Xunantunich, Cayo District Belize
Xunantunich, Cayo District Belize
Towering 130 above the landscape this ancient temple dominates the area. However the trip to this temple can be quite eventful. Our day started as we five adventurers from the U.S. with our Maya driver and guide boarded our Ford van for the trip to Xunantunich, one of the most famous temples in Belize. As we passed through the little town of San Ignacio we came to the river crossing. Needless to say it wasn't what I had expected.
The only way to cross the river was on a small, one vehicle ferry. As we entered the ferry I noticed that it wasn't tied securely to the bank and it floated away from the bank as we drove on to it. It was then that I noticed it was powered by a hand crank being operated by the ferry boat captain.
The river crossing was exciting but uneventful, having crossed to the other side we proceeded up the river bank and drove to the top of the hill and the temple. It was quite impressive sitting on the top of a mountain, the view from the top was rather spectacular, being high above the jungle we could see for miles. The site was cleared with a small picnic shelter nearby. It being nearly 1 PM, and not having had lunch we boarded the van for the trip back into town to find the closest restaurant.As we approached the river we noticed that there might be a problem as traffic was backed up on both sides of the river. A pick-up truck had tried to board the ferry, but when they drove onto the boat, the ferry started to moved,which spooked them. The driver did exactly the wrong thing as he applied the brakes , that action caused the ferry to move from the bank which resulted in the truck dropping off the edge of the ferry , sinking window deep into the water.
The locals had tied a chain to a truck parked on the road above the pick-up, but were having little success getting the pick-up out of the river.As this was all happening,suddenly there came the sound of two cars racing down the street towards the Saturday afternoon crowd that had gathered to watch. As they came racing towards the 100 or so people, some of them began to scatter, however one of the cars plowed into the crowd with bodies flying everywhere. It actually hit the chain that was attached to the pick-up truck,and flipped over on top of a child. After the car had rolled over the child ,he got up and ran off without a scratch. A couple other boys weren't so lucky as they lay silent on the road. Our tour guide stripped down to her underwear and dove into the water to help. The next thing we knew she was helping put one of the boys onto a piece of metal roofing that was being used a a stretcher and off they went to a hospital in Guatemala. No clothes and no passport.
It all turned out well as they boys survived and no one was killed. Our tour guide made it back safely wrapped in a bed sheet. Half starved, we finally had dinner at the hotel that evening.
Gary is a travel writer and photographer living in Sarasota,Florida. He has a website featuring more photos and articles and also markets products featuring some of his travel photos.
Posted by The Florida Hoosier at 1/28/2010 7:28 PM 
Categories: Belize
Tags: Mayan temples Maya Central America
Categories: Belize
Tags: Mayan temples Maya Central America
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