Day 5: Second Day of Conference, Mayan Ruins

Macaw parrots at the ruins--we were fascinated by them!
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Journal Entry by Kyle Jorgensen

The day officially begins at midnight, so I guess that is where I will start. It was Guatemala’s turn to host the embajada or embassy, an all night party after dinner. It was a great party along with great Central America music, a piñata and of course a Congo line. As a result, I didn’t get too much sleep, although I did finally get to sleep in a bed because I had tracked down what room I was supposed to be staying in.

The Mayan Ruins.
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Breakfast came all too soon. It was the usual beans, eggs, ham and fruit that we have all come to expect from our Central American hosts and to appreciate to various degrees.

Today’s activity was a visit to some very large Mayan Ruins. We had a tour guide who spoke English! That certainly allowed us to learn more about the site. We toured the different parts of the ruins and saw the parts used by the commoners, royalty and all aspects of Mayan life. One place of interest was the structure where the Mayan people played a ‘ball game’. There were two sloping sides made of stone and three paraqueet heads on each side. Points were scored by hitting these heads with a seven pound ball. The ball was not allowed to touch the grassy part in between sloping sides because this would disturb the dead people below. The winners of course would be sacrificed. It seems that the most important people usually had the honour of being sacrificed in Mayan society.

The group on the ruins.
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Although a lot of the carvings had been worn away, we could still see some. On west facing walls, for example, there were skulls because the setting sun was associated with death. I guess a romantic sunset on the beach is more morbid than we thought. Stone blocks were also used to record history. To denote the order of the kings, a bar was worth five and a dot represented the number one. For example, three dots carved above two bars showed the thirteenth king. Many of the carvings were very ornate and complex, or downright crazy. Apparently the carvers ate hallucinogenic mushrooms and carved the patterns they saw in smoke.

Heading for some "Heaven on Earth" under an Acacia tree.
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We also learned about Cyprus trees. The gods lived in the branches, living mortals occupied the trunk and when Mayans died they went down to the roots. The trees we saw were massive, and the shade they provided was heaven on earth! I am certain that today was the hottest day so far, and the direct sunlight was threatening to kill the Canadians. Some of the ruins we climbed were very tall and I started to wonder if my legs would give out and I would suddenly get a very fast tour of the side of the ruins. Occasional shady areas were amazing and rocks have never made such a comfortable bed!

The Guatemalan cultural display.
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After touring the ruins and lunch, we went to a museum with other carvings and displays of Mayan society. We decided to walk back to the hotel because we thought that this would be faster than taking the bus because filling a bus on Central American time can take a very long time. We ended up being passed by all the busses and eventually being picked up by one on the way.

When we returned, it was indubitably time to go swimming. I tried to track down my roommates with the key, but to no avail, so I swam in the shorts I was wearing. Someone had put a bunch of balls in the pool, and we may have slightly damaged Canada’s reputation as a peaceful country as we threw them at each other.

Fire juggler.
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Afterwards, I tried to get into my room again, but with no luck. I gave up looking for my elusive roommates and tracked down someone with the master key. Dinner was scheduled for nine tonight, and the theme was prom night. We got all dressed up and went out for dinner fashionably late at 9:30. The Canadians were the only ones there. True to Central American timing, we finally ate at 11:30 after a cultural display from all the participating countries. We watched some traditional dances, some amazing fire jugglers and drummers, and a slightly suicidal Guatemalan with a box of fireworks on his head. It was a great show!