We arrived at Balamkú just after it opened at 8 AM. We ordered packed breakfasts (yogurt, juice, fruit, bagel) from Rio Bec Dreams so that we could get this early start, we knew it would be a big day for us. Balamkú is about 50 km west of the hotel, just beyond the turn off to Calakmul.

Balamkú was considered an uninteresting set of ruins until the 1990 discovery of a large, well-preserved frieze inside one of the buildings. The frieze depicts the cycle of life and death with a riot of Mayan iconography. Outside of Structure 1 there was a sign that explained the frieze. This is the text of that sign:

"Besides illustrating the opposite and complementary aspects of the underworld, Balamkú's frieze compares dynastic and solar cycles. The king raises from the earth monster's maw, just as the Sun emerges from the Earth's mouth. The ruler's death is seen as if it were a sunset, when he falls into the monster's mouth.

A double emanation is illustrated: an amphibian arise from the earth monster's cleft, and from its mouth the king emerges. The large masks and jaguars express the wealth of the earth, and the amphibian assures transition between these two worlds. Simultaneously this motif signifies glorification of the kingdom and the demonstration of its earthly origin and its nexus to fertility.

The frieze indicates the nature and function of the building where it belongs: the upper level corresponds to the earth's surface, and the substructure is the underworld. Therefore, when someone enters through one of the building's doors, it is as if they were penetrating the underworld."

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