Today, I wanted to switch gears a bit and share more about our day in Belize. Chris and I have always wanted to see (and climb on) Mayan ruins, so it was a priority for us to find an excursion with a ruins visit. We picked the
Belize river cruise and Lamanai Mayan Ruins because it seemed like a great way to see as much of Belize as possible.
The minute we stopped off the boat (
which was a huge relief after that crazy ride!), I knew I was going to like this tour. The whole area was lush, and our tour guide was both interesting and informative. One of my favorite facts was that the name Lamanai means “submerged crocodile,” which makes sense since there are crocodiles in the river by the ruins! The hardest part was that they told us to wear long sleeves and bug spray because of all the bugs, but it was super hot…and I still got a massive bite on my toe.
We visited the Mask Temple, Jaguar Temple, and High Temple. We learned about Mayan life, and the boys climbed to the top of the High Temple. I really wanted to do it, but my toe was killing me at that point…and I’m glad I didn’t because it started pouring as soon as they got halfway up (and I was on the ground under cover).
Other than the temples, it was interesting to walk through an area that was once a sprawling city but is now covered in forest. Our guide pointed out that the majority of the ruins were still unexcavated, and we walked by several places we didn’t know were building until our guide pointed them out.
At one stop we were shown a court where the Mayan’s played a game like a cross of basketball and soccer. Though legend has it that the losing team was executed, our guide assured us that the Mayans at this complex did not follow this practice. While at the court we got to see some of the local “wildlife”— the boat driver snuck up on the group with a five-inch hairy tarantula in his palm!
Our trip to the Lamanai Ruins made us eager to explore more Mayan ruins in the future. We are definitely hoping to book a similar excursion on our next cruise!
Catch up on our New Year's Caribbean Cruise:
Beautiful!! I love travel posts and travel in general and Belize is on my list of places to visit since i have friends who have visited there! Great photos girlie and glad you had a great time and got to visit such a great place.
ReplyDeleteAaaah spiders terrify me and I probably would have fainted at the sight of that tarantula! My husband and I went to Mexico last year and we were super close to the Mayan ruins in Tulum. I am kicking myself for not going to see them!
ReplyDeletethis sounded fun until the tarantula!! no thank you! lol
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I love that top.
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! There are so many places on my travel wish list and you just keep giving me more ideas!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible place! We really want to explore Mayan ruins one of these days!
ReplyDeleteIt's so incredibly lush!!! Amazing how long the ruins have been around! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteYou, missy, in your straw hat are too, too adorable!!! Love the pictures!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Belize but would love to go. Ruins are fascinating to see in person. Looks like you had a great time!
ReplyDeleteOMG so jealous! These pictures are absolutely amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! You are too cute in that hat. I definitely need to make this port a priority. Those ruins are incredible. :)
ReplyDeleteWOOOOWWWW. I have a travel crush on this post :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! And I LOVE your top!
ReplyDeleteLooks really similar to the ruins in Copan, Honduras. Less rundown, though. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh this looks so fun! It's amazing that they'll let you walk and crawl all over them! So cool! I'm so big into archaeology and I could stay there for days!
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