Chichen-Itza

Another pyramid day! After a two-hour bus-ride from Merida we arrived at the Chichen-Itza archeological site. It was really, really hot, and there were thousands of other tourists. We took a guided tour and then walked around for a while on our own. We couldn’t climb up any of the pyramids like we could in Palenque. But it was still fun.

Merida

Free day in Merida! We are now in the Yucatan of Mexico. Merida is actually a really cute little town. We walked around the centro and saw the cathedral and a few other churches that were located around the central area of town. Later in the afternoon we came back and got to see all the Sunday festivities. The entire centro was filled with people and food vendors. Patrick and I had some really good gringa tacos and Ellie found some more elote and some fried plantain bananas. There was some live music too and lots of people dancing in the streets. Merida is pretty nice.

Palenque Pyramids

Today we have to pack up all of our stuff again because tonight we are leaving for Merida at 11 pm for another overnight bus trip. We put all of our bags in Jaime’s room to store it for our day of pyramid adventures. At 11 am we got into the vans again and headed to the Palenque archeological site. It is only about 15 outside of the city area, out in the middle of the jungle. When we got to the pyramid entrance we hired a guide to talk us through our first hour of the tour. The pyramids were amazing. Unlike Teotihuacán in Mexico City or Monte Alban in Oaxaca, these pyramids seemed to be made with much cleaner lines and were obviously better preserved. We did a tour of the temple of an ancient queen known as the red queen, and then the palacio principal. The guide explained the significance of each structure and the location of the tomb of the king. The actual tomb is closed to public viewing, but there is a replica of the tomb in the museum on the lower area of the archeological area. After our hour tour, we were given two hours of free time to explore Palenque on our own. I climbed up to the top of the temple of the cross from which the entire site was visible. The view was incredible. Next we walked around the lower area where there were smaller structures wedged between tall trees with beautiful red blossoms. There were also these trees with red bark which they call “gringo trees” because if you leave a gringo out in the sun too long their skin turns red just like the bark of the trees. A few of us decided to go further and explore the lower trails and some little waterfalls created by a small stream. The water of the little river was so clear and fresh looking that we were tempted to swim, but without swimming suits and the clearly marked “no swimming” signs, the plan was soon dropped. The bottom of the trial came out near the museum, so we decided we might as well go in. It was still boiling hot, and contrary to our assumptions, the museum was not air-conditioned. We got to see the replica of the tomb of the king, which was pretty impressive. Alberto Ruz L Huillier, the man who was the first to discover the tomb said something amazing about his discovery and how he felt upon opening up the tomb for the first time. More or less what he said was: what our eyes are first to discover is the same that was seen by the last priest who closed the tomb. After leaving the museum we went back to the parking lot to meet up with the others. There were some howler monkeys hanging out in the trees a little ways into the jungle yelling at something or someone. I only saw one or two, but it sounded like a lot more of them were hanging out in the trees. When the van finally arrived, all 17 of us packed in and we headed back to the hotel. The first thing I did when I got back was to get my bathing suit on and then jump into the pool. It was so humid and hot! Later in the evening we all went out for dinner together at a restaurant near the centro of Palenque. The food proportions were enormous, and after a long day of hiking around, we were all famished. Then back to the hotel again to collect our things to go to the bus station. Our bus for Merida leaves at 11 pm with a scheduled arrival some time the next morning. Good night!

