Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 13th
James was kind enough to sleep until noon so we had a chance for a mom-daughter day. We began this day by trying to find breakfast, which we eventually found at a diner called Pop’s though we had to drive around the old section of town for a while for something open and also not fancy. The older section of San Ignacio appears to have been built on the side of several hills so that the houses and cramped buildings all lean in, or at least they appear to as one slides by.
When we first walked into Pop’s, I noticed that a broad leaf had been framed and hung prominently over the kitchen door and for a second I thought I might be back in Colorado. But it turned out to be Chaya or Tree Spinach. The main difference from spinach being that it grows on a “tree” (i.e. bush), is even more nutritional, and will poison you if eaten raw or if cooked in aluminum, apparently. Something about a toxic reaction and diarrhea. Good thing the Mayans didn’t have ultralight cookware.
Chaya is also called “the Maya miracle plant.” Sometimes I wonder about the whole “[people group/region] miracle plant” thing. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just that the only other stuff they had to eat was just less miraculous. Just take berries, for example. There are tons of berries that are called “miracle” or “super” fruits. If all I had to eat was corn and squash and then I found a raspberry bush, I’d think it was a miracle too. Maybe the miracle is that it tastes good without having to work. I guess it might be antioxidants but my money’s on sugar.
Chaya might not have sugar but at least it took less work. It grows pretty easily, is ridiculously easy to harvest, and is easy to cook so long as you don’t use the aluminum. And since they didn’t even have aluminum back in the day, that was easy to remember. Anyway, they put some chaya in the scrambled eggs in my fry jack and it did indeed taste like spinach.
The next place on our itinerary was Xunantunich – whose pronunciation pretty much begins in China and ends in Germany, which doesn’t feel fair. Like most site names, it was given in modern times (since no ones knows the ancient names) and means “sculpture of lady” in the Maya language which is a little misleading since there is no sculpture of a lady at the site. The “stone lady” is a ghost Maya lady with red eyes that, beginning in 1892, several people claim to have seen either at the base of El Castillo or ascending the stairs of El Castillo and then disappearing into a wall.
Sadly, we did not see this stone lady despite it being Mother’s Day. The stone temples were able to make up for it, though. Xunantunich inhabits a much smaller area than Tikal (about 1 sq mile) but that made it more manageable for an afternoon. Historically, it had a relatively short burst of prominence from AD 700 to 1000. Apparently it was rising while other sites were waning in the Terminal Classic (AD 800-900) and Early Postclassic (AD 900-1000) periods and then it fizzled out as well.
El Castillo is the most well-known building on the site. It looks like a giant temple (40m/131ft tall) but was actually used as a dwelling and administrative building as well. I couldn’t exactly see where people would have slept or do anything besides walk up stairs since it looks like a giant stack of blocks but I’m guessing there must be either more chambers lower down or it had lots of thatch and wood roofs on the upper decks.
After spending a considerable quantity of time in the little museum, Mom and I wondered around El Castillo for a while and eventually settled on the top to enjoy the view over the rest of the site. But on the way down we were shaken from our revelry of by-gone eras and their grandeur by a terrible roaring sound emanating from the jungle trees around us. Naturally, being tourists, we hurried over in hopes of getting a closer look at the horrible creatures responsible for the noise.
I’m pretty sure the sound was made by baby t-rex’s that had crawled up into the trees and gotten stuck. Some people had the idea that it was howler monkey’s but the sound was obviously not howling. It was roaring. But some people are gullible and believe whatever the guide says…the same “guide” who had guided his group right under the tree with the t-rex’s for the purpose of antagonizing them. Apparently, they are very shy creatures and roar whenever tourists get near.
To prove my zoological identification skills, just listen to the video clips. Video 1 even indicates that one of baby t-rex’s is named Sara though in video 2 the roaring is a little more distinct.
We spent a few hours at the site, taking photos and chasing iguanas, until we felt we should go see if James had woken up. Before closing, I should just mention that Xunantunich is guarded by the river Mopan and that no automobile may cross without the aid of the kind ferrymen who stand guard at the river awaiting travelers. The ferry only fits 4 cars at a time and only moves about 20 feet to get to the other side but it’s a good exercise in precise parking. I’m proud to say that the ferryman complimented me as a “good driver.” Some jealous persons might point out that he only said that after I had given him $5 but I don’t see how that plays in. There is no set fee to cross but everyone knows that it is always good practice to give ferrymen, trolls, and anyone guarding a bridge a little tip when crossing. Fairytales must be our guiding lights when it comes to crossing rivers.
We arrived back at the temporary home by late afternoon. James was awake and hungry and so we dashed off again to get dinner at crowded little place called Ko-Ox Han Nah (let’s go eat). Mostly tourists (i.e. backpackers) but pretty good food. If you wonder what the bags of water hanging by the door are, save the staff the trouble of answering that question again. Apparently, they’re to keep away the flies.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much nightlife – perhaps because it was Sunday. So we went back to our Airbnb and then my mom touched a frog that she thought was fake. They both seemed shocked by the encounter as their eyes were equally wide. So ended and an exciting Mother’s Day in San Ignacio.