Hi friends,

After the adventures through ancient Mayan territory yesterday, we inadvertently ended up visiting some Mayan ruins again today.

We spent the whole morning driving to Las Cuevas Research Station, stopping at a natural pool to cool off in the summer heat. The natural pool was beautiful and really awesome. Together with Sarah G, I ran up along the river, jumping on rocks trying to cross the streams at different points. We then got into the pool and slowly followed the river flow down. At several points we got to slide down some rocks from one pool to another which was fun. There was also this huge waterfall at one point where we can stand underneath it and get a good natural water massage. Going along the river, we reached a point which overlooked a valley, which was really scenic and we took a bunch of pictures there. Isaac also brought a soursop with him and shared it with the class which was refreshing. I enjoyed myself greatly at the pool and didn’t really want to leave but all good things come to an end.

It was another two hours of riding the van, where we entertained ourselves with a game of King’s Water Cup and it was great way of passing time. We finally reached Las Cuevas Research Station (LCRS) which was in the middle of the Chiquibul rainforest and my first thought was, “I NEED TO PEE!!!” followed by, “I wanna explore this place!!!”

We were able to squeeze in a trail hike right before dinner and we took the Mayan trail which led us around the edge of LCRS. As we walked down the trail, Scott stopped us at a point right beside this huge steep mound covered in vegetation. Pointing to the mound, he explained that it wasn’t a natural formation but a Mayan temple covered after long periods of disuse. We climbed to the top of the ruin which turned out to be a bad idea as it was indeed a well-covered ruin and there was nothing much to see. It was still cool though, to think about the fact that we were stepping on an unexcavated Mayan site which was probably teeming with activity back in the Classical Mayan period but now just lies forgotten deep in a rainforest.

We walked more around the trail, seeing a couple more mounds, a rectangular ruined area which was supposed to be the Mayan ball court, and a line of neatly stacked rocks that looked to have been a plaza leading to the entrance of the Las Cuevas caves. Unfortunately, I did not get to see any mammals today which is a bummer. Nonetheless, I really loved the hiking and I can’t wait for the next few days of it!

Till tomorrow,

Damien