Foto Story Friday #28 -- Guatemala Quirigua Ruins

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

As promised  we continue on to the ruins.....

I took so many pictures here it was extremely hard to choose which ones to share.

When we got off the bus at Quirigua, we were directed toward the restrooms and on the way were given worry dolls and shown the line.  In the bathroom we had to share the space with these lovely 8-legged creatures!
And then we saw this sign:
After our potty break, we headed down the path.  The trees amazed me, how they just twist around each other.
We were greeted with a field of pillars.  
They were completely covered in hiroglyphs Each one told the story of how the king, Sky Burner, defeated 18 Rabbit of Copan.  Then went on to tell the history of the past year or two.  
There were 3 right in a row.  I was very impressed with all the detail each side presented.  
He lost his nose.... gives this face an Egyptian feel. When this site was discovered most of the pillars had fallen over.  They were all righted and a protective cover built over each one.   
I have no idea what this square says, but it is interesting.
This is Sky Burner's tombstone.  The marker of his death, but not where he was buried.  He has not been found, but they have a few ideas.
This beautiful tree is the Mayan Tree of Life.  
The mound you see behind the trees, is a candidate for Sky Burner's burial house.
This site was different from Lamanai, in that there are no visible temples here.  There is a palace though. 
Close up on the carvings of one of the many alters on the site.
Our tour group sitting on the steps of the palace.  
The sign at the top of the steps.
Looking down
At the top there are buildings
And steps down into the courtyard {for lack of a better word.}
Of course, I had to get across the area and look at the back side.  You see where the trees are?  If you got near, you would see the edge of a ravine where the river once flowed. 
Looking across the palace courtyard.
I wanted to get an angle to show the size of the area, but I'm not sure it was possible.
The site is still active.
The same place as the above photo, from across the yard.
And right across the way is this active area.  The guys were sitting in the shade having lunch.
Another angle on the courtyard.
The building at the top of the stairs, had these windows, and I just liked how these two pictures turned out. 

Another alter.
Some were big and others small, each decorated all over!
Another pillar.
See how many Pillars Sky Burner had built?  A friend asked the guys mowing the grass how long it took them to get it all cut and he said when they had gas about 2 days and without gas 2 weeks with machetes!
This was my favorite pillar, I loved that it was at an angle.
As I was nearly running to catch the bus, I looked up and saw the sun shining through the trees. Although I didn't capture the rays, I like how a shot up shows the dense vegetation.  I will continue with Guatemala next week.