Port 37 Santo Tomas, Guatemala

by Ed · March 26, 2022

Morning came early! We came into port shortly after 6 AM on Mar 18th, 2022. The sun was just starting peek over the horizon. The waters were so calm the rising sun reflected magnificently!

As we approach the dock, the cargo ship in front of us is pulled away from the dock by the tug boat, before it is allowed to move away under its own power.

As we head away from the port on our excursions, I thought this is a picturesque entry point for the trucks to enter and leave the port!

We both have excursions today, but different tours for each of us. Let’s start with Joy.

Joy went on a riverboat tour up to a Mayan village that is using computers to educate children to help them have a better life. It is far from any school you might think.

As the riverboat plies the waters, the water is very calm and serene, and lily pads grace the waters with their leaves and blooms! As the riverboat approaches the village, kids row out in canoes to sell their handmade goods.

In the classroom the children gather around tables. Half of the students live in the village where the school is located. The other half have to travel by river each day to come to class and return home.

Meals are prepared at the school. Here a pot of beans is simmering. A typical meal is beans and tortillas.

These women are making the tortillas to bake on an open griddle.

With the aid of computers the children learn skills and language to help them get jobs outside of the confines of the Mayan villages. This was an eye-opening day, interacting with the Mayan people in their school!

Ed did a Mayan tour as well, but his tour was more archeological – touring the Quirigua ruins. The Mayans he is studying lived 1600 years ago!

This park is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage site.

We follow our tour guide, Anna, the one with the feather stick. I figured out early the feather on the end of the sick allows them to point out details on the carvings without damaging the carvings.

We find a boardwalk that leads us to a couple of “stelae” (tall carved stones) and one “zoomorph” (large carved boulder).

Each of the stelae depict the king of the time and the events happening that year. This is Stelae “A” and is dated 775 AD. These stella tell the story of the creation of time, and what was going on with the kingdon for the 5 years from 771 to 775 AD.

Stelae “C” is a twin to “A” in that both depict the same year of 775 AD and together tell the story of creation.

Here’s how we know so much about the Mayans and what these stelae represent – they tell us on the stelae! Each side has a series of pictographs that give us a numbering system and images representing the events or possibly even the alphabet they used. They write in a series of two columns, reading left to right and top to bottom, as most of us do. As an example of the numbering, the pictograph the feather is pointing to has the number 3 in it – the three dots on the left edge. The pictograph above it shows the number 8 – the three dots = 3, and one vertical bar representing 5.

Zoomorph “B ” is dated to 780 AD and is adjacent to Stelae A and C. It is covered with aquatic symbolism, with the head of the ruler coming out of the mouth of an aquatic creature, perhaps a crocodile. Our tour guide explains the rulers are depicted as entering the underworld on one end of the zoomorph, then re-emerging into the current world on the other end. This gives them power from the underworld.

This is Stelae “D” and is dated to 766 AD. This tells the story of the ruler Quirigua who defeated the previous ruler 18 Rabbits. This stelae is featured on the Guatemalan coin.

The Guatemalan dime shows Stelae “D” and says across the bottom “Monolith of Quirigua.”

Looking west (I think) we see more stelae and another zoomorph under cover. This is where we head next.

Stelae “E is the tallest (over 10 meters) and is dated to 771 AD and shows their mastery over the elements in erecting this. It apparently suffered breakage and repair, but the tour guide was reluctant to discuss when that happened.

Zoomorph “G” tells of the funeral of a king in 785 and the beheading of a ruler when they captured nearby Copan. This is not quite in keeping with the ball game I will tell you about shortly.

Stelae “F” dated to 761 AD and talks about rituals performed in “the dark place”, likely muddy waters.

Stelae “H” dates to 751 AD – the earliest of the stelae we’ve seen – and is carved in a different style. But the same ruler who carved this also had all of the other stelae carved. He is depicted on all of them, and it is clear his power grows every 5 years when the stelae are carved! He ruled for 61 years!

These aretifacts are spread across this field in three primary groups. Once unearthed, the museum built the huts over them to reduce the impact of the elements. This is an incredible find! This photo is the first three stelae and first zoomorph, A thru D.

This next image shows where E thru H are located.

Additional zoomorphs are present closer to the main temple site, but I’ll spare you the additional rocks.

Farther in the distance we now see the steps to the palace area. To the right is supposedly the ball field for this site. I will describe the ball “game” they played in a moment.

I climb the steps, which is no easy feat. These are tall steps! How did the short Mayans do it?

The climb is worth it! This is the courtyard on the other side of that wall.

OK, let’s talk ball!

The Mayans have a ball game in which they pass a large rubbery ball, about halfway between a softball and volleyball in size, without using their hands or feet. Knees, hips elbows, shoulders are legal. Head? I’m not sure that is desirable. In the center of the field is a hoop about 8 feet up in the air. The goal is to get the ball off the ground and through the hoop. Very difficult to do!

Here’s the surprise – the Mayans “played” the game as an alternative to going to war with a neighboring tribe. Whoever won the game won the war! And the losing team captain would be sacrificed as the loser of the war. So only one life would be lost. Some game, huh? Makes you want to be sure you’re the best before agreeing to play! (As if you had a choice…)

We saw a version of this played in Merida, Mexico, a few years ago, and the ball was lit on fire to ensure no one held it!

Back to the Quirigua site!

At the top of the plaza I just climbed was a “home.” I wandered around the rooms – they were surprisingly small, given the spacious fields in this site. This image is what I suspect is a bedroom. There is only room enough to enter and lay down.

This room appears to be the kitchen. There is a cooking fireplace on the left, and a window on the right. Did they cook for themselves here?

Looking across to the other side, the structure there is the palace. There are clearly three entrances, but they are fenced off – we aren’t allowed to walk around inside. But like I normally do, I try to envision the people of the time going about their daily activities, moving about the plaza, the steps, and the palace. In this area would primarily be the royal members, the religious leaders, and the minions serving them. The rest of the people would live outside of this area. But they would flock to the ball field!

To my right are the steps I originally climbed, and to the right of the two covered zoomorphs is where the ball field is supposedly located. The steps can serve two purposes – as an ascent to the upper level, or as bleachers for the ball games.

Turning around to head out, I can see the field with the stelae, and wonder why they chose to place them where they did? Were there homes in between and the stelae went where opening existed each 5 years? Or was the field always wide open?