Palenque/Chiapas

We traveled to Palenque on the overnight bus from Cancun – Amy, Josh and I.  It actually took around 14 hours instead of 12, but all in all it wasn’t a bad ride.  I probably slept around 4-5 hours on and off.  They played a succession and movies and programs, all made in English but dubbed into Spanish with no subtitles.  I watched a movie on my computer, then tried to sleep.  There were many checkpoints we passed through going from the Yucatan through the states of Campeche, Tabasco and finally Chiapas.  There has been some unrest over the years in Chiapas with the oppression of the locals, especially the Mayan population there.  The military and police presence is very evident on the streets and highways.  At 5 am on the bus, we stopped at a checkpoint, and a soldier came on the bus and started asking questions of various passengers, mostly the younger ones, including Josh.  They asked them to get off the bus and opened their backpacks and suitcases searching, I suppose, for weapons and drugs.  The soldier also came back on the bus while Josh was outside and snooped around in his backpack.  It kind of gave me the creeps, but Josh said that he was actually really nice, smiling and asking questions about is camping stove, how long the gas canister lasted and so on.  He figured he wanted one just like it.  Anyways, after about a half hour we were on our way again.

We arrived in Palenque around 11 am, and proceeded to the Colectivo – a van that takes people from one area to the next, and after a short ride we arrived at our destination, a compound of small hotels, cabins and restaurants called Al Panchan.  We booked into a small cabin on the river in a place called Jungle Palace.  The cabin was very basic, with no bathroom and only a small lightbulb in the ceiling.  The walls were all screened, so it was almost like being outside.  It was right on the river, so we could hear the sound of the water all the time.  And the jungle is amazing!  Huge trees and tropical leaves, great bamboo clusters and palms, lots of birds, butterflies, as well as hundreds of fish easily visible in the river.  At night we can hear the howler monkeys, though we have yet to see them.  We slept there the first night, not a great sleep as there was a lot of music and partying going on till the wee hours.

The next morning we decided to upgrade to a room with a private bathroom, slightly away from the river, but much roomier and a little nicer, even with towels provided.  For this we paid the grand price of 200 pesos per night, which is around $16.At night we returned to our place, and on the way began walking with a woman who was strolling along the road near us.  We started talking and I said: “You’re from Canada, aren’t you?”  Yes she said. “Where from?”  “Gabriola Island” she said.  Oh come on!!!  What are the chances of that?  Coincidence?  I think not!  So now she is hanging with us, we’ve done some yoga together and shared stories of our common friends on Gabriola (there are many).  We went for dinner and watched a great Mexican family band play a long set of very danceable music, and then settled in to watch fire dancing while drinking Margaritas.  The fire dancers – there were four men – were phenomenal!  Each one had a different character, and each act led to the next in a big crescendo of excitement.  Sometimes they danced in pairs, sometimes solo, and it was a wonderful combination of dance, theatre, mime, fire and magic!  We had a great party last night! 

We have been here for three days, and have taken two excursions so far.  Yesterday we went to the Mayan ruins about a half hour walk from here.  These ruins are very large and extensive, and right in the jungle, so there are ancient trees, including orange and banana trees, with the howler monkeys accompanying us with their sounds as we explore.  What a beautiful and powerful place this is!  At the height of the civilization that inhabited this “town”, there were approximately 8,000 people living here.  There are around 15 temples, a palace, residences, army headquarters, a ball court and so on.  It covers acres and acres of jungle, and there are rivers and waterfalls running through the area as well – gorgeous.  The timeframe was around 600 AD to 900 AD, after which the town went into decline.  There are sculptures of Mayan rulers and supernatural beings.  In the museum nearby we saw large incense “censers” made from ceramic and stones, depicting rulers, deities, animals and other figures.  I felt a real connection with the West Coast Native cultures like Haida, as many of the sculptures had a totem feel to them.  I tried to imagine what life was like living in this town back then.  We walked and walked through the ruins and the jungle, amazed by the scope of the ruins and the beauty of the surroundings.

 

Today we took a van with a load of travelers to two wonderful waterfalls.  The first one is called Misel-ha, and it is very high.  Amy and Josh jumped in the water and swam in the deep pools below the falls, and I hung out and breathed in the air filled with the mist of the falls.  All around are the green mountains of Chiapas, and it is quite a magical space.  Then on we went to the next site called Agua Azul (Blue Waters) with a multi-level series of smaller falls that run for at least a couple of kilometres.  We walked to the top of the park, and Josh and I jumped in the water in a safe area.  It was very refreshing, and again a magical and beautiful location.

 

So we have another couple of days to be here in Palenque.  Tomorrow we’ll go to town for a few hours to check in online (no Internet here in the jungle), check bus schedules to our next stop, San Cristobal de la Casas, and pick up a few things, including lunch.  Then back “home” for a chill afternoon and evening, preparing for yet another adventure in Chiapas.