This is Cecilio Chi Elementary School on the town square of Laguna Bacalar.
Cecilio Chi was a leader in the Mayan rebellion during the Caste War in the Yucatan in the late 1800's which was very nearly successful. That there is an elementary school named after Cecilio Chi seems to me a little like passing by Nat Turner Elementary in rural Virginia. I wish I knew more about the local politics that brought this about. I'm sure they are very interesting.
Taken at the Temple of the Masks at the Mayan ruins of Kohunlich:
These masks were covered over when the temple was remodeled at some point during the centuries Kohunlich was occupied. Because of this ancient makeover, these masks are wonderfully well preserved with even some the colors still visible.
This is Dzibanché, the ruins of a vast Mayan city in southern Quintana Roo dating from the Early Classic to the Classic periods (about AD 300-800). The site is still being excavated and has only been open since about 1990. This was my introduction to Mayan ruins, and I fear I've been spoiled. I don't think there are many sites quite so secluded and lush.
There were no other tourists at on this Wednesday morning, so instead we got to share the site with this coati and these howler monkeys along with many, many birds.
Sometime ago, Sisyphus requested a picture of the tiny geckos that are so often underfoot here. I've learned more about them as I've lived with them, but one of the things I've learned is that they are very uncooperative about photographs. They are small, fast and shy. I've also learned they are incredibly useful. They seem to live on a diet almost exclusively of mosquitoes and cockroaches. This makes them my heroes. I watched a lizard on the back porch take down a cockroach almost as big as itself. I did finally get this picture of one of these brave and noble creatures:
The reason I was fast enough this time was because I was already busy with my camera and because the rock it was sunning itself on was here at the Mayan ruins at Kinichná:
I'm behind on my photo-blogging, so for the next few days I'll be posting more pictures from the Yucatan. Perhaps if I get this urge out of my system now, I'll be better able to refrain from inflicting my travel photos on unwary friends and colleagues back home. We shall see.
