Altun Ha

The Maya were a Mesoamerican civilization famed for their architecture, art, mathematics, and astronomical studies. Maya history divides into three key periods:

1. Preclassic period (2,000BC to 250 AD) was characterized by sedentary communities and the introduction of pottery. The first large cities featured paved avenues with stelae standing in major plazas. Population in the hundreds of thousands.
   
   
2. Classic period (250-950AD) was the zenith when major agriculturally intensive city-states engaged in trade, alliances, and warfare. Elaborate palaces and pyramids became widespread as did hieroglyphic monuments to their rulers. Population of 7 to 11 million.
   
   
3. Postclassic period (950-1539AD) was one of decline as many Classic cities collapsed and influence shifted to the Yucatán. Root causes appear to be a combination of drought, brutal warfare, and environmental degradation prior to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Population between 3 to 5 million.

6 million of their modern descendants inhabit their ancestral lands and speak over 28 surviving languages. The cities collapsed but the people never disappeared.

Altun Ha was the first Belizean ruin we visited and its main temple is also used on the Belikin beer label. Large portions of this site have yet to be excavated while some areas have had their stones appropriated for nearby residential construction. Popular with cruise ship tourists lacking time to go deeper into the country, it was an impressive ruin and a first taste of the splendour of Mayan architecture yet to come.

The picture above may look like a stairway up a hill with a tree on top, but its actually an un-excavated temple which has been swallowed up by the jungle. If you ever wonder how these cities were lost, google what they looked like BEFORE they were identified and cut back, its incredible how easily the jungle can make a grand pyramid 55m tall just disappear into the landscape.

Crawlies of Belize

Of course Belize wasn't all pyramids, rain forest and birds, there are lots of little creatures living out their lives underfoot whenever and wherever you go. Mexican red-rump tarantulas are quite common in the area and we got nice pictures of this one as it was crossing a gravel road out in the countryside. Unbeknownst to tourists, they make readily identifiable burrows in short grass and guides throughout the area can quickly winkle them out just by disturbing their lair with a piece of grass for a few seconds.

Many of you may get the heebie-jeebies from spiders, so you'll be glad to know that there are insects down there that give the heebe-jeebies TO spiders. Take for example this Milde's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp, which looks colourful to us but is a nightmare to tarantulas. The reproductive cycle of the wasp requires that the female sting a live tarantula, which paralyses it, and then drag it to its den. There the spider serves as a living meal for the young implanted in that that gradually eat their way out. But don't worry, these wasps are necatarivorous, living entirely off flowers and only supplementing a small part of their diet from your nightmares.

Hermit crabs were quite common on the grounds of Steven's condo complex and we went out several evenings to watch them scurry around at night while mosquitoes (not pictured) would feast on us. Hermit crabs are very neat since they don't produce their own shells but rather scavenge discarded shells of other animals and trade-up as they grow and require a larger home. This can result in a "vacancy chain" as they hand shells down the line from largest to smallest with everyone getting an upgrade to the preceding crabs old digs. Spending more time on land than you might expect, the shells also help keep their gills humid so they can breathe out of the water.

Cahel Pech

Located in the heart of modern San Ignacio, Cahel Pech was once a palatial hilltop home for an elite Maya family. Overlooking the junction of the Macal and Mopan rivers, the site includes 34 excavated structures, including ballcourts and a central acropolis arranged around a pyramid 25m high. Originally covering 26 square kilometres, only a fraction has been examined and artifacts remain common on the ground in the surrounding area.

Like so many cities of the Maya period its original name is lost, with Cahel Pech meaning “Place of Ticks” from when the area was used as pasture during the first archaeological studies in the 1950s. Unfortunately, looting in the 1970s left a gap in potential scientific understanding no stelae or writing have since been recovered. Official  excavation of the site began in 1988 and was completed in 2000.  
There is evidence of continuous habitation as early as 1,200 BC, making it one of the oldest recognizable Maya sites in Western Belize, until it too was victim of the Mayan collapse around 800AD. At the peak of Maya civilization, this site would have been home to as many as 15,000 people.

Having a site such as this in easy walking distance from our hotel was a real treat, and since its a lesser-known ruin we practically had it to ourselves. Although the view from the top of the pyramid largely obscured by trees and therefore less impressive than others, the lines and design of the plaza entrance were incredibly unique and interesting to me.

 

Crooked Tree

66 square kilometres of lagoons, creeks, log wood swamps, and pine savanna were set aside in 1998, providing sanctuary to some 300 bird species which call the area home. Crooked Tree Village was settled in 1750, one of the earliest inland European settlements in the country, in the search of numerous different natural dyes produced by plants in the log wood forest. Today a small Creole population of 600 still call the area home, supplementing tourist income with fishing and cattle ranching.

