On Day 4 we took a trip to Xunantanich to see the Mayan ruins. Bruce, Ezra and I had been there before, but it was new to Finn and Jamma. Because we were already so close, it was super easy and fast to get there this time. After a short ride (with our trusty guide Ricky in our trusty Chaa Creek van), we arrived at the new and improved but still hand-cranked ferry.
We crossed the river …
… and were soon on our way to the site.
El Castillo is tall, but the route to the top is stable and not too hard.
We all made it to the top. Here are some pictures along the way and views from the top.
I leaned over the edge for this one — or rather, stuck my arm out over the edge.
I don’t know what’s going on here, but this shot cracked me up.
We also got to see a bunch of howler monkeys in the trees.
And then our otherwise reasonable guide gave us some hoo-ha about the Mayans choosing their locations because of the energy, and tried to get us all to feel the energy through this stick. You can guess who was skeptical.
And who wasn’t.
And then Bruce got crowned the new King of the Mayans.
After heading back to the lodge and having a great lunch, we decided to take our complimentary horseback ride. Jamma, smartly, sat this one out.
I don’t have many pictures because it’s hard to hold a camera steady and ride a horse at the same time. But we took a long ride around the grounds — here are a few samples of the terrain. The boys are up front next to the guide and Bruce and I were the last two after a couple from Burbank on their honeymoon.
At what turned out to be the half-way point, the skies opened up and we got caught in a torrential downpour. We were soaked to the bone and had an interesting ride back on slippery slopes. But we survived and had a good laugh when it was over. And some Advil.