My Life is in Ruins

Kohunlich


The next port was Costa Maya, Mexico, only about 50 miles north of Belize City, and our second Mayan ruin tour. Laura Rowbury, our tour organizer arranged for the tour to be given by an LDS guide of Mayan descent, and everyone in our group climbed into two vans to make the 60 mile journey up to the ruins.

Our guide, Mosiah, a third-generation LDS church member (all his brothers and sisters got Book of Mormon names also), and was convinced that the Mayans had knowledge of the Book of Mormon people, though there are various theories and no real Church position on any of them. His most interesting point was that the Mayan annual calendar had 12 months totaling 360 days plus 5 holidays, 4 of which fell on the first day of winter, spring, summer, and fall, but the 5th holiday was on April 6. There is a calendar ruin wherein the sun rises and shines through a marker hole on April 6. The guide's viewpoint in explaining the ruins at Kohunlich was quite unique and interesting to say the least.

The ruins shown to us at Lamanai were much less extensive than at Kohunlich which was a large area of buildings and Mayan temples. The ruins were also much more out in the open with well-kept lawns around them, rather than the junglely surroundings at Lamanai.

We got to see all of the ruins rather than just part of them afforded to the shipboard arranged tour group, and spent all our available time on this tour. Pulling out of the area, one of the vans blew a tire and we had to stop and help change it with a half-filled spare. Then 60 miles back down the road to the ship. Very little time again for shopping, so we didn't bring much more than photos back from this trip.