From Aubrey Chase's journal
February 4, 1999 - I arrived at Caracol yesterday. Somebody stole our generator and TV. We had no light. We had to use lanterns and flashlights. Today I climbed a Pyramid.
February 5, 1999 - Today I got a new generator so I can e-mail my friends. Today I climbed Caana with Mom, Elyse and Adrian. I found lots of shells.
February 6, 1999 - Today I climbed South Acropolis. Amy and I collected shells and there are not a lot. And I saw a bird’s nest and a bird.
February 7, 1999 - Today I climbed Caana again. We looked on the first level and we found lots of shells. The shells are from snails that lived on land.
February 8, 1999 - Today I went on a tour and I climbed Caana. I found lots of crystals that looked like rocks. I took the new students with me.
February 10, 1999 - Amy showed me how to use a compass. It always points north. We went to the group. A butterfly attacked Sandra and if they do not stop she will smash them.
February 11, 1999 - Today I went to see the students' excavations. I helped Sandra clean out the excavation. I found 4 shells. It was hard work.
February 12, 1999 - I don’t like the rain. It made my socks wet.
February 15, 1999 - The sun came out today, I’m so happy I could kiss it. I went to see the students again. Amy and I climbed A6.
February 20, 1999 - Yesterday I went to San Ignacio. I ate 10 rolls at the Hotel. Tim and Neil came to camp and they sleep in a tent. Last night I ate 2 potatoes and a half a hot dog.
February 24, 1999 - Amy and I walked to South Acropolis. There is a tomb here. This is what the entrance looks like.
February 25, 1999 - At A3 if I sit on the top step I will get dirty because the dirt will fall on me. It is not a good idea to play on Ancient Maya steps. They fall if you’re heavy. Sandra will hurt me if I make her clean the steps again.
February 27, 1999 - I went to Caana. It is hot enough to roast a hot dog. Next time I’m bringing marshmallows. I want to get out of the hot sun.
March 1, 1999 - I was at Fort George Hotel. I went swimming there. I got to watch cartoons. Mom didn’t let me buy anything because it’s too expensive. I got to eat broccoli and cheese soup in a bread bowl.
March 6, 1999 - I’ve measured everything in Amy’s lab. I like to use centimeters. It’s easier to tell than inches. Inches are bigger than centimeters.
March 7, 1999 - We had a barbecue today. I had roasted marshmallows. Brian and Katie came to visit. I ate 3 chicken drumsticks.
March 9, 1999 - Yesterday night a wasp stung me 2 times. It hurt when he stung me. Today a scorpion stung Amy. Tanya killed the scorpion with a machete.
March 10, 1999 - Mom and Dad took me to the Valentine's group. It was named after Valentine's Day. We walked a quarter of a mile past the big tree. I saw a skeleton, a termite nest, and an altar. I was tired. I think I lost 30 pounds.
March 11, 1999 - Today I got to play in a helicopter. I got to talk to the army base in the helicopter. The pilot showed me how to fly it. He showed me how to shoot the weapons, but they didn’t have the weapon.
March 12, 1999 - My mom woke me up at 5:00 to see the Howler monkeys. There were 3 of them at Central Acropolis. They look like little hairballs. They are brown. They are sleeping at the top of the tree.
March 13, 1999 - We are measuring shell earflares.
March 15, 1999 - Today we took the group photo. I went to the group and helped the students close the excavation.
March 24, 1999 - It feels great to be home! I’m having fun playing with my toys. I’m going to miss everyone at Caracol. I’m happy to see my friends again.
Adrian Chase's journal
February 3, 1999 - We got to camp today. People had broken in and stolen almost everything. They took the generator so there were no lights.
February 4, 1999 - Dad bought a new generator! Now we have light! I saw a snake slithering toward me. (Era pequeno.) Mom killed it.
February 5, 1999 - We climbed Caana!
February 8, 1999 - Yesterday new students arrived. Today I took them on a tour with the other students. I like going on a tour because I know a lot about Caracol.
February 10, 1999 - Yesterday night a very big tarantula crawled in the lab. This morning Elyse fell out of her hammock.
February 20, 1999 - It has been a busy week. It finally stopped raining, but the bugs are annoying. The showers are full of baby grasshoppers. I have caught up on all but one of my subjects. I am ahead in two classes. The generator is FINALLY working. Tim and Neil go here yesterday. They brought a bigger TV. That will make tonight’s movie much better. I hope we get to see “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” Today, Mom showed me how to take pictures of the excavations with the camera.
February 27, 1999 - We finally got to watch “The Lost World” last week. Tonight is movie night again. Today, I went with Mom and Dad to one of the excavations in the jungle. I got to take pictures of the work and of Mom and Dad. I found a chrysalis from a butterfly over a week ago, but it hasn’t hatched yet. James told me the difference between a moth’s cocoon and a butterfly’s chrysalis. It is hard to explain, but when you touch a chrysalis that has no butterfly anymore it is harder than a cocoon.
March 3, 1999 - We took a trip out to Caracol on Monday. On the way out we had car problems. We almost lost the front wheel of the car. We stopped at three places to repair it. Two places didn’t have the right parts. We ordered the part at the third place and Dad borrowed a spare tire. After that we FINALLY went to the hotel and went swimming. We also got to watch cartoons. On the way back into Caracol the road was very bumpy. I almost made it to the camp before getting carsick.
March 4, 1999 - Yesterday, we went into the bush to see the excavations. I took pictures of Mom, Dad, and a Maya wall. I want to take a picture of the gigantic termite nests.
March 11, 1999 - This afternoon a British Army helicopter landed on site. We didn’t go up in the air, but we got to up inside and see all of the neat stuff. The pilot showed us all of the buttons. We put on the headphones and could talk to each other. I looked at the map. Aubrey kept trying to find the fire button. There were no weapons, but the pilot showed us where they put them in.
March 12, 1999 - Mom and Dad woke me up early to see the howler monkeys. At first all I could see were black shapes moving around in the tops of the trees. When it got light we went up to Central Acropolis. We could see all three monkeys clearly. Right now they are high up in the tree. They are curled up. They are black and have a big gray area around their mouths. All they are doing is resting and scratching. They are making no noise! After breakfast, Mom took me to the excavations. I found out that there are three ways to do an excavation. There are small pits, big area clearings, and trenches. When we dig we look for the things the Maya left like pottery shreds, glyphs, stone tools, bone, and buildings. Sometimes the Maya built one building and then put another one on top. We excavate to bedrock to make sure we have found everything.
March 24, 1999 - It took a long time to drive home. We got in early this morning. It feels a little strange, but nice to be sleeping in a bed! I like Caracol, but I missed home. I am looking forward to going back to school and seeing my friends.