Misol-ha y Agua Azul

On our first full day in Palenque we took a trip to visit some of the waterfall sites outside of the city. We split up into two vans and headed out at 9 am. The road we took was the same road that we had to take to come in on the bus and it was just as windy and scary in a small van as in a huge bus. First we went to a waterfall called Misol-ha. It was only about a five-minute walk from the vans to the waterfall. It was a really beautiful waterfall with a trail behind. First I walked around behind the waterfall and up to a little cave on the other side. For 10 pesos each, a guide gave us flashlights and led us into the little cave to see the waterfall inside. It was really dark and hard to see where I was going. But we didn’t have to go very far to see the waterfall. There were lots of bats too. After getting out of the cave I walked back down to the pool below the waterfall and went swimming with some of the others. I tried to swim across to the waterfall but the current of the water and the spray of the waterfall made it really difficult. My arms got really tired after only a few minutes of swimming in place. We only stayed at Misol-ha for about an hour before getting back into the vans and heading to another waterfall location called Agua Azul. We had to endure another torturous journey on the windy road to get there. Agua Azul is more or less a series of smallish waterfalls along a river. You can hike for a while along the side of the river to see the different levels of the waterfall. It was a really touristy location with souvenir vendors occupying every inch of space along the rock-paved trail. I saw a lot of other gringos along the way, enjoying the local tourist locations just like us. There weren’t very many pools for swimming in, but we found one area where we could swim and float around in the current. I walked up the river a little way with Andrew and Dario to find a place to jump in and catch the current. It was really fun. The current was so strong that I was swept down into the lower pool where the others were sitting in the water. After a few more rounds of riding the current, we walked down the trail again to the van. Some of us decided to stop at the restaurant for food, which turned out to be horrible food. Oh well. After eating we got back into the vans and headed back to the hotel in Palenque. Another hour on the terrible roads. We got back around 5 pm, and then Ellie, Andrew and I decided to walk up the street to find the centro. Ellie was on a quest to find “elote,” so we went to see if we could find a street vendor Elote is a common street food that consists of corn on the cob smothered with lime flavored mayonnaise and then sprinkled with powdered cheese and chili powder. Downtown Palenque wasn’t anything too spectacular, but we managed to find elote for Ellie. We saw a few of the same tourist that we had seen at Agua Azul in the centro. After walking back to the hotel I changed back into my swimming suit and jumped into the pool. It felt so amazing after walking around in the evening humidity. Long exhausting day, but it was lots of fun.

Palenque

Woke up at 5:40 am to catch a bus out of San Cristobal to Palenque. We all stumbled out of bed and into the bus station and onto the bus. I tried to sleep most of the six-hour journey, but it was so bumpy and twisted that I was slipping out of my seat most of the ride. When we finally got to Palenque I stumbled out of the bus into the humid sweltering heat of the afternoon. It was certainly a change from the damp rainy weather in San Cristobal. We lugged our bags up the street to our hotel, a Best Western “Maya Palenque.” Our rooms weren’t ready yet so we waited around in the lobby for a while. I walked down to the grocery store on the corner with Glory and bought some snacks. On the way back I saw no one, but four iguanas along the sidewalk. One was really huge. After checking into my room, I immediately put on my bathing suit and jumped into the pool. I spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and lounging by the pool. It is soooo hot here. I literally did nothing accept lounge around all afternoon. Later I saw another iguana behind the pool chairs. They are all over the place!

