Friday, February 18, 2011

The LAYERS of a King and a Princess

I've been waiting for a reason to start posting some of this year's photos of the Mayan ruins in Belize. And today's http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ gave me a fun tie in. My self portrait illustration, Princess and the Me was a wildly fun and self indulgent portrait I did for the CBIG website. You can click to enlarge to see details. Besides the Princess part it couldn't be more fitting to portray my sensitive personality. Of course the layers of mattresses are what fit the theme!




Now for the journey to see the King's digs. That's our rental car taking the short ferry ride across the river to Xuantunich in Belize.



Belize is a country filled with large and small Mayan sites. Most are still unexcavated. Xuantunich was the first site we visited on our trip. And it also has the 2nd tallest pyramid in the country. When the sites are first discovered they are usually completely buried beneath the jungle. They basically look like a hill underneath the jungle growth.





Layers!











An interesting fact about this carved frieze is that what you see is a reproduction. The original was reburied underneath the ground to preserve it.


















When we were sitting at the top of the temple we thought,"We're on vacation now!" There were armed guards flanking the top as well. And we discovered later that they were there because of this temple's close proximity to the border between Belize and Guatemala.


Sometime soon I'll post photos of an awe inspiring site we visited in Guatemala called Tikal.







14 comments:

Pat Tillett said...

That's for the great photo-tour! I really enjoy this type of post!

Anonymous said...

Amazing the original was reburied to preserve it. And it got along exposed for centuries?

Shirley said...

Fantastic post, Sharon! Wow, I really enjoyed your illustration..so cool..and then to see all of the photos..what a bonus!

The Retired One said...

Amazing! We have been to Tulum and Chitchinitza (misspelled) in Mexico and loved them.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Wow how cool this is. Your illustrations are awsome!
love
tweedles

Al said...

That was soo cool Sharon! By the way the illustration reminds me of my favorite fairytale. Princess and the Pee...Pea!

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

This is so sweet. Very nicely done!!

Bobo said...

very unique painting, and your photos are so impressed!

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

Hello!
Very interesting post and beautiful photos!
I liked Your blog and I follow Your blog!

Juliana Fonseca said...

Wonderful!!!!
Ilike your photos too!

Serline said...

Great self portrait, certainly bears a strong resemblance, although I trust you are not as fussy about mattresses as the illustration suggests ;-P

Linda Hensley said...

Love the colors in your illustration. Also really love the travel pictures. It's nice to see the sights through your eyes :)

Indigene said...

Beautiful illustration, with the colors and details! Belize is beautiful, it is still one of my favorite places to relax and paint. I know you had a wonderful time!

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

Hello!
That's for the great photo-tour!