Uxbenka and Rio Blanco Waterfalls

Today we were off to Uxbenka. I was amazed how the Mayans were able to create such huge structures in such precise alignment with the sun and stars. I was even more amazed that they somehow knew where future roads would be and built all their cities seven miles from the main highway. Every archaeological sign at the turn off said seven miles. Turns out this was just part of the sign template and some customization was needed. For example the "1" on this sign looks suspiciously like the back side of a "7" with the top scraped off.

Uxbenka is a site that has not been excavated. And once you see this site you start to see many other sites across the plains, hills start to resemble pyramids. With a storm approaching we started our hike.



When we reached the site this is what we found.

Uxbenka fit perfectly at this point in our journey. Underneath was a beautiful city, but over the years it had taken on all kinds of tumors and growths that were now ripping it apart. Trees growing on top with it's roots digging deep in to it's structure. An interesting metaphor that could apply to us all.

I started to wonder, if we can so accurately map the rise and fall of civilizations past, why can't we stop the cycle? It was then that I realized I had begun to write my own cosmology, finding those little pieces that resonated and worked for me while ignoring the ones that didn't. The teachings of Jesus resemble little of what Christians practice today. And there are many variations of Buddhism, some of which even contradict one another. That is all because, whether we know it or not, we are all writing our own cosmology. Picking up what we like and leaving behind what we don't, then sharing our story and understanding with others as we go forward. The cycle is not mine to stop, civilization has it's path and I have my own. The hard part is not getting swept up in civilization's path.

Being careful to avoid the tomb above we were met by two local kids who were interested in selling us some stuff.

While this site has not been excavated it has been researched, and they went in search of the corners in order to map the site. Oops, not here.

Here it is.

We were at part "A" of the city and it was about a five minute hike to part "B".





Another five minute hike beyond part "B" was part "C" of the city. We found a very cool corner of a building, however you had to be careful peaking in as a large bee's nest awaited you.

In fact it seems that all buildings around here were home to many bees.

We then slowly made our way back under the scorching heat of the sun and I was looking forward to cooling off by the heater in the van.





After roughly seven miles out, we headed down the road for a bit. It was another seven miles back in where we ended up at the Rio Blanco waterfalls and finally got to cool off. Normally you can go behind the falls, but with all the rain the current was too strong.

There was a small cliff to jump off for some fun.

We dried off and then headed back to the lodge for a fire ceremony with the spirit of Cacao. I thought, now this is my kind of ceremony as Malcolm poured us each a glass of chocolate wine and whistled an icaros in it. Chocolate and wine go well together when one is consumed after the other. However if you mix them both together in liquid form it leaves much to be desired.

Malcolm started the ceremony and it was very interesting to actually hear the words of the various icaros he sang. Last time I heard these I was so deep in the Ayahuasca space that they made no sound, just patterns of energy. The funny part was that when Malcolm finished and things got very silent, I heard in the back of my mind "Everyone take a nice deep breath". A phrase repeated a number of times during our Ayahuasca ceremonies.

VIDEO: Mayan Cosmology - Day 4