Now that the tires are good, we’ve been to the property and contacted the power company it was time to do some sight-seeing.

First stop was Xunantunich, a big beautiful very well maintained Mayan site not far from us. In order to get there you must cross the Mopan River on the Succotz Ferry, a small hand cranked ferry that takes two cars at a time.

Before we got on the ferry we hired a guide. Our guide this time was Edward, and he went above and beyond explaining the history of the Mayans, from their beliefs to how society was made up. He was very knowledgeable and seemed to be very passionate about his job. As we toured the grounds he explained everything, the ball courts, where once the game was over one of the men would be put to death, and not necessarily the loser. We toured the smaller structures where the lower class lived as well as the biggest ones where the elite lived and ruled their people.

There is constant excavating going on at the sight and we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a 1400 year old hieroglyphic stone tablet that was unearthed last year by some archaeological students from NAU in Arizona.  The tomb that was discovered is the largest Mayan  tomb ever discovered in Belize, and is the most significate discovery in more than a century at the site. We just happened to be there when one of the workers moved a protective piece of plywood away from the stone  tablet and that allowed us to get a couple pictures. Sorta sends chills down you.

From what I’ve gathered, Xunantunich or Stone Lady as it is sometime called was active from 400 BC to AD 1000.  They have estimated that between 7,000-10,000 Mayan people lived and thrived here at any given time.  El Castillo the largest structure is the second tallest structure (135′) in Belize. The tallest being Canaa at Caracol, which is 136′. Couldn’t they have added just two more layers of stone?

As we were getting ready to leave Xunantunich we noticed everyone looking up into the trees and taking pictures. It turns out there was a family of Howler monkeys climbing around the tree tops. It was a nice way to end the tour, especially since none of the monkeys relieved themselves on us, all was good.

After touring Xunantunich it was time to cross into Guatemala for some quick shopping and a little lunch. Actually all of us  just really wanted to get our passports stamped, since our books had all recently been renewed. The Guatemala border is only about ten miles from Xunantunich so we had plenty of time to get there , do our thing and be back before dark.

We didn’t have the proper paperwork for the car to enter Guatemala, so we parked and walked across. As you enter the border there are people there that will exchange your Belizean or US dollars for Guatemalan quetzals. We think we got hosed big time with the exchange, but next time we should know a little better. Anyway, passports stamped, fees paid, a pocket full of quetzals and we were off in the first taxi  that approached us.  A quick tour around town and then a stop at an auto repair shop. No there was nothing wrong with the car, I was just looking for some Guatemala license plates for Randy (he collects them from all over the world).

A successful plate stop and now we were off to find some  lunch. Taxi man recommended a nice open air restaurant for us to get some authentic Guatemalan food.  Food was good and the beer was cold but it seemed to take about two hours to get our food, and we were the only ones there plus we believe that we were way over charged.  Anyway, that was our Guatemalan border town experience, no need to rush back anytime soon, but I’m sure in time we will be back with a better understanding of how things work and to see some of the great sights that we’ve read about.