Vernal Equinox at Lamanai

Here we were on our last full day of the trip.  The day before, we had crossed over the border into Belize.  This is a small and very sparsely populated country of about 415,000 people.  It is a former British colony, so English is spoken here in addition to some dialects.   I will not go into it history, but it is fascinating if you would like to look it up. 

I liked the energy there as soon as we arrived.  Very back to nature.  There are forest reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, and lots of Mayan ruins, in addition to the many beach resorts along the coast.  At least 3/4 of the new birds on my life list were seen in Belize, either at our hotel, on the New River, or at the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve.  Our hotel was the Black Orchid Resort, which was situated right on the New River.  The jungle was right there all around.  Both of the days that we were there, the resident howler monkeys were active.  Their howl sounds like a combination of a hoot, a bark and a growl.  And very loud! 

On the morning of March 20^th, the Vernal Equinox, we set out by driving about an hour to a boat dock further down the New River to catch our boat to Lamanai.  That boat ride took about an hour, partly because the local guide who was with us stopped frequently to point out various birds along the way.  I have to say that between being on the river with the water splashing, and the wind blowing on us as we went along, a great cleansing and clearing effect was happening.

Lamanai, which means “Submerged Crocodile”,   was one of the longest continually inhabited settlements anywhere in the Maya world, dating back at least to 1500 BC.  Maybe that is why it felt so special to me.  What a great place to be on the equinox!  Normally, when I am home, I do a bowl burning at my house and also go out to the Parowan Gap to photograph the sunset.  The bowl burning involves writing a list of what I am releasing and what is my positive outcome, and then tossing that list into the fire.  Since that would not be feasible on this day, I had to think of something different.  The night before, I wrote my list and took it with me, assuming that the right opportunity and method would show itself.  It certainly did!

The first temple we came to was the Jaguar Temple.  (Of course!)  Note the 2 large jaguar faces on either side of the main stairway.  In a previous post, I showed my “Traveler” skull being energized in the nostril of one of the jaguar faces.  I was guided to bury my list right under that.  Voila!  Mission completed.  That left me free to enjoy the rest of the site. 

After walking through a very lovely jungle, we came upon the Stela Temple.  This is where I got a big hit of energy!  It was coming from where the stela was placed.  Another woman in the group felt it, too.  There was a catch.  The stela was a reproduction and the original was in the local museum.  That did not matter, as the stela, original or not, was placed in that spot to mark a special energetic that we both felt.

In addition, the original base of the stela was still on site, so we got to connect with it.

Next, we came upon the High Temple and its associated ball court. 

This temple was dedicated to the rain god Choc, and is the second largest pre-classic Mayan structure anywhere.  You can see Choc’s mask on either side of the stairway.  Very impressive. 

Lastly, we came to the Temple of the Masks.  The masks on either side of the stairway probably represent one of the early rulers of Lamanai.  They have been covered with a fiberglass mold to protect the fragile limestone carvings underneath. 

This site is much smaller than Tikal or Copan, but I felt that the energy was far superior, maybe because when we were there first thing in the morning, there were few people around.  That is a much better way to feel into the energy of the place. Or perhaps it was the ancient energy that I was feeling! 

So after a final stroll through the jungle, a much faster boat ride and drive back to our hotel, and a very nice farewell dinner, the trip came to an end.  At that time I did not know that it would take me 2 days to get back home, but maybe because of the extra night in a Miami airport hotel, I was in pretty good shape upon arriving back in Cedar City.  It seems like it was so long ago, but it has only been 2 weeks!  Time truly is warping.