After I took a private plane to the wilds of the Petén jungle in Guatemala years ago to see Tikal, I never thought I'd see another major Mayan historic site. But I was proved wrong during my recent Norwegian Jade cruise to the Western Caribbean.

We decided to skip the nearby ruins of Chacchoben (a popular excursion) and opted for the Dzibanche ruins at Kinichna. It's bigger and grander than Chacchoben, though farther away (100 minutes' drive each way). There were only eight of us all told in the tour organized by The Native Choice ($75 per person). 

As Wikipedia tells us: "The name Dzibanche means "writing on wood" in the Mayan language, taking its name from the sculpted wooden lintels of the Temple of the Lintels" (pictured in the gallery above). 

A major Maya city whose importance came to light just a few years ago, Dzibanche includes the Temple of the Captives, the Temple of the Lintels and the Temple of the Owl. We were able to walk freely on most of the structures. For three hours, we had the entire complex to ourselves. Heaven.