Caracol Mayan Ruins

Yes I did make it all the way on my second attempt, this time as a happy passenger.  Rob drove five of us van travelers in his  four wheel drive van a Mercedes Sprinter of course . 

We aired down when we got off the asphalt and he never engaged four wheel drive on the 60 mile trip. He showed me how to use the tool that I also own but never had much confidence in when taking air out of the tires. He went down to 25 pounds on each all terrain tire. 

Rob softened his aftermarket Falcon shock absorbers and drove confidently at 25 to 30 miles per hour over ground I crawled along the previous day at ten miles per hour. I should have air down when we drove this road! 

I suppose I should point out that upon inspection the section of road that had persuaded me to turn back wasn’t as bad as it looked. Layne said, with some justification that had we been in Mexico getting help had we got stuck would have been a chance to meet new friends and party whereas in Belize it would have been an opportunity to scalp us so not risking it was we believe, still the wise choice. I have to say I was delighted to be a passenger and listen to Rob dealing with the potholes. That section see from below driving back. Not so bad. 

The drive was uneventful but did get wooded and prettier the closer we got to Caracol.

Caracol was discovered in 1938 by a logger looking for sky table mahogany. He informed the resident British Archaeologist who brought a professor from the University of Pennsylvania to explore the site. Later the university paid to have the last ten miles to the site paved -no idea why!- and much of that pavement is still there. 

And it is being prepared for widening and proper paving. In two years the road is expected to be widened and surfaced and ready for serious traffic. Belize is in competition now with Tikal in hostile Guatemala to cash in on tourist dollars. 

Entry to the park is $7:50 US per person and the ticket clerk told me he works ten days and lives here then gets four days off at home. It is an isolated spot powered with solar and no cell or WiFi signals naturally. 

I asked if dogs were allowed, a question which confused the clerk and I was left with the impression that there is no prohibition but the question flustered him as he said there were a lot of visitors yesterday. I would have leashed Rusty and walked him in with a big smile and no fuss but I was simply seeking information as Rusty and Loki (Rob and Mandy’s dog) were back at San Miguel Campground with Layne who volunteered to stay behind with them. She knew I really wanted to see Caracol. And I did. 

You are completely free to walk climb and inspect anything anywhere with no restrictions. I can guarantee in a few years when the paved road is completed all that will change. I expect hotels and eco lodges rules and regulations. If you want to see Caracol before that happens lane your trip now. I loved it. 

It’s a small area that is still mostly to be uncovered. 95% of this city of 200,000 people is yet to be logged and cleared. You could walk all of the public area of Caracol in a half hour if you ignored the magnificence. But of course none of us did. 

Mayan culture is a giant black hole. People confidently tell us about Mayan ceremonies and label buildings but I have never seen too much energy devoted to talking about Mayan life.  The museum at Chetumal was a great help and I directed our traveling companions to check it out but these vast impressive monuments don’t talk. 

There is no coherent explanation for the name of this place. “Caracol” means snail or spiral in Spanish. Some say the man who discovered this place thought the approach road required a roundabout route which makes no sense today. Others say the Mayans had a spiral view of life and death similar to a conch shell.  Neither explanation makes sense to me but that’s my problem.  

You’ve heard of Tikal in Guatemala and the Government of Belize is determined to match their fame. This place is going to become known do I was doubly keen to get here now. A thousand years ago Caracol was in life and death struggle with its rival Tikal but in the end around 1250AD Caracol won and Tikal started its decline while Caracol became ascendant. Yet nowadays Guatemala is taking in the big bucks just fifty miles from here. 

It was no easy thing to climb these buildings. I climbed the tallest and came to the conclusion the Maya must have been eight feet tall. The steps are huge, so I took them one at a time  thanking god  I had my walking stick to lean on as I stepped up. Thank you Mandy of @Out_of_Ipswich, co-pilot of the 4x4 Sprinter van for the photo of me concentrating on climbing the main Caana building. 

A fine place for a rest with splendid views. 

Rob our driver strolling up. Oh to be 35 again! 

The views. 

There’s a hidden city out there slowly being cut back by archaeologists led by the University of Central Florida. 

Guatemala is just a few miles over there, and they think this is their turf. There are armed Belizean troops on the grounds as we shall see. 

Like I said you can wander anywhere at will. It felt like an immense privilege, completely unsupervised. I loved the trust implied by such bureaucratic generosity. 

One employee led me to this tomb and in  I went.  

Damp cool dark and silent. 

The employee in question is shown below in the maroon shirt running down the steps in clumsy rubber boots. 

There were soldiers scattered around in pairs. Bandits crossed from Guatemala early this century and threatened researchers employees and tourists in this National Park that abuts the border itself. 

For a few years the Army escorted visitors each morning and convoyed vehicles back out each afternoon but that’s no longer necessary.  I found it reassuring to see soldiers quietly keeping an eye on things. 

For some reason Maya civilization collapsed in 950AD after a couple of thousand years of building a civilization across Guatemala, Belize and Southern Mexico. Then they packed up and disappeared. The leading theory says they ran out of water. By the time the Spaniards arrived with loot on their minds these cities were covered in forests and forgotten. Just another mystery. 

Below I took a photo through the trees to the South Acropolis standing next to the Mayan water reservoir. That’s the area of bright green weeds in the foreground. 

The South Acropolis is two buildings facing each other. 

One of the guides is the great grandson of Rosa Mai the logger who first saw these ruins in 1938. The story below I found on caracol.org. 

Below you can see our starting point at San Miguel Campground and our destination. You can also see Tikal and the Guatemalan border which is a dotted line as it’s in dispute officially as Guatemala claims Belize. 

I added a topographic representation to show the hills. Most of the area is around 1700 feet across what is called the Pine Mountain Ridge. Temperatures last night after a rainstorm fell to the mid 60s, good sleeping in a van! Blancaneaux is a Francis Ford Coppola resort  and very nice it is too with its own airstrip at $600 a night if you need to sleep in luxury. 

Layne had made me a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch and we sat down to eat after the walking and climbing and playing. 

Caracol is isolated but there were quite a few visitors who braved the gruesome road including our van.  

It’s a tidy civilized spot that greets you to this wonderful place, a pleasant surprise after the rough lonely road. 

And there it is, the elderly paved road crumbling away for the first ten miles back. 

It was a rainy dreary day. 

I struggled to get a few panoramic shots from the passenger seat of the Sprinter. I found the seat not very comfortable compared to my Promaster. 

We drove to Blancaneaux Lodge a few miles past the entrance to our campground. 

The plan was to have a pizza night. Layne wanted olives and Italian sausage; it was delicious. 

I had a glass of Coppola Chardonnay as I waited. I caught Mandy and Rob in the background waiting for their pepperoni pie. 

It’s a nice place if you want to drink the money. The WiFi is fast and a huge generator feeds all the usual middle class comforts we see as luxuries in these isolated spots. 

We went home to San Miguel at $30 US for the two of us for one night. We had pizza, a campfire and mescal and conversation as the rain came down on our awning. 

A great day. I don’t usually recommend destinations but this one I do and soon. It will be a great memory.