I wasn´t feeling very well and stayed in "the cell" my last night in San Cristobal. I planned to catch the 6:30 a.m. bus to Palenque but I set the alarm wrong and didn´t wake up. I think it was better that way. I needed sleep. So, I ended up on the noon bus. They tell you..."oh it only takes 4 1/2 hours to get there". In reality you should add an hour or so. It took about 5 1/2 hours. The ride included about 4 hours of curvy roads into the hills - thank goodness I didn't get car sick! The terrain is actually really beautiful, green and tropical - reminded me of Costa Rica. I was still on my "budget" mission and found Posada Nacha'N-Ka'an (say that 5 times fast!). Woo hoo! I got a dorm room for $5 a night! This is kind of fun...who can find the most tolerable place for the least amount of money? Me, me, me! Shared bathroom and sleeping. It was not bad at all and because I slept with earplugs, I got the best sleep ever! The town of Palenque is really just a stop over point or your home base for visiting the Palenque Mayan Ruins.
The next day, I went on a tour of the Ruins and of the 2 local water falls, Misol-ha and Agua Azul.
At the ruins, I decided to join a group of 7 for a guided tour. Till now, I have joined the tours in English, primarily because I don´t want to miss anything. This tour was in Spanish and I don´t think I missed very much...no problem! The ruins are amazing. The experts think that they were 1st occupied around 100 BC and was in its prime around the 7th century with a population of about 8000. There are several large structures where Royalty lived and that were places of worship and human sacrifice- Templo de las Inscripciones, El Palacio, Templo de la Cruz and Templo de la Sol, to name a few. They are surrounded by jungle/rain forest and have beautiful green hills all around. These were brutal times - human sacrifices to the gods and such. I think even the mutilation in the name of beauty was brutal. For example, changing the shape of a babies cranium in order to distinguish royalty from commoners. All in the name of beauty - sheesh...wait, don´t we have an entire profession dedicated to that???
On the tour, I met Mossimo and Oriana from Rome, Italy. They are a very cool couple traveling through Mexico for 5 weeks or so. They let me tag along with them and we chatted all day about everything - Obama, the sub-prime crisis, the President of Italy (oh I forget his name), Rome, the south of Italy, how their county has the best ice cream ever! - it was great! It´s funny how everyone has the "lonley planet bible", theirs in Italian and mine in English!
After visiting the ruins, we went to the smaller of the two water falls Misol-ha. Nice falls but nothing too impressive. These falls are kind of dangerous so I didn´t get in the water.
From Misol-ha, we drove to Agua Azul. Agua Azul is the place where the guide books tell you the access road can be dangerous because tourists have been robbed by machete-armed thieves - yikes! But, I am in a van with about 12 other tourists so it should be fine right? I am sitting in the front seat with the driver and when we pull up to the "checkpoint" (several local men hold up a rope blocking your passage), he tells me, in Spanish, to lock the door. Ah...yeah sure OK whatever you say. You can tell me in Mandarin, German, Japanese, whatever you want and I get it! They collect $1 per person from him and we proceed on. No drama...whew! It´s my understanding that those men are from the self-governed local indigenous community and they "allow" access to the falls. Agua Azul is beeeeeaaaauuuuttttteeefuuullll! Several falls converging into one large fall. There are swimming areas as well but the water was cold! I love the sound of the water. It was just so powerful and loud. We saw a local woman bathing her little boys there and then she proceeded to wash her own hair...I am sure that´s exactly what used to happen thousands of years ago...and I don´t care where you come from ALL little boys love to play with cars after their bath!
All in all, an action packed day and totally worth it (although found out that the tour agency ripped me off as far as the price goes...my fault, I didn´t shop around)! I wanted to take the night bus to Merida that night, but when I went to buy the ticket, the bus was sold out. That was a 1st for me, so far everything I´ve wanted to do, I was able to do. So I stayed in the $5 dorm another night and I will take the bus tonight. I spent today blogging and trying to hang out in places that have A/C. It´s hot and sticky here and I am ready to leave. I am not a huge fan of the town of Palenque - just passing through! Adios Chiapas, I am off to Merida, Chichen Itza, Tulum and the like, in the state of the Yucatan.
