We took another weekend trip to a Mayan ruin - Lamanai.  To get there we had to take a 26 mile rive trip.  It felt like being a part of a James Bond boat chase.  We say some incredibly beautiful greenery and interesting animals.  We even saw a crocodile going after an iguana in the river.  The iguana survived. 

Danny is ready for the river ride...

This bird is nocturnal and was totally asleep when we
took this picture.

Views of the New River.

Can you spot the iguana????

Here he is......

Danny feeding "Happy" the spider
monkey.

Yum....Yum.....Yum.....slirp

Is there any more????

Thanks for seconds.

I'm finished.....bye.

Where is the iguana???

Here he is...

After 26 miles on the river, we arrived at Lamanai.

First we hiked through the jungle to the Mask Temple. 

The vines growing on the trees are amazing!

So, I asked "Why do they call it horse balls?".
I was told to look at the fruit the tree bears.

These Belizeans are nothing if not precise in their naming of trees!!  LOL

Here is the view from the top.
The guy in the blue shirt is our guide, Wentworth.

Another short hike to the Temple of Rain God (Cha-ak).  Until very recently, the only way to the top (110 feet up) was to walk up at a 79 degree angle holding onto a rope. Fortunately, they very recently replaced this path with a set of stairs up the side of the structure.  Otherwise, I never would have gotten to the top.  Of course, Danny was disappointed that he couldn't scale the front of the structure.  He's such a dare-devil. 

I thought these roots looked like snakes.

I can't remember the name of these
fruits, but they are absolutely
delicious.

The big central stairway was the one that had to be scaled with a rope in order to get up to the top.  There was no way I was going to do that!!!

Here is the view from above.

Here are the breathtaking views of the area from the top of the temple.  Well worth the climb.

I did it!!!  Fear of heights be darned!!!

These are trumpet leaves and were
smoked by the Mayans like tobacco
is smoked now.

Mom and Danny at the top of the temple.

Here are the royal residences.

The royal residences were built around a courtyard.

This is the view of the Jaguar Temple from the courtyard.

This has a Mayan calendar carved on it.

A grinding stone.

It is amazing that these limestone structures are still
standing.

This beautiful bird was singing to us.

On the ride back up the river.

Here are some beautiful flowers that grow in our yard here.

We have very little time left here on the island, but we are still staying active.  We have another snorkeling trip planned and, hopefully, Danny will be going deep sea fishing this week.  Packing will also start tomorrow. UGH!!  I'll still be adding to the blog, so don't stop reading yet.

Love, Margy & Danny