Belize - the Country

 We get to visit several Mayan ruins as we move from country to country.  We are in Belize which became Belize in 1981 when the Brits gave in to the locals demand for independence.  When I was going to high school over 50 years ago, the country was called British Honduras.

Belize is a small country and we took a ferry boat from the Viking Star which was anchored 5 miles from shore.  I was here with a good friend 15 years ago on my 60th birthday.  I still remember snorkeling with nurse sharks and rays and touching them without fear.

The park we visited is called Altun Ha.  You may not be able to read the sign . . . so it reads All Spice/Pimienta and the tree is one of the first features you see as you walk in.  The guide gathered a few leaves from the tree and shared them with a few of us having partially crushed each leaf.  It smelled like and is the spice we put in pumpkin pies and such.  The picturesque tree on the hill became more interesting.  

It turns out Allspice if taken in slightly larger amounts than we use it is like novacain in that it numbs your mouth.  The Mayans did have dentists.  The drawing above shows the turquoise and black jade fillings and also the crude drill.  The dentist appears to be making a healthy living based on the jade earrings and necklace he is wearing.

In 1960 the ruins were discovered after Hurricane Hattie devastated parts of Belize.  Those rebuilding Belize came to the Altuna Ha area to obtain building rock.  The area had been abandoned 800 years previously and all the temples were covered completely in dirt and vegetation.  Upon discovery of ancient ruins, excavation for rock turned to excavation for buried treasures.  The distant temple (above) is a temple to honor the rain god.

The profile picture captures a view of the temple to the sun god.  The sun god was the most important god to the Mayans and also a place for human sacrifice.  At the very top of the temple is a small platform where the sacrifice took place - in this case for blood letting.  Those that volunteered or were 'volunteered' were given a free pass to heaven.  Back in their heyday, they had a favorite game in which two teams sought to score goals by hitting a ball with any part of their body except their hands or feet into a goal.  At the end of the game, there was a sacrifice to the gods as well.  The captain of the winning team was the sacrificial lamb and he gave up his life when they severed his head from his body.  The rationale for the head of the winning coach was that you wanted to sacrifice a winner and not a loser to the gods.  Things were different back then.