Belize - Caracol

On Saturday of our trip we ventured out to Caracol which was a Maya city in Belize. At one point the people of Caracol conquered the people of Tikal. The percentage of structures uncovered at Caracol is minuscule. They did find things like the Maya calendar and other stones that told stories of slaves and kings.

During this trip, our guide showed us many things - like how when you burn Impatients, their color changes. The Mayas did this when creating the dyes they used. We also saw how they would collect water and make the mortar that affixed the limestone stones to each other.


Here is a building used for living space of the nobles as well as administrative purposes. This building is a lot taller than it looks since you can't even see the third level from this angle. It was a hard trek getting to the top, especially since it was 102 degrees. Oy! I will say it was just about as hard to climb down as it was to climb up. The stairs are very steep since they were actually used for the people to sit on during ceremonies and such. I would be very easy to just tumble down!But here's something that made it worth the climb. An opening to some chambers they found in this structure. It is actually unusual to find chambers in Maya structures as they tended to be solid structures- unlike the Egyptian pyramids. Our guide Elmo, said that they did find some skeletons of nobles who had lived here in this chamber. Spooky, eh?Opposite the building above was a smaller building with these really cool masks. Can you see them? And another building at Caracol. I have to admit I don't remember what this one was for. Ah well. It was so hot I think my brain melted.