The next day, I went on a tour of the Ruins and of the 2 local water falls, Misol-ha and Agua Azul.
At the ruins, I decided to join a group of 7 for a guided tour. Till now, I have joined the tours in English, primarily because I don´t want to miss anything. This tour was in Spanish and I don´t think I missed very much...no problem! The ruins are amazing. The experts think that they were 1st occupied around 100 BC and was in its prime around the 7th century with a population of about 8000. There are several large structures where Royalty lived and that were places of worship and human sacrifice- Templo de las Inscripciones, El Palacio, Templo de la Cruz and Templo de la Sol, to name a few. They are surrounded by jungle/rain forest and have beautiful green hills all around. These were brutal times - human sacrifices to the gods and such. I think even the mutilation in the name of beauty was brutal. For example, changing the shape of a babies cranium in order to distinguish royalty from commoners. All in the name of beauty - sheesh...wait, don´t we have an entire profession dedicated to that???
On the tour, I met Mossimo and Oriana from Rome, Italy. They are a very cool couple traveling through Mexico for 5 weeks or so. They let me tag along with them and we chatted all day about everything - Obama, the sub-prime crisis, the President of Italy (oh I forget his name), Rome, the south of Italy, how their county has the best ice cream ever! - it was great! It´s funny how everyone has the "lonley planet bible", theirs in Italian and mine in English!
After visiting the ruins, we went to the smaller of the two water falls Misol-ha. Nice falls but nothing too impressive. These falls are kind of dangerous so I didn´t get in the water.
From Misol-ha, we drove to Agua Azul. Agua Azul is the place where the guide books tell you the access road can be dangerous because tourists have been robbed by machete-armed thieves - yikes! But, I am in a van with about 12 other tourists so it should be fine right? I am sitting in the front seat with the driver and when we pull up to the "checkpoint" (several local men hold up a rope blocking your passage), he tells me, in Spanish, to lock the door. Ah...yeah sure OK whatever you say. You can tell me in Mandarin, German, Japanese, whatever you want and I get it! They collect $1 per person from him and we proceed on. No drama...whew! It´s my understanding that those men are from the self-governed local indigenous community and they "allow" access to the falls. Agua Azul is beeeeeaaaauuuuttttteeefuuullll! Several falls converging into one large fall. There are swimming areas as well but the water was cold! I love the sound of the water. It was just so powerful and loud. We saw a local woman bathing her little boys there and then she proceeded to wash her own hair...I am sure that´s exactly what used to happen thousands of years ago...and I don´t care where you come from ALL little boys love to play with cars after their bath!
All in all, an action packed day and totally worth it (although found out that the tour agency ripped me off as far as the price goes...my fault, I didn´t shop around)! I wanted to take the night bus to Merida that night, but when I went to buy the ticket, the bus was sold out. That was a 1st for me, so far everything I´ve wanted to do, I was able to do. So I stayed in the $5 dorm another night and I will take the bus tonight. I spent today blogging and trying to hang out in places that have A/C. It´s hot and sticky here and I am ready to leave. I am not a huge fan of the town of Palenque - just passing through! Adios Chiapas, I am off to Merida, Chichen Itza, Tulum and the like, in the state of the Yucatan.
2 comments:
Hey Jojo (In spanish, isn't it pronounced "hoho"?). Looks like a blast, and I'll expect more espanol from you out on the golf course. I appreciate you including me in your "things I miss" list, but I spell my name Mathew. ;-)
Joanne;
I'm still so excited about this blog. You sound like you are having an amazing time and as I sit here in my cube at work, I'm living vicariously through you and your adventure.
Safe travels!!!
Tina Divita
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