Copan: Day 13

Hey guys! So I finally managed to take some pictures of the excavations. Woo! And on top of that, I had a little adventure trekking to Stela 12 which provided some great picture-taking opportunities. So, let's get started!

Here is the site where we have been working:

My unit is the one where Sarah (red shirt) is sitting. All of those rocks she's sitting on are probably wall stones that have fallen over, and a large, flat piece of limestone found in our unit may even be part of the room floor. Pretty exciting!

We also found an inchworm that seemed to take a liking to us. He hung around the unit for a while, exploring what we had dug up, and crawling on our shoes. I'm sure he's poisonous.

After lunch, one of the grad students Lauren took Sarah and I to learn how to use the total station. Archaeologists have been playing with the theory that Rastrojon is where it is because it serves at an excellent sentry point. Anyone entering the Copan Valley from the west would have to pass within the line of sight of Rastrojon. Stelae in the valley may also have served as distance markers, since many can be seen from Rastrojon. On the trip I took, Lauren was measuring the distance from Rastrojon to Stela 12, and from Stela 12 to the Acropolis. Archaeologists have been trying to do these measurements for a year and a half, but until now the distances have been too great to measure. Lauren has been taking some of the longest measurements ever taken with the total station.

The hike up to Stela 12 is very intense, especially for someone as pitifully out of shape as me. Bill and Barbara actually camped out at Stela 12 overnight when they hiked up there because the climb is so long and taxing. I had made it most of the way when my asthma started kicking in and I couldn't catch my breath. I was very embarrassed since I felt I was holding up the group, but everyone was amazing. They made me sit down, gave me a bottle of water, and shaded me with a jacket until my pulse returned to normal. Jorge, the co-director of the excavations at Rastrojon, offered his hand to help me up the rest of the way. Our guide, Don Chevelo even offered a homeopathic remedy: he found a lime tree, chopped off one of the limes with his machete, cut the lime in half, and rubbed each half on my wrists. He said it helped the pulse slow down. Apparently, lime can cure anything! I was lucky to have such compassionate people around me--thanks!

When we reached the top, we started setting up the total station. Here is Sarah helping to set it up (Stela 12 in the background):

And Will, with a fantastic view behind him:

While we waited for the prism to be set up in the Acropolis, we checked out Stela 12. It still has remnants of the original red paint on its surface. Sarah was nice enough to take a picture of me in front of it:

I survived! The journey was totally worth it. The view was amazing and the experience equally so. There was a lot of hopping barbed wire fences, fording creeks, and sloshing through mud. My shoes are probably beyond the point of repair now, unfortunately.

And Don Chevelo is hilarious and awesome. He speaks slowly enough that I can understand his Spanish, which makes his stories all the better. He told us stories about the ancient Maya in the Copan Valley, mainly their sex lives and drug use. I'll have to tell you some of those stories later. When Lauren found that one of the trees was in her way of measuring the distance to the Acropolis, Don Chevelo climbed that tree and chopped off the top branches with his machete. All at the tender age of 58!

But the expedition was a success! Lauren got the measurements they needed, and there was much rejoicing. The hike back down was nice and relaxing, and by the time we got back to the hotel, there was running water! Hooray!

The day ended with a bumpin' party that got shut down by the hotel because we were too loud. Oops. But it was a lot of fun, and I am sure many incriminating pictures will be on the internet soon.

I'm rambling. More tonight! Love you all.