Today we woke up early for another guided tour, this time to the Mayan ruins of Caracol. It was the first day of rain, and I was thankful I was convinced into bringing rain gear on the trip. The van ride to the ruins was around 3 hours over an unpaved, muddy road. We were jostled along most of the trip while outside was filled with gray skies and rain. I still really enjoyed the car ride though, again enchanted by the greenery of the jungle we were traveling through. We stopped first to view a giant cave entrance before continuing on to the ruins. The ruins were again beautiful, although I alternated between enjoying the ruins and the forest. The population of Caracol was around 100,000 in its hayday (1200 BC-900AD), and during that time there was no jungle around it as it had been cleared for wood and to make room for farming. It is hard to envision a time when this place was so densely populated and teeming with life. We learned some more of the sacrificing nature of the Mayans, how almost half of sacrificed remains found were those of children under ten. After leaving the ruins, we stopped at some beautiful pools, and then went to a waterfall. Even though it was still chilly and overcast, many of us swam in the river up to the falls. We were able to pull ourselves along the side of the river against the strong current up to the bottom of the waterfall, and it was truly a spectacular site.
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