We made it to Palenque! This is an amazing Mayan ruin, much more impressive than I ever expected. It rained off and on all morning, but that didn't even take away from our experience - in fact, it may have added to it. The temples were shrouded in a swirling mist, howler monkeys' roars were echoing through the jungle......pretty cool ambiance. (I'm leaving out the tour bus full of Germans, which did NOT add to the ambiance, at least not in a good way. But once they had waddled off, peace was restored.)
The heyday of Palenque was in the 600 a.d. to 900 a.d time period. Those folks were pretty darned industrious, hauling all those stones around without the aid of a bulldozer...... There are some amazing carvings, both on site and removed and preserved in the museum. There are a bunch of tiny sculptures taken from the site and in the museum now, they are from 1 to 6 inches high, and so intricate. Amazing...
Anyway, we are staying at El Panchan, an area near the ruins, in the jungle. Pretty rustic, but we have a huge room (with a kitchenette) for less than $17 a night. Even has hot water..... (Which is less of a draw now, as it is HOT and humid!) Getting here from San Cristobal was interesting, though...... We took a minibus instead of a chicken bus, which was a great idea. (We got to stop at a couple of cool waterfalls along the way.) The route is 6 hours or so of driving time, down out of the mountains on a very winding, twisty, speed-bump-laden road. The driver (Alfredo) was a bit of a maniac, and the tires were literally squealing as he rounded the bends at a high rate of speed. (The word "plummet" kept popping into my mind, for some reason....) Alfredo also likes head-banger music and thought it would be nice to share that with all of us. Marilyn Manson, Metallica (with an inexplicable dash of "Who Let the Dogs Out"), it all just added to the fun. We will buy stock in whatever company makes Dramamine when we get back - yes, once again, just say YES to drugs! Anyway, we made it here safe and sound.
Tomorrow we are off to Bonampak and Yaxchilan, two other Mayan sites, more remote and deeper in the jungle. Then Saturday we cross the Usumacinta River and we'll be back in Guatemala!
More from Guatemala........
The heyday of Palenque was in the 600 a.d. to 900 a.d time period. Those folks were pretty darned industrious, hauling all those stones around without the aid of a bulldozer...... There are some amazing carvings, both on site and removed and preserved in the museum. There are a bunch of tiny sculptures taken from the site and in the museum now, they are from 1 to 6 inches high, and so intricate. Amazing...
Anyway, we are staying at El Panchan, an area near the ruins, in the jungle. Pretty rustic, but we have a huge room (with a kitchenette) for less than $17 a night. Even has hot water..... (Which is less of a draw now, as it is HOT and humid!) Getting here from San Cristobal was interesting, though...... We took a minibus instead of a chicken bus, which was a great idea. (We got to stop at a couple of cool waterfalls along the way.) The route is 6 hours or so of driving time, down out of the mountains on a very winding, twisty, speed-bump-laden road. The driver (Alfredo) was a bit of a maniac, and the tires were literally squealing as he rounded the bends at a high rate of speed. (The word "plummet" kept popping into my mind, for some reason....) Alfredo also likes head-banger music and thought it would be nice to share that with all of us. Marilyn Manson, Metallica (with an inexplicable dash of "Who Let the Dogs Out"), it all just added to the fun. We will buy stock in whatever company makes Dramamine when we get back - yes, once again, just say YES to drugs! Anyway, we made it here safe and sound.
Tomorrow we are off to Bonampak and Yaxchilan, two other Mayan sites, more remote and deeper in the jungle. Then Saturday we cross the Usumacinta River and we'll be back in Guatemala!
More from Guatemala........
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