Kiuic

            We have officially left society and civilization as I’ve known it my entire life. We are now in the semi-deciduous forest of Yucatan, residing in the biocultural reserve of Kaxil Kiuic. What is a biocultural reserve?: a reserve that keeps both biologically important sites – trees, animals, lakes, creeks, etc – as well as culturally important sites. A word I learned today is patrimony: synonymous to culture incase you were ignorant as I was. Anyway, we’re living in “huts” which are also known as “palapas.” They are round, yellow buildings equipped with a bathroom and six hammocks. Emily, Katie, Amanda, Ashley and Caitlin are in my hut; I’ve got a hammock by the window and I’m in love with it already. Who knew sleeping on a hammock could be so comfortable? Not to mention studying in one… very conducive to naps, but I’m getting some serious progress on The Selfish Gene done lounging en hamaca.

            There is a Maya ruin on site (hence the cultural part of biocultural) which we got to visit. Not your average Mayan ruin. No tourists, no huge temples, no decorum, no circumstance. I thought it was beautiful. We were the only group on site, and we got special privileges to see what usually only archaeologists and anthropologists get to see; it gave the site a sense of intimacy that no other site has had yet. James, the director of the site, led us around with Rebecca and the Dawleys of course and he explained the site in a way that truly allowed us to understand the people who had lived here and why they planned their city as they did. The Puuc style was an obvious indicator to the region we were in – the Puuc hills – and the Stephens & Catherwood presence seemed a source of pride for James as he talked about their visits. We stood in the ruins of an ancient Maya house that the two explorers had hung their own hammocks in and spent the night. We saw a building called “the house of diamonds” that they single handedly destroyed effectively. One of the men simply HAD to have a capstone from the building – the final block put in a building, a sort of corner stone if you will – and once he removed it, found it was too heavy to bring back with him. So, he left a note telling whoever found it next to please mail it to him in New York. Pretty pretentious, isn’t it?

            Besides the house of diamonds there were tons of other structures, mostly living and gathering areas. A funny anecdote I thought I’d share: Next to a palace/elite hangout an archaeologist was excavating one day with a team of locals. She started to uncover the dirt and noticed a staircase, of sorts. Two large structures on either side of the protruding step. Let your imagination work here for a bit, go on… This woman and her team had discovered an ancient Mayan penis staircase! It has since been re-covered in dirt again, but that story still made us laugh for a bit. Imagine walking up a flight of phalluses to get where you’re going?

            The house of diamonds was our last stop for Kiuic and we took a long hike on a new trail back to camp before a much welcomed lunch. I’m actually enjoying Kiuic; it isn’t the terror that we all anticipated. Sure, power is limited and the showers are like standing under a FREEZING water hose, and a rooster crows at 5 am, but I am enjoying being a bit isolated. For one, there’s no light pollution so the stars are unbelievable out here. And, you can always hear a different kind of bird singing or a frog croaking. But what takes the cake are the bats: we set up mist nets at night to catch them, and they are inexplicably awesome. There are 3 different kinds here: Vespertillionidae, Mormoopidae and Phyllostomidae. I know that means nothing to you so here are some layman’s terms. Vespertillionidae are the teeny tiny bats found all over the world, mormoopidae have big lips so we call them Angelina Jolie bats, and Phyllostomidae are leaf nosed bats which literally look like what they’re titled. Vampire bats are desmodontidae, and aren’t found here in Kiuic. I remember being little and standing in the Staten Island Zoo staring for ever at the vampire bat exhibit with my dad and now I’m sitting in a classroom examining them up close. Amazing.

Dirty but happy,

Dana