San Juan Chamula y Zinacantán

Today we met together at 9:30 to leave for our trip to some nearby pueblitos and learn about the indigenous culture in the Chiapas region. We boarded two smaller vans this time and headed out. First we stopped in the small town of Zinacantán. To enter the town you have to pay a tourist fee and only special tourist organizations are trusted to enter. First we stopped in the main square and visited the church. The alter was completely adorned in fresh cut flowers that are grown in nurseries around this region. All of the women and a good majority of the men in the town were dressed in the traditional attire. All the women, and even the tiny children, were draped in elaborately hand-stitched shawls in a palate of purples and blues. Even some of the men wore the same blue and purple flowery decorates shawls. The town is known as the town of the bat or “murcielago” in Spanish. The people here still talk in their indigenous languages as well as in Spanish. Across from the church there was an outside basketball court where a group of school children were practicing a traditional dance to waltz that I recognized but could not place. After visiting the church the tour guide guy took us to a house in the town where he talked to us about the changes and adaptations of the traditional clothing worn by the indigenous of the this region. We got to try a traditional alcoholic beverage called bosh, which is made from sugar cane. It tasted terrible and I couldn’t drink all of it. The inner room of the house was filled with the stitch work of the women from the village. It was all very similar to the work found in the marketplace in San Cristobal. All the shawls and bags were hand stitched and adorned. There were two or three tiny little indigenous girls who must not have been more than 5 or 6 years old who where stationed at one table selling potholders and macramé bracelets. Next we went into the kitchen area where the guide explained the four colors of corn and their relationship with the concept of the four cardinal directions. The women in the kitchen were making blue-corn tortillas over a small wood-stocked stove. They cook everything without the luxuries of propane ovens, stoves and refrigeration. After leaving Zinacantán we drove to another small town called San Juan Chamula. In San Juan we went to the centro and the main church where the people of the town come to perform healing. Picture taking within the church is strictly forbidden and enforced. As I took my first step into the church I was met by a wave of incense. There were candles everywhere and groups of people kneeling near each group of candles performing medicinal rituals with eggs and herbs and recently sacrificed chickens. I felt like an intruder into their healing rituals and as soon as the incense smoke became too much to handle I left to get some air. When we were all back outside we walked back to the vans and drove back to San Cristobal. Ellie and I decided to climb up to the top of a church along some steep stairs. It was a pretty hefty climb, and along the way we got ambushed by some children who convinced us to sign our names on their “homework” and then donate to their school. They were very young little kids and it was obvious that our money was going straight into their pockets, but you couldn’t be mad knowing that they really did need the money. The view from the top was amazing and you could see all of the Chiapas valley of San Cristobal. The church at the top was locked but we walked around anyway. There was a really awesome strip of what looked at first to be playground toys, but were actually gym-style workout devices. They had pull-up bars and crunch tables. It was pretty cool. It gives a whole new meaning to playgrounds. After taking lots of pictures of the amazing view we climbed down the steps past the children who had recently trapped some more gringos into donating to their cause. Smart little kids. We walked back down and had some lunch before heading back to the hotel to crash for the afternoon.

Cañon del Sumidero

Nine o’clock start for our first day of adventures. Slightly cloudy with a chance of rain. We boarded our private mini-van and headed out into the mountains. After about an hour drive we arrived at the river and the boat launch. We each got a neon-orange life preserver and boarded the large motorboat with a group of other tourists. The Cañon del Sumidero goes on for hours as we sped along in the boat. Rocky cliffs towered into the clouds along both sides of the canyon. Periodically we would stop to get a close up of an alligator, heron bird or a spider monkey. The lush green foliage was beautiful against the black and gray rocky cliffs. I took lots of pictures of the twists and turns of the canyon walls set against the puffy cloud-blotched blue sky. It was gorgeous. The wind on my face and the beauty of the gorge kept me in a kind of blank-minded trance of awe for most of the trip. When we got back to the dock we returned our life preservers and headed back to the van. We stopped at a little pueblito on the way back and walked around the market and the centro a little bit. Nothing too exciting. Then we boarded the van again and made our way back to San Cristobal. I fell asleep on the way back and slept most of the hour-long journey. It had begun to rain by the time we got back. There was a car accident along the slippery highway home, but luckily we didn’t have any problems. One back in San Cristobal, Ellie, Rochelle and I decided to go find some lunch. We walked back down to the restaurant strip and picked another café. After lunch Rochelle headed back and Ellie and I went to the market again. Ellie still wanted to find some amber earrings for her mom. She found some pretty teardrop ones at a good price after a little bit of bargaining. After the artisan market we decided to go the produce market again to get some fresh fruit. I bought a bag of about 15 mangos for 10 pesos, and Ellie got a bag of little plums for 10 as well. We also got a bunch of about 20 baby bananas for only 8 pesos. We headed back to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening just hanging out and being lazy.