Calakmul

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We awoke early in the morning to discover that the storm had passed. Birds sang their morning songs and the fresh smell of post rain jungle filled the air. We fixed some oatmeal for breakfast then headed off to the ruins. Trekking through he lush jungle we scaned the trees for monkeys and tropical birds. When we reached the first ruins we noticed that they were much more overgrown than the ones at Palenque. Moss covers the stone walls and trees jut out of the decaying buildings. It gives it a much more ancient feeling which I like. Calakmul is less restored, partially unexcavated and substantially less crowded than other Mayan sites. It's definately my favorite out of the sites we saw. Huge limestone pyramids rise out of the remote, untamed wilderness. When you climb these amazing structures you emerge above the canopy to a spectacular view. As far as the eye can see, lush, uninhabited jungle. The sea of green is only broken by the other dominant ancient pyramids that protrude out of the flat lands. The only sounds are of birds singing while flying through the air and monkeys howling, swinging through the trees. An immense ancient energy fills my body as I breath deep the ambiance and scenery. A powerful place that invokes feelings and thoughts hard to put into words. To say that it is impressive and inspiring does little justice to this spectacular place. Sitting in solitude on the top of this ancient city I try to conjure up images in my mind of the great civilization of the past that was centered here. The time and effort it must have taken to build all this with relatively simple tools is mind boggling. As fascinating as the building and rise of this city, is its sudden decline and abandonment. Thought to be due to overpopulation placing too great a burden on the environment, coupled with climactic shifts and sever drought, the Mayan civilization nearly vanished and these huge temples and stone structures were quickly abandoned. The Mayans strongly believed in the cyclical nature of life. Inspired by the cycles of the stars and planets, they thought that you could predict the future by analyzing the past. They were able to accurately predict eclipses as well as other astronomical phenomena.

Perhaps the most important lesson we learn from the Maya, be that of their demise. As our own civilization reaches overpopulation, places a substantial burden on our environment and faces climate changes we must learn from the past and alter the direction we are heading. It seems that all great civilizations eventually crumble and the higher you rise, the further you fall. The poisoning of our planet and our dependence on depleting resources are but a few of the factors that may lead to our demise.

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Comments

[Andy Gottscho]

Very powerfully written. I understand the feeling you had when you stood on those ruins. I had the same feeling when I saw my first Native american petroglyph of a bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert the other day.