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Of
the two small Maya sites within reach of Corozal, the closest is
Santa Rita (daily 8am-4pm; US$2.50), about fifteen minutes' walk
northwest of town. To get there, follow the main road in the
direction of the border and where it divides take the left-hand
fork. Founded around 1500 BC, Santa Rita was in all probability the
powerful Maya city known as Chetumal. It was still a thriving
settlement in 1531 AD, when the conquistador Alonso Daila entered
the town, only to be driven out almost immediately by Na Chan Kan,
the Maya chief, and his Spanish adviser Gonzalo Guerrero. The main
remaining building is a small pyramid. Excavations here have
uncovered the burial sites of an elaborately bejeweled elderly woman
and a Classic period warlord.
The remains of the late Pre-classic centre of Cerros (daily
8am-4pm; US$2.50) are just 5km across the bay from Corozal and best
reached by boat with a guide from the town. Built in a
strategic position at the mouth of the New river, this was one of
the earliest places in the Maya world to adopt the rule of kings.
Despite initial success, however, Cerros had been abandoned by the
Classic period.
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 Belize
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The site includes three large acropolis structures,
ball courts and plazas flanked by pyramids. The largest building is
a 22-metre-high temple, whose intricate stucco masks represent the
rising and setting sun. In the dry season it's also possible to
drive to Cerros via the new chain-winched ferry (daily 6am-9pm;
free) which crosses the New river a few kilometers south of Corozal
at Pueblo Nuevo (the turn-off is signed), allowing access to
the site through Copper Bank village; in addition, a bus
(Mon-Sat 11.30am, additional service Mon, Wed & Fri at 4pm; 30min)
leaves for Copper Bank from behind the Venus terminal in Corozal. In
Copper Bank, The Last Resort (phone 422-0183) offers budget accommodation in clean, simple,
whitewashed thatched cabins with electricity, mosquito-netted beds
and shared showers. |
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