The only sensible way to see diverse wildlife in a wetland is by boat. Fortunately the hotel we stayed at was very active with bird watching by boat and we booked a morning excursion. Despite a brief setback with some persistent early rain we had a great time peering for raptors and herons amidst the greenery.

Snail kites, their incredibly curved bills specialized specifically for eating apple snails, were a constant presence overhead, though their dark colour and the muted skies made for challenges getting a nice exposure.

Crooked Tree is also famous for its wading birds, such as this Green Heron (...shown below not wading...) and there were numerous egrets and other species of heron in the area. Crooked Tree is famous for its Jabiru storks, the largest waders in the Americas, but we were unlucky in spotting any.

The only downside was that, once we were off the boat, there was little to do in the area making our stay a brief one overall as the regional trails were too wet to enjoy a hike, and the Morelet's Crocodiles we had seen on the outing were small but still took the wind out of a more spontaneous trek around.

Introduction to Belize

We spent 2 weeks in Belize, a small Central American country. Kathryn's brother Steven has been living there for the last five years so we were overdue for a visit. Our time was roughly divided into thirds with a portion in the western interior near the Guatemalan border, a portion along the centre and eastern coast, and a portion on the island of Ambergris Caye.

Despite being a small country, Belize has a fairly diverse population. Once a Spanish colony (before Britain took over in 1840 and Independence in 1981), Hispanics remain the largest demographic group, with a sizable Creole population making up the next largest group. Originally a collection of Maya city states, the indigenous people still make up around 10% of the population with a combination of Europeans and Asians rounding out the group.

The motto of the nation, which they believe strongly enough to print directly on the flag is "Sub umbra floreo," which means, "Under the shade I flourish."

Another unique cultural group are the Garifuna, a people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry which originated on the island of Saint Vincent. Much of the populace were transplanted to Central America in 1796 after a series of conflicts with the English known as the Carib Wars. 

The Garifuna language is an offshoot of Arawak with numerous European influences and in 2001 was declared, along with their music and dances, to be a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible History of Humanity” by UNESCO.

 Interestingly, Belize is not only the most sparsely populated country in Central America, but it is unique for having a far higher population 800 years ago at the peak of the Mayan empire than it does today.

Christmas in Courtenay

My parents bought a townhouse in Courtenay on Vancouver Island in 2024 and this was our second family Christmas out there. For those of you that have never been to the Island, its a stunning mountainous landscape and in winter there's constantly steam and fog rising out from the forests.

There's only about 45 minutes of daylight where its not raining, but if you can be outside in that window its an excellent opportunity for a hike and some gorgeous landscapes.

Neighbouring Comox as an air force museum and, continuing the theme from our last post, they have an annual contest among the units on the base to see who can decorate the preserved aircraft outside in the best way. There were no wrong answers, but this plane with antlers and a red nose was certainly a strong contender for my vote. Kathryn has also really mastered night photography on her phone and got some incredible flares and streaks to bring some extra energy to this picture.

Of course the real Christmas Miracle was Wesley being the centre of attention and getting all the love he so richly deserves. He remains a pretty nervous traveller so bringing him there takes some effort but once he arrived he took right to it, clearly remembering the layout and the different people from his extended stay last year.

Seasonal Lights

Winter in Vancouver is long, dark, and rainy, so we are very grateful to the artists and creators that bring unexpected light and colour to our soggy grey-blue city every year.

Lumiere is a great example of precisely this sort of effort, with an 11-year track record of lighting events around downtown Vancouver. We have enjoyed them ever year and its been fun seeing it expand from a few lit up animals in our neighbourhood to a festival like we get now. This year they had an experience that included laser beams and lights on the trees also lighting up dry ice smoke being pumped through the air. The raindrops were similarly picked up by the light, making for a very cool experience.

While experiences are all well and good, we were very relieved to find some of our old favourites again this winter after an over-long hiatus. Although we miss having them in our area, we found Davie, Barclay, Luna, and Stanley scattered around downtown as well as this delightful squirrel (that you would be forgiven for mistaking for a fox)

At the top of our list of unexpected surprises was this dragon. Better still, there were enthusiastic people on hand saying "Would you like to ride the dragon and make it breathe fire?" Its design included a tractor seat beside a lever that would open and close the mouth and emit an audible belch of fire.

Other highlights for the evening were fire dancers, opera singers, bubble blowers, and a general sense that the city had come out of hibernation for a few hours. Not so bad for a dark winter night, and at least we don't have to shovel rain...

FWOOSH!!