The Ahau Chronicles Volume 12–Jim Turner

Volume 12 August 16, 2010 Subscribers: 302

Long Count: 12.19.17.11.0 Expedition Overview

The Apocalypse Island 2010 Eclipse Expedition was an incredible experience
that continues to generate new ideas and revelations about the island Sun God monument.
This newsletter will be a short overview of my activities while I was on the expedition
and a visual guide to the stunning scenery of this island. The photo below shows our
small plane banking into the final approach to the island airstrip. At the center of the
photo is the location of our dangerous beach landing in the History Channel movie.

The satellite image above shows the island airport. My GPS waypoint recorded
an elevation of 113 meters (370 feet) above sea level which makes for a dramatic
approach from both air and sea. The lower left shows the outlines of the Tio Tomas and
our small orange rowboat in the movie. One camera was set atop the cliffs.

The airport has recently had its
airstrip upgraded. The photo above
shows the old runway crossing the new
airstrip at an angle. As shown at left, the
old runway terminated in a ramp, to help
slow down the landing planes or give the
departing planes a little extra speed.
Landing on the island has always been a
part of the adventure!

The satellite image above shows the locations of a dozen GPS waypoints that I
took at various locations on the island and which I emailed as an attachment to the last
volume of the newsletter. After arriving at the airport we disembarked in a pair of boats
sailing around the north shore of the island to the village of San Juan Bautista and
Cumberland Bay which Pedro’s Cabin overlooks.

Later I visited the site of
the archeological dig that
produced charcoal from
the time of Chan Bahlum
below the Spanish fort
where the main river
enters the sea. The area
was stripped of houses by
the tsunami so further
excavations might be
easier to undertake.

After reaching the monument and camping in the debris field for two days, I saw
the eclipse poke out through a cloudy sky and illuminate the monument (at top right).

As I departed from the monument near the end of the eclipse I captured the image
above looking up toward the jaguar side of the monument. This photo captures one of
my favorite aspects of the jaguar, the tail wrapped around its right flank. The Aztec
jaguar below left shows the jaguar’s tail wrapped around the same side. But the way the
tail protrudes above the monument’s spine reminds me more of the Egyptian depictions
of lions, such as the Double Lion God Aker shown below right. On a related note, this
Egyptian god is the guardian of the sunrise and sunset. Between the lions is the akhet
symbol which represents the horizon on which the sun rises or sets. The Mayan jaguar
monument stares westward at the horizon where the sun sets and where the final days of
the Mayan Great Cycle of 5,125 years will promise cosmic spectacles to end the age.