Colin and I were sun-stroked and drenched with sweat by the time we made it to San Ignacio, Belize’s famous Mayan ruins, Xunantunich… but man was it worth it. Come cyber-join us on our journey!
The “El Castillo” structure of the Xunantunich Mayan ruins in western Belize dates from around 800 C.E. and rises over 130 feet. In other news, Colin and I have very large muscles.
It took us hours to finally reach Xunantunich from our San Ignacio hotel due to a “hilarious” misunderstanding of how time is quantified in Belize.
Several local people had told us, “Oh yes, you can walk to the ruins. It’s not far,” but in reality, that statement was so false that Colin and I ended up walking along the side of the highway (flanked by endless neon green grass and curious cows) for over an hour in the blazing noon-time sun, panting at each hill’s crest: “It’s GOT to be close! Right?!” Wrong.
We staggered between the highway and these crazy green, cow-covered fields outside San Ignacio, Belize for over an hour, thinking the Xunantunich ruins were just over each hill. They weren’t.
Two miles and four times of nearly being run over by blue-painted school buses that serve as Belize’s main public transport later, I swoon-sat by the side of the road and refused to go on. Colin heroically stood by the highway until a taxi (marked in western Belize by nothing more than a green licence plate) chugged by.
To reach the ruins of Xunantunich, cross a river on this hand-cranked wooden ferry.
We climbed into the car, panting and grinning from relief. We either smelled so bad, or were so tall and surprising that everyone packed inside the vehicle was stunned into silence.
I tried chatting in English, then had more success in Spanish, given that we were right by the Guatemalan border. The ride revealed we were still miles away from the ferry to the hill to the ruins.
How amazing is the jungle around Xunantunich? Look at the tiny people next to the towering trees!
“You saved us!” I gushed to the leathery driver in Spanish as we paid him. He cracked the first smile of the ride and puttered off.
“Hello,” said a soft spoken Belizean man with the local Jamaican-like accent. “Would you like a guide for the ruins? It will enhance your experience. It will be $20 U.S. dollars total.”
“We should probably get a guide,” reasoned Colin, “or we’ll just be dumbly looking at rocks.”
Without our excellent guide at Xunantunich, we would have just been ignorantly staring at stones.
Let me tell you: This guide was well worth $20. He knew everything, and was professional, patient, and interesting. In addition to his knowledge, he also displayed such love and reverence for Xunantunich (despite having led the tour hundreds or even thousands of times) that it inspired us.
Again and again we are impressed by the caliber of the Belizean tourist industry and its people.
We climbed all the way up to the top of El Castillo where you can sit on the edge, no guardrail!
Our guide even explained to us about the misinterpretation that had led us to hike along the highway for miles: “The people told you the ruins were close by because they wanted to make you feel better.”
“Um, that didn’t really make us feel better,” said Colin, swaying from the continued sunstroke.
Since then, we now know to multiply any time estimates here in Belize by at least three.
The sides of Xunantunich are adorned with ornate, symbolic decorations. When we visited, these girls were sliding down the grass like I used to fly down snowy hills in Boston’s winter.
Now let’s talk about Xunantunich. These celebrated Mayan ruins are around 1,212 years old, awe-inspiring, and rightly considered some of the best in Belize.
Several facts stood out to us. One, the tallest structure (“El Castillo”), which we ultimately climbed, has a secret back staircase. The Mayan ruler used to walk up the front staircase to halfway up the pyramid, then flit over to the back staircase, where he’d enter the building and do a quick costume change. He’d then emerge (seemingly by magic) at the very top of the structure, just like a god!
How often do you get to sit atop a 1,212-year old, 130-foot-tall ancient Mayan building? Unbelievable.
Another fact about Xunantunich that made me gasp centered around sports: The ancient Mayans used to play a ball game similar to soccer… and KILL the losing team! When the Mayans would play this sport, one team would usually be made up of captives from other places– unfortunate souls who had never played the ball game before. Which side do you think usually lost??
This piece of athletic history gave new weight to the Olympic events Colin and I watched that evening. There was a time when sports WERE life or death!
Does this spot look tempting to you? Then travel to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins in San Ignacio, Belize!
When we finally made it back to our hotel that evening, we were so tired we could barely move. We sprawled on the bed, murmuring, “What an honor it was to climb 1,212-year-old Mayan ruins today!”
Ooo, our Belize Honeymoon is EPIC.
Enjoyed the story. Great pictures! My favorites are two shots on the top of El Castillo (where you sit on the edge). Beautiful view!
Thanks!
