After yesterday's guided tour of Caracol, we take the opposite approach today.  We have breakfast and head to the lobby to ask about the best way to get to Xunantunich (pronounced Zoo-nan-too-nich).  A guy in the lobby says he'll take us there for $15US or there's a bus that goes to the bottom of the hill for $1BZ ($1US = $2BZ).  We opt for the somewhat slimy driver.  While we may have been taken advantage of, we did skip the one mile uphill walk to the site.  The neat hand cranked ferry across the river was fun.

Xunantunich is about the size of Caracol in height.  We explore the site and climb the major pyramids.  The view at the top of the big one (El Castillo) is fantastic.  It's a panoramic of the hillside and you can see the border with Guatemala from here.  It's getting toasty out and all the Mayan pyramids have steep steps.  This is thought to be so that you were forced onto your knees when climbing up (the Mayans were an average 5'2").  Climbing up, my legs are getting soar and I'm pretty sweaty.  After viewing the museum and stellas, we walk down, take the ferry back across and wait a few minutes for the bus.  For 50 cents US, we get off in San Ignacio.  We have a leisurely lunch (meals are very slow in Belize).  We stop at Eva's to check on tours.  Since their cost is similar to the hotel's, we return to the hotel to book tomorrow's trip to Tikal.

With tomorrow arranged, we go slightly down the hill to the adjacent Cahal Pech ruins.  Farly small, we explore the visitors center and ruins.  I learn that while it was previously thought that the Mayans did not have the wheel, new evidence indicates otherwise.  This site has the major benefit of being in the shade.  We run into a couple from yesterday's Caracol trip and learn that they are probably on our Tikal trip tomorrow.  

After two Mayan ruins today, Lonnie comments that he is "just ruined".   I ask him how long he's been waiting to say that.   We hit the pool at the hotel.  Disappointingly, the spa isn't heated and the pool is chilly so we go to the house and use the jacuzzi.  For dinner we eat down the road and turn in early for tomorrow's big day at Tikal.