Blogs from Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, North America

Hello all, I'm just writing a small travel blog to keep family and anyone else who may be interested updated on my travels around the world over the next 6 months. I'm afraid the route I'm currently taking through Mexico means that my first few weeks have been fairly preoccupied with ruins, so this may not be the most interesting read, but anyway I shall start at the beginning... After some very quick and efficient flights on Saturday the 3rd of March (excluding some slightly terrifying emergency sirens and an airport lockdown in Detroit) I arrived in Cancun a little bleary eyed about 8 in the evening local time. I shared a cab with a very friendly and forward American lady, who has offered me use of her time share in Cancun whenever I want it ... read more

It's now coming up to a week since I left England for Mexico it but feels like I've been travelling for months already. The first week has required some adjustment and lot of trial and error but I slowly feel like I'm getting there and have even found myself making some half decent attempts at Spanish. After writing the first blog post on the morning of my flight I left for Heathrow and said goodbye to my family and Cat, who joined me at the airport. I hadn't slept much the night before so crashed out on the plane and then had the pleasure of five hours in Miami (three of which were spent queuing for immigration!). Luckily the person I sat next to on the flight, Natalie from the Shetland islands, also had some time ... read more

Only got a couple of hours sleep last night – my fault, really. I said to Ian, “Do you want me to save you a sleeping pill mate? I’m gonna take as many as I can. I don’t even want to wake up.” Ian, being a pharmacist, gave me two and confiscated the packet. He didn’t get much sleep either so I couldn’t steal them in the night. We stayed in the jungle area slightly outside Palenque, called El Panchan – “a travellers favourite”, which usually means it’s full of people juggling on unicycles, wearing loose fitting cotton slacks and matting their hair some more. With Ian’s hat and my rollies, we’d fit right in. Paid £15 for a hut with a paper roof and it even came with a pet frog in the bathroom. Plan ... read more

So after leaving San Cristobel, we caught the early morning bus towards Palenque. No major issues with the bus you’ll be glad to hear, although I wouldn’t advise trying to use the toilet facilities standing up on these buses…. After a few sudden stops for speed bumps, and a few bends in the road, I was way too close to wearing my own pee! So anyway, on arrival, we managed to find a decent enough hotel (Hotel Chablis) near town, and went on a wander to find a local tour agency in order to book a trip to the ruins of Palenque. The tour guide we met was a great fella, and straight down the line, which is great when you are in a new place…. He seemed really proud of his town also, as he ... read more

Palenque was the culmination of Hannable's Mexico journeys, and was not in the least, anti-climactic. We stayed at a world famous hippie-esque, economic hostel-resort called "El Panchan," that is literally located in the jungle with all matters of bugs, frog-lizard thingamajigs, and of course the howling monkeys with no regard for sleeping cousins at 4am. We also came across a wonderful family of artisans that shared their lives with us and can be found on facebook at (Viodor Shiva). The amount of intellectual and spiritual connection forged between us and this family can only be explained as synchronistic. Some of these ideas include such fringe topics as: Atlantis and Lemuria, the Hollow Earth, free energy, and foods to combat the radiation pummeling North America as we speak. It was nice to have like minds to converse ... read more

BOR PANIAGUA During my visits to Naha’, I settle with Kin Sol, his wife, in their family home. This created community of nearly 300 people is comprised entirely of Northern Lacandon Maya, whose ancestors lived in isolated woodland pockets rather than structured neighbourhoods. Several other similar villages, all created by government decree, are scattered near the ancient Maya cities of Palenque, Yaxchilan, and Tonina, Mexico. Cement-block homes with tin roofs flank the dusty dirt trail that meanders through the settlement. Traditional wooden homes with thatch roofs occupied by the community elders are set back from the road, obscured by dense rainforest foliage. For many days, Kin Sol caressed my vibrant blue-and-green cotton hammock, its’ softness a stark contrast to their coarsely woven single-width hammocks, the only kind available in San Cristobal de Las Casas, th... read more