I went to Belize (and Guatemala) for my honeymoon too. I can’t believe I didn’t visit Xunantunich. I had some problems with my ATM card and we ended up stucked in San Ignacio for 2 days without nothing to do because we needed to save money to end the trip and being able to go back home. Thinking about the trip we could have visited these ruins because they are very close to San Ignacio (but my head was very messed up at that time). I guess there has to be a next time. At least we were able to go to Caracol, Tikal and the ATM Cave.
Ah, sorry to hear about the ATM troubles, but if you saw Tikal, Caracol, and the ATM caves, I’d say you did all right!
Beautiful story and pictures. Amazing the green color of the grass.
Best Regards,
Ricardo
Thanks, Ricardo!
Amazing photos, and quite a story! Glad you made it in the end
And the secret back staircase trick is so cool!
Thanks! I’ve upgraded as of this post to a far fancier photo editing application, so glad you can see the difference! Yes, I think we teachers need a secret back staircase to emerge in a different costume and awe students (even more than they’re already awed)!
Great pictures, I’m obsessed with ruins, I would absolutely love to visit there!
how cool is this place?!! i love it! that’s quite a workout…
Hah– Right!
What a fun and fabulous trip. I’m super jealous. I’ve been to a variety of smaller Mayan sites throughout Central America but haven’t had the chance to get to any of the bigger sites. One of these days I’ll get there. Thanks for the heads up on the time estimates though. That’s very helpful information.
So glad to help ! I’m curious which other sites you toured and which you’ve liked best so far.
Ok, why do you two have such ridiculously large muscles??? That was only reason why I clicked over from Facebook to read your blog entry.
Bwahahah! Glad you clicked over. Shout-out to our local YMCA at which we frequently pump iron!
Beautiful pictures, have you been to Tikal? it’s pretty close from Belize, I have been there a couple of times and it’s amazing, I am looking forward on going back. Congratulations on your wedding!
Thank you! See the comment, below– We couldn’t fit in Tikal on this trip, but we’ll just have to come back for it!
I love this part: How often do you get to sit atop a 1,212-year old, 130-foot-tall ancient Mayan building? Unbelievable.
Glad the honeymoon was “EPIC” as it should be!! Enjoy many years of happiness together! Lisa
Thanks so much, Lisa!
What an experience!! I am so not a hiker, but the views alone from this post would make me want to at least *try*. And, belated congratulations on your marriage!! xoxo
Gracias, Diana!
Great posts! You’re on the Cayo Scoop!
http://www.scoop.it/t/best-of-san-ignacio-cayo/p/2309514769/great-mayan-ruins-by-san-ignacio-belize-xunantunich
Fabulous! Thanks!
I was there last year.. it was a lot of fun! Except for all the heat and humidity. Probably my favorite ruins with the exception of Tikal.
Awesome! We were actually deciding between touring Xunantunich and Tikal (they’re relatively close). We opted for the former because we were told we needed sneakers for Tikal because it’s so huge, and my sneakers were still soaked through from swim-hiking the awesome ATM Mayan caves the previous day. Someday, Tikal, someday!
Love the photos! We’ll definitely have to make a point of visiting Xunantunich. You made it look so inviting – well, minus the walking part
Thanks! Well good thing now you know not to try to walk from San Ignacio, so that saved you a few hours and some sunburns. Once you cross the river on the ferry, it’s about a mile more to walk up the hill to the actual ruins, but that’s no problem, and it really is just a mile!
Love it! What an adventure! Brought back memories of visiting Chichen Itza and climbing the pyramid (clutching for dear life onto a rusted large chain) years ago. At the top was a small temple with sacrificial alter, and a vista of jungle in every direction. While at the site I was careful to drink bottled water, but mindlessly ate raw veggies washed with local water. Back in Cancun, the next two days were spent in my hotel bathroom! My friends who never left the topless beach that week laughed, but years later I have the better story.
HAH!!!!
Hi Lilie,
This sentence sound so familiar! When I travelling I always hear local said “Oh yes, you can walk to the (somewhere). It’s not far,”
However, usually end up exhausted!
Nice sharing! Will see when I will have chance to visit the place
Cheer!
Thanks!
Well, I’m actually used to the opposite response in walking-phobic America. Usually I hear, “Oh my gosh, there’s NO WAY you can walk there. It’s too far!” and then it ends up being a 10-minute stroll!
Know precisely what you mean, Lillie. A septuagenarian native Belizean and friend, Carol Gill, recalls a childhood growing up in Belize — everyone walked EVERYWHERE. A healthy & sensible part of life that is lost on many North Americans, unfortunately.
Yes, I’m always so inspired seeing the fitness of older generations in other countries!