On top of the (Mayan) world at Xunantunich

It was late in the afternoon on Thursday as we stood atop “El Castillo,” the soaring temple at the heart of the Mayan ruins known as Xunantunich. The Stone Lady. From the rainforest and Mopan River below, an ethereal mist was rising to meet the low gray clouds. A slight drizzle and hint of breeze repelled the dank humid air that hugged the ground, some 130 feet below.

We were the only three people amid the ruins – Rose, me and Hector Mar, our new friend from nearby San Ignacio and guide for the afternoon. We savored the stillness from atop the second tallest structure in all of Belize. (The tallest is also a Mayan temple.)
Suddenly, from the west, arose the sound we’ve been talking about and aching to hear since deciding to come to Belize – the howler monkeys.
If you’ve not heard them, these monkeys unleash a full, deep-throated roar that sounds like the wail of fresh souls condemned to hell. I’m not exaggerating. Search for “howler monkey”” on YouTube and feel the chills.
For a good ten minutes this band of howlers, hidden in the rainforest just beyond the western edge of Xunantunich, bellowed back and forth. Were they sending out mating calls or challenging each other or defending their turf? Hard to say. But the sound is haunting, even from high above.
The experience at Xunantunich was capping an absolutely incredible day in which we’d taken a full immersion course in the secret beauty of San Ignacio, found an excellent cup of coffee, checked out some great deals on houses and even opened a bank account at Belize International Bank.
More on that later. For now I’m going to share some images from Xunantunich, which is between San Ignacio and the Guatemala border. You can see the border crossing and the Guatemala frontier from atop El Castillo. The site is 80 miles from Belize City.
The core of the city of Xunantunich was about one square mile and it was serviced by many farms in the area surrounding it. So much of the site has still to be uncovered. “It will never be done in our lifetimes,” said Hector.
Hector never mentioned that the name Xunantunich or Stone Lady was inspired by the ghost of a woman dressed in white who is sometimes seen walking in the upper reaches of El Castillo. She disappears into the stone. The woman was first spotted sometime in the late-1800s. Another guide that I met just this morning grew up in a little village beside the entrance to the ruins. His father was caretaker of Xunantunich for more than 25 years.
Did his father ever see the ghost?
“Yes,” said Carlos Panti gravely, “many times. The story is true.”
Standing up there, listening to howler monkeys and watching the mist rise from the rainforest, it felt as if a thousand ghosts might rise up at any minute from beneath Xunantunich.







September 6, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Just beautiful Bob. Love your adventures!
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September 6, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Thanks so much!
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September 6, 2013 at 6:20 pm
Tomorrow I’ll look up the eerie howl of the howler monkeys but tonight, simply thank you! Thank you for sharing your journey and adventure with us. May you and Rose have a beautiful day tomorrow celebrating her birthday. Happy Birthday Rose!
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September 6, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Thank you Hillary! And you made Rose so happy. We’re at the Turtle Inn in Placencia now. Tomorrow we start with morning yoga, some paddle boarding if the ocean is calm followed by bicycling around the town. Rose will be getting a massage tomorrow afternoon for her birthday. We loved the pictures of everyone from camp — you 80’s girls looked — totally — like, um, hot! Great costumes and floats!
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September 6, 2013 at 10:08 pm
A Birthday in Belize!!! What could be better??? Enjoy every moment!
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September 6, 2013 at 10:14 pm
I’ll pass on the greetings, Robin. This should be pretty unforgettable as far as birthdays for 35 year old women go. …
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September 7, 2013 at 8:38 am
[…] around the cribbage board, Hector Mar pulled up in his pickup truck for our trip to Xunantunich, which I wrote about yesterday. As we left with hearty handshakes and well-wishes all around, David flashed an impish grin and […]
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