On the way back into Guatemala from Copán, we added a stop at the associated site of Quiriguá to the itinerary. It is located in the middle of the vast Chiquita banana plantations.
This site has quite a few stellae, some of them quite tall and amazingly intact, including the tallest stone monumental statue in the Americas.
On the 16th we stayed in Flores, Guatemala. This is an island in the middle of Lake Peten Itza. It was one of the last holdouts of the Itza Maya against the Spanish, and predictably the Spanish built over everything that the Itza had not leveled behind them.
The next night we camped at Tikal. Continue reading
Yaxchilan is a larger site than Bonampak.
It’s reached by small boat on the river that separates Mexico from Guatemala.
Then we actually passed though one of the buildings to get to the main plaza. Continue reading