Rio Frio and Caracol

Our last Sunday at San Antonio, one of the volunteer's family set up a private tour of the famous Rio Frio and Caracol for our group. This day was the most memorable since I my stay in Belize so far. Rio Frio is ancient Mayan cave used for religious rites - they believed the caves was the lower level of the underworld and sacred. This cave was huge and beautiful - filled with stalactites. The journey into the cave was not as arduous as Saint Herman Cave. The ceiling was high and the path was not as rocky. I still held on to a few people (Roger, a fellow volunteer, Frederico, our language instructor, and the guide, Augusto)

Caracol, the second largest Mayan ruin in Belize, located in the deep jungles of Cayo District and not far from San Antonio. The ride there presented a changing scenery from rain forest to pine-filled mountains and the majority of the road rocky and narrow. Over forty miles in total,

the last twenty-two miles from the Mountain Pine Park entrance to the ruins, the rode was treacherous crossing over low bridges and shallow creeks. We stopped at the military station to register and pick up a military escort for our final lap into the ruins. The government placed military guards with guns at the site because of its close proximity to the Guatemalan border and the past incidences of tourists being attacked and robbed. Once we got to the hiking path, the guide gave us water and snacks under a shaded canopy. There were more guards at the site. The hiking path was lovely with beautiful trees and relatively smooth and flat. The guide described the variety of species of plants and trees. Once we got to the ruins, the site was spectacular. I had no intention of climb

ing to the summit but peer pressure was tremendous. I finally consented and began my arduous step by step, knee to hand crawl. After reaching the second level, I looked up to a forty-five degree view of the top level and said to myself, "NO WAY." But, again, peer pressure and the cheering from the group motivated me to continue. When I finally got to the top, I stood up and looked around and my breath was taken away with the view. I felt like I stood on top of the world, seeing beyond the jungle, rain forest, to the next mountain ranges.

It was so worth it...until I had to make the descent...the guys

watched over me as I crawled butt first down each step. On the walk back to the car, the guide continue to show us more ruins, described the rituals, practices, sports, and daily living activities the ancient Mayans lived during their times here is Caracol, a city of 100,000 at the height of their civilization. As an anecdote the guide gave us, the word, Mayan, came about when the Spaniards came to Central America and met these people. The Spaniards asked them where the gold was. The Mayan for many years abandoned the use of gold in exchange for Jade and, thus, had no gold. The Mayan response to the Spaniards was, "Mayan, we have no gold."