The Royal complex is a site of ruins located about a hundred yards in front of the Jaguar temple, and is where it is believed the Mayan Royalty would have lived. There is little left except several feet of foundations, with a courtyard beyond.
The Jaguar temple itself however, is still standing tall, and both of the Jaguar faces on either side of the temple are clearly visible. Night tours of Lamanai are available, and on these it is not uncommon to come across Jaguars while on the Jungle paths between sites. During the day though, the area is home to howler monkeys, which are so named for their tendency to howl at people and other monkey clans that come into their territorial domain.
So yeah, I finally got to see monkeys. Something I had been excited about since I first learned that they live in Belize - the monkeys we saw were actually very calm, walking in the trees high above us or lounging in the crooks of branches watching as we passed them by.
And so we returned to the boat and began our long trip back along the river, through the countryside and across the sea to San Pedro, arriving a full 10 hours after we set out that morning. It was a great day, a great way to see the country and an experience I will never forget.
These photos are really wonderful! Thanks so much for taking the time to post them and tell the story. It's fabulous: looking at these photos and imagining the whole thing just gives me chills. You will never forget that day! It's been worth taking all those malaria pills, eh? Wow.
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