Researchers are mapping the final three of 25 sacred pools at Cara Blanca, an ancient Maya pilgrimage site in central Belize. Photo by Jean Larmon
CARA BLANCA, Belize — Armed with a compass, a map, a GPS device and a drone, we begin our exploratory trek through the jungle. The thick vegetation is no match for our team of eight, six of whom are quick with a machete. Four hours after circumventing towering hardwoods and hacking our way through spidery vines, massive palm fronds and dense fern bushes, we stand at the edge of Pool 21, less than a kilometer from the road. Cara Blanca, an ancient Maya pilgrimage site in central Belize, consists of 25 pools stretching across 11 kilometers at the base of white limestone cliffs. Many of the smaller, circular pools, called cenotes, have ceremonial architecture: A water temple and ritual platform teeter on the edge of Pool 1; a water shrine looms over Pool 15; and a pyramid carved out of the limestone bedrock guards Pool 20. So far, we have surveyed 22 of these pools. The final three - pools 22, 23 and 25 - have been difficult to reach.
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