Tikal, Xunantunich and others

The last days I have been traveling a little around the country and surroundings. Concretely, I moved to San Ignacio (Cayo District), and from there I went to Guatemala to visit Tikal, one of the most relevant mayan sites (a dream come true). Simply unbelievable! I also visited the mayan ruins of Xunantunich, in Belize, the Belize Botanical Gardens and the Actún-Tunichil Muknal cave (a cave ith mayan archeology inside, including human skeletons from sacrifices). Enjoy some of the pictures! Sorry for the lack of pictures from the cave, cameras were not allowed.

Mayan gecko.

Tikal's Gran Plaza.

Temples raising above the canopy, in Tikal.

El Castillo, in Xunantunich.

Ya'axché

But what does Ya'axché mean? Ya'axché is the mayan queck'chi name for the ceiba tree. This tree grows very very tall, and its wood is good for the construction of canoes, but almost nothing else, as it is very light.

The very lightness of its timber means it is the most difficult one to throw down when hurricanes come. That is the reason why most of the trees that grow higher than the rest of the canopy in Southern Belize are Ya'axché trees: the ones that survive the strike of the last big hurricane.

Hence, this tree symbolizes strength and endurance. It also had an important meaning in the old mayan mithology. According to these believes, the upper world was sustained on top of our world by four ya'aché trees, located in the four cardinal points, and which roots connected also with the underworld.

Ya'axché overgrown with epiphytes.

Sunday morning jam session

PG cultural life: Sunday morning Jam in Driftwood Café, yesterday. Starring: Emmeth Young & Friends n the drums, and the previously unknown sax player from New Orleans.

Warm-up.

Introducing drum-master Emmeth Young.

F#dim6add or Dº7?

Gimme more drums!

Ya'axché in the Whitley Awards 2012

The video that was presented in the Whitley Awards 2012, where Lisel Alamilla (previous Executive Director, now Minister of Environment) was recognized for her work and Ya'axché's in favor of conservation in Belize.

But the best part, no doubts, is hearing Mr. David Attenborough talking about your organization!