In the land of the mayas

Well, it is not easy always to find topics to write about. I can say that the previous two weeks have been very busy, getting used to my new position and its myriad details and secrets... because this project is not as small as it seemed at first sight. But it is extremely engaging, in any case!

As I have mentioned, the level of occupation has prevented me from taking pictures or doing a lot of things around... so I have decided to, simply, look around to discover what to write about. Or simply, the people I work with, the Kec'chi mayas. The descendants of the once-almighty maya civilization, which ruled in most of Mesoamerica for almost 2000 years.

Even though the causes for the decline of this culture are still uncertain, it is generally assumed not to have been a dominant power after the uprising of the aztec civilization. However, particularly in the most remote areas of the Yucatán peninsula, some cities and groups remained. These were the groups that opposed more fiercely to the Spanish invasion of the area, and actually succeeding in keeping the spanish conquerors away, a circumstance that kept free the territory that eventually became Belice. This favored the settlement of pirates and british loggers in the coast, and the full area became for many years a dark spot in the spanish dossier of conquests, and finally becoming a British colony only in the late 18th century.

Nowadays, the mayas are peaceful and charming people, and they take big slice of the Belizean pie of cultural groups. And even thought they don't combat courageously against the spaniards any longer (for my relief) or sacrifice human beings on the top of the pyramids or in the depths of the sacred caves, like in days gone by, they still maintain a lot of their traditions and their traditional way of life. That means, the ones that live in the villages and have not emigrated to the coast of the big cities.

Well, I think it's enough of cultural and historical pain, and I am going to leave you with a couple of pictures I took yesterday in the mayan ruins of Nim-Li Punit, only a couple of villages down the road from the place I live in. Enjoy them!