Palenque was the site of these incredible and vast Mayan ruins, a city to rival Guatamala's Tikal, which I will visit at the end of my trip. I got to explore them the first day we arrived, and although it was raining for most of the day, I was still awestruck. I'm afraid I have no words to do them justice, but I spent a good three hours exploring all the ruins and the surrounding jungle, whcih gives some idea of their vastness. I hope my photos will show them off somewhat, but I am too lazy to wait for them [View Full Entry]

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Efter en 12 timers udemaerket bustur ankom vi lettere forvirrede og morgentraette til Palenque Pueblo busstation kl 7 om morgenen. Vi var naermest ikke traadt ud af bussen, foer vi blev hevet og flaaet i fra alle sider af ivirige tourguider og hotelejere, og da vi jo som sagt havde tilbragt 12 timer i en bus, var vi maaske (overraskende nok) ikke helt klare i knolden, saa vi endte med at sige ja til en 12 timers dagstur rundt i Palenque og omegn!!!! Turen var med afgang kl 8, forstaaes! Og da klokken allerede naermede sig 7.30 og vi stadig ikke [View Full Entry]

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Day 11 - Thursday 10th July: Palenque Mayan Ruins & some impressive waterfalls Booked my onward bus ticket out of Palenque for 9pm this evening - I'd been tipped off by an Austrian guy in Mexican City that there wasn't anything other than the ruins to see here, so to stay only a day at most. So when I arrived at my hostel last night to be offered a tour of the ruins and some local watefalls that finishes at 6.30pm it fits perfectly. Palenque is the first of the Mayan ruins I will be visiting which if I'm honest is [View Full Entry]

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Hola amigos and bienvenidos to the mexican leg of our cycle jaunt. We start off in Cancun and, oo it ain't 'arf 'ot. Except in our room in Casa Mexico Tipico, where it is just about sub-zero. We are staying with Hilda, her family and Pepita, the chihuahua. Hilda's mother is a music teacher and we are entertained by a parade of young pianists, percusionists and guitarists. All is not harmony, however, and I fear at one point that someone has stepped on Pepita, but it is only the violin class warming up. We liberate our bikes from the cardboard that [View Full Entry]

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We learned a quick lesson today that in central America your hotel need not have a shower as at this time of year nature is quite capable of providing one for you. We got off our bus and realised it was definitely air conditioned, a heat wave hit us as we exited in the small town of Palenque. We have dropped down in altitude now from Mexico city and San Cristobal de las Casas and finally Leanne feels at home in the stinky hot humid heat. Palenque is a small town with not much happening but set on the outskirts is [View Full Entry]

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Leaving the Yucatan Peninsula and getting into Chiapas was like entering another country, one that is more green, hilly and simply more Mexican. It felt so much better when I could see whole Mexican families, how they eat, have fun and even do touristy stuff. The thing is, there really aren´t that many white tourists here, which is strange and quite refreshing at the same time. It forces you to learn the language a bit more quickly. So, for instance, I can now order my weak latte without explaining the milk Vs. coffee proportions (cafe suave) - it´s very helpful ;o) [View Full Entry]

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Palenque is a small town in the Southern Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala. It´s more Central American than Mexican as its surrounded by thick green jungle and humidity you almost have to swim through. The main draw here is a set of ruins built by the Mayans that have been absorbed into the jungle and untouched for a very long time. They were good to wander around for a few hours in the morning when the sun wasn't fully overhead. I caught the nightbus out of Mexico city in order to save a bit of time and [View Full Entry]

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Flash, followed but a roaring, billowing BOOM. The lightning is close, very close. The sky is a constant flicker of light as sparks jump through the clouds. A heavy rain pitter patters on the aluminum roof of the truck. We just cooked a vegetable pasta dinner in the most extreme cooking conditions of my life. We were able to get the stove started on the tail gate just before the storm hit. instantly everything became dark as the thick storm clouds blocked the setting sun. Intense rain descended and we were soaked to the core in a matter of seconds. There [View Full Entry]

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After a rather uneventful 10 hour bus trip from Merida (well the only thing of interest was the militray checkpoint where little Mexicans with big guns did a random search of our luggage, including Soni´s), we finally reached Palenque. The next day we went to the Mayan ruins of Palenque, which are even more impressive that those at Chichen Itza. These ruins are in more of a jungle setting, the humidity is high, and the bug count is even higher! Unlike Itza, were were able to climb some of the pyramids, and in one or two of them, go inside and [View Full Entry]

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Здравствуйте, Джунгли!!! Из прекрасной, уютной Мериды мы рано утром поймали на автобус до Palenque. Palenque находится в джунглях, совсем недалеко от границы с Гватемалой, и вот тут началось мое тесное общение с мексиканскими пограничниками. Хоть автобусы (как и самолеты) в Мексике - чище и удобнее, чем в США, но из-за нелегальных перевозов наркотиков (так нам объяснили) и восстаний местного аборигенного населения против власти, правительство строго контролирует дороги, а чем ближе к границе, тем тщательней. Короче, каждые 2-3 часа во время рейса, автобус останавливает группа пограничников/военных, одетых соответственно в штатское с автоматами. При остановке, варианты такие: 1) Парочка военных заходят в автобус [View Full Entry]

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