Day nine- Lamanai

Today we took a boat down the river to the Mayan ruins called Lamanai. It was an hour long boat ride in this man's little speed boat. The weather was perfect, the sun bright, and the wind kept the Mosquitos and heat off us. 

We saw these air plants growing like snakes on the tree branches everywhere. 

On the way the girls saw bats (I didn't), a snake (I didn't), and a Jesus bird that walks on lily pads (I did see that one!). 

While on the river as we pulled in to Lamanai we could see a man standing just barely above the jungle tree canopy. He had climbed to the top of the largest Mayan temple in the area. 

Leah convinced our guide to let us drive... Oh god. 

Once we docked we all listened to a talk from our guide as we ate bananas and sweet rolls. He also had five different jugs of fresh fruit juice! Papaya, pine apple, lime, mango, and watermelon. I should have grabbed a picture but I was slacking on the photography in favor of drinking watermelon juice. 

We did a hike through the jungle, stopping periodically for our guide to talk to us about various plants and trees. He handed around the leaves of one plant that smelled exactly like cinnamon when crushed. Another time we smelled some bark that smells like Christmas, like cloves and a slight citrus undertone. One of the ISL ladies says she uses it to burn in her house for the smell and also to cleanse the air. She uses it like I use sage to smudge my home. 

I'm deathly afraid of heights, but I managed zip lining just fine. Hiking to the top of the temples was a bit different though. I did fine on the smaller one, the jaguar temple. The very tall one however was pretty intense. At one point there's a rope we hang on to as we climb up. The stairs are very steep and slanted almost so it is too easy to fall. 

I made it to the top, took some pictures, then scooted my way down the stairs again. I even started feeling a little nauseous from the nerves! I wish I could have enjoyed the view more. It seems like it isn't that steep until you're standing at the top of the stairs looking down at the ground and tiny people below you. 

After an amazing lunch of homemade cole slaw, plantains, chicken, arroz, and more watermelon juice, we got some souvenir shopping done! I bought some post cards to send to my amazing donors and a statue of a Mayan goddess. 

Her name is Ixchel (ish-chel) and she is the only female Mayan god. She is the goddess of the moon, medicine, and the child-bringer. I absolutely had to have her. She is depicted everywhere as kneeling and holding an open flower in her hands with a snake crowning her head. 

The boat ride back was so relaxing. I read awhile and just enjoyed the wind and water. We passed by some guys in a little row boat fishing. They were showing off their catch and we have them some bananas. 

Tomorrow we get back to work with our last day of house visits!