of mayans and mud

day 3
San Pedro
Ambergris Caye, Belize.


We got up way too early today to visit the Altun Ha ruins. Same routine as last years trip to Lamanai, a 45 minute boat ride on open water, then through the mangroves along the old northern river, finally arriving in the village of Bomba (population1800).

I saw my old pal Raines, who was kind enough to participate in my 100 strangers project last year. Raines, along with 3 or 4 other families have small souvenir stands along the dirt road that leads through the village. Their product is about the same in each hut - wooden bowls carved from mahogany or iron wood.

From Bomba, you take a 30 minute bus ride along the old northern highway to the village of Maskall. Unlike Bomba, Maskall has enough population and income to support the cost of electricity, and there are proper schools.

Altun Ha was occuppied by the Mayans from about 200 BC until sometime in the 12th century. It wasnt "discovered" until about 1963 and since then has had most of the site excavated and restored. Although the story of Altun Ha is interesting, the ruins themselves were a bit of a disappointment. Overall its a small site and very touristy.

We spent about an hour here, then got back on the bus and drove to Maruba Lodge for lunch and relaxation. The resort is fabulous. We had decided in advance to have a mud massage while we were here, so after lunch and a quick swim two young women came to claim us and take us the the massage rooms. At least I thought we were going to individual rooms. Silly me. Where we ended up was in a open air couples massage room. open windows and doors. Now, I'm no prude by any stretch, however I tend to draw the line at public nudity when the nudity is my own. So it was a bit unnerving when my masseuse directed me to undress and put on a pair of papery thong panties. Dave didnt fair so well, no panties for him. It took about 5 full minutes for the laughter and tears to subside so our massages could start.

I'll spare you most of the humiliating details, and say that aside from the intense fear I had of someone walking by our hut and seeing me in all my glory with only a few hibiscus flowers covering the naughty bits, it really was a fantastic massage. the delicate scratchiness of the oil and mud mixture felt fabulous. I had just about drifted into that sweet, pre-sleep zone when my gal said "okay lady - we take some pictures then I will take you to the baths." Sure thing sister. Wait. What? Pictures??
She snapped away (with my camera fortunately - DELETE) before I had enough sense to realize the full scope of the situation.
As my inner -and outer - fat girl cringed in humiliation, I was lead out of the spa room, down a path,(have I mentioned that I'm STILL NAKED at this point?) about 200 feet to another open air, tiled building. A lovely claw footed tub in the center of this gorgeous room awaited. And this nice, young, permanently scarred for life girl is now charged with giving me a bath. If I could have relaxed enough to enjoy it - I'm sure it would have been divine, but I was so over the nakedness at this point that I hurried along to have the "experience" come to and end. I'm not sure how Dave's massage ended as I didnt see him in the tubs and he was already dressing when I returned to the cabana, but I'm sure the sheepish, somewhat guilty look on his face meant that he enjoyed the care he received....

we dressed QUICKLY and got back to the rest of the group. back in the bus and then the boat and finally back to our hotel about 5pm.

showered the rest of the mud away and headed to Hidden Treasures for dinner. We have always heard good reviews of this restaurant, but hadnt taken the time to find it for ourselves. Its pretty far south from town, but after dinner tonight I can say that its well worth the effort. The restaurant is GORGEOUS and the service is the best we've had here so far. Cool towels upon arrival, an extensive drinks menu and complimentary bug spray. What more could you ask for? The Chef's special was a plate of grilled snapper, shrimp and lobster tail with garlic roasted potatoes and vegetables for 35 usd. It was the perfect meal to end this crazy assed day.

So now to sleep. Tomorrow is another full day of sailing and snorkeling.