a 17th century Spanish fort. It was built at the confluence of the river Río Dulce and Lake Izabál to control piracy. We had free run of the fort and spent about an hour climbing and exploring this remnant of colonial history.
Bright blue skies and river breezes -- perfect!
Yes, roofs and doorways and other interesting architectural elements.
Some of our group is across the way in the other lookout. Jeanne and I took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other..... Folks found that really funny.
No, you can't go there from here without going down, over, and then back up. All part of the exploring fun.
It probably wasn't fun to have lookout duty back then, but now, it's quite lovely.
I love those roof tiles and the stone.
Harder! Raise the drawbridge!!
These cannons were amazing. Some -- mostly the bronze ones -- are very well preserved, including their inscriptions.
Again, from the bus. We're headed back to the ship now. But those fruits looked fabulous!
Mangroves. So important to the ecosystems here, for sediment deposition, estuary habitat, and nutrient maintenance.
Coming in to the dock. This is an active port, as demonstrated by the large number of containers.
Cranes and trucks and containers. Signs of work.
Docking the ship. This was fun to watch.
After getting some supplies, we were headed back to Belize.
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