Quirigua, Guatemala
The delights of Quirigua are massive and minute. The ancient city itself was diminutive, a pathetic podunk outlier. Yet it boasts the mightiest monuments of the Maya world, perhaps of the entire pre-Columbian! Why this contrary juxtapositioning? For a dozen generations, Quirigua languished under the political thumb of its mighty neighbor Copan. Then in the year 738, Quirigua’s king revolted against his overlord, captured the king of Copan, and dragged him back to Quirigua for sacrificial decapitation! Quirigua went instantaneously from backwater to regional powerhouse, and its new preeminence was manifest in a forest of monuments. We wandered through this forest, gaping open mouthed, as no doubt its creators intended.
In addition to towering monuments, we saw colossal boulders carved into bizarre zoomorphic forms. One depicts a huge serpent, vomiting up the image of an ancestral king. The back of this serpent writhes with swirls of symbolic blood and energy. As we admired this monstrous sculpture, a tiny warbler chanced to light upon the huge stone. The American redstart is a charming bundle of feathered vivacity. It flashes its orange wings and tail in lithe and abrupt fashion, making it seem as much lepidopteran as avian. How extraordinary to think that having visited Quirigua, this tiny bird may pass the Statue of Liberty on the way to the deep woods of Maine! This warbler is one drop of a huge tide of life that washes the shores of widespread continents.
Later in the day, we hopped into Zodiacs to explore more of Guatemala. Many of us stretched our legs in Livingston. Most boated up the Rio Dulse to view its imposing canyon, carved from limestone and forest-clad. Egrets contemplated the shore. Orchids festooned tree branches, and Maya Indians paddled by in graceful dugout canoes. Central America is filled with natural and cultural richness, and it was our pleasure to taste its flavor through a full day!
The delights of Quirigua are massive and minute. The ancient city itself was diminutive, a pathetic podunk outlier. Yet it boasts the mightiest monuments of the Maya world, perhaps of the entire pre-Columbian! Why this contrary juxtapositioning? For a dozen generations, Quirigua languished under the political thumb of its mighty neighbor Copan. Then in the year 738, Quirigua’s king revolted against his overlord, captured the king of Copan, and dragged him back to Quirigua for sacrificial decapitation! Quirigua went instantaneously from backwater to regional powerhouse, and its new preeminence was manifest in a forest of monuments. We wandered through this forest, gaping open mouthed, as no doubt its creators intended.
In addition to towering monuments, we saw colossal boulders carved into bizarre zoomorphic forms. One depicts a huge serpent, vomiting up the image of an ancestral king. The back of this serpent writhes with swirls of symbolic blood and energy. As we admired this monstrous sculpture, a tiny warbler chanced to light upon the huge stone. The American redstart is a charming bundle of feathered vivacity. It flashes its orange wings and tail in lithe and abrupt fashion, making it seem as much lepidopteran as avian. How extraordinary to think that having visited Quirigua, this tiny bird may pass the Statue of Liberty on the way to the deep woods of Maine! This warbler is one drop of a huge tide of life that washes the shores of widespread continents.
Later in the day, we hopped into Zodiacs to explore more of Guatemala. Many of us stretched our legs in Livingston. Most boated up the Rio Dulse to view its imposing canyon, carved from limestone and forest-clad. Egrets contemplated the shore. Orchids festooned tree branches, and Maya Indians paddled by in graceful dugout canoes. Central America is filled with natural and cultural richness, and it was our pleasure to taste its flavor through a full day!
