Belize City, Belize

In Belize we went with our friends to see the Lamanai Ruins. We spent over an hour in a van to get to our boat. We traveled up the New River towards the ruins. There was wild life along the way. Below are just a few pictures of what we saw.

 One of the most incredible things were the lilly pads with flowers growing everywhere along the river.

 The locals call this the "Jesus Christ Bird" because it appears to walk on water.

 A blue heron. We also saw bright white storks.

 Yes, even crocodiles.

 This is called snake cactus.

 These are locals transporting mahogany wood down river. They use it for the red dye.

We passed quite a few fisherman. No fishing poles needed. They use their hands to hold the fishing line and are obviously successful.

 After the boat ride, we ate a quick lunch before our tour guide led us through the ruins. Researchers have estimated over 700 structures found at this location. Only 9 of them have been uncovered so far. It is believed that this is where the Jaredities lived and the people of Jershon were located of which we read of in the Book of Mormon. 

This is called the Mask Temple. What is interesting about these ruins, is that they are built in layers. As new populations arrived they would build on top of the old, thus getting closer to their God. You can see the layers pretty good in this shot.  

This is a 13 foot stone mask of an ancient Mayan King.

 Here are three different civilization's entrance steps. Once a king died, was buried in the stairs, and a new set of stairs was build on top of the old for the new ruler.

This is called the High Temple.  

The steps were very steep, therefore a rope is in the center part to help with balance.

 The view from the top of the High Temple. You can see where the New River runs into the ocean. I now understand how the people could see their enemies long before they arrived.

Boy it was a long way back down!

We took our time and made it down no problem. Up top their was a wonderful breeze. Each step climbing back down the air grew hotter and more humid. We were all dripping by the time we finished.

 Another structure yet to be discovered.

 Up in the trees there were several Howler monkeys who were very noisy as we were nearby. They have made Lamanai their home.



This is a residence - the flat stone would have been covered with something soft to sleep on.  

This is the Jaguar Temple.  

The Jaguar symbol on the lower portion of each side of the Temple.

It was a well spent day!