Palenque

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The ruins at Palenque are one of those big sites that everyone tells you to go see. We took a five-hour cab ride from Xpuijl and arrived at the town of Palenque cramped and sweaty. After our rustic stay in Xpuijl, we opted to stay in a hotel in Palenque, which was actually not much more expensive than the one the night before. Hot showers, clean beds and TV!! What luxury. We watched Ace Ventura; Pet Detective in Spanish, and all fell asleep on the same bed.

We took a taxi to the ruins the next day. The site is spectacular, and you can go into some of the ruins, which you couldn't do in Calakmul. In the past, you could go into many more of the buildings, though, but perhaps because of the sheer amount of people, there are only several tightly-controlled underground passageways open now. Most interesting was the burial site of a "female dignitary"; a.k.a., queen. She orchestrated some of the construction at Palenque, and was buried in a temple next to her husbands' (bigger) temple. But still, you could see her tomb. Across from these there is another tomb; that of the archeologist who discovered Palenque - namely, the kings tomb - and led its excavation. His tomb is obviously small in comparison. Not even a pyramid.

The Sun Temple and adjoining buildings have ornate and crazy "roof combs." Because they make the buildings look like mushrooms and are so crazy, some people argue that this is proof that the Mayans used magic mushrooms. We argue that this is simply the Lonely Planet making stuff up. But they do look pretty weird, and have an architectural style found no where else in Palenque.

Parts of Palenque are still being excavated. These are the not-so-impressive buildings; one or two story structures where (we imagine) normal people lived. You could walk inside these structures, still covered with moss, and sit on stone benches still in existence.

What was so different about Palenque - compared with Uxmal and especially Calakmul - was how touristy it was. It had a built up visitor's centre, accompanying museum, and manicured grass and paths. The annoying part about this was that there were vendors in the site itself, between the buildings on the paths, with wares spread on the ground to sell (the same crafts that are for sale everywhere in Mexico). This really interferes with one's personal experience with the site in imagining how it once was. So even though Palenque had more ornate architecture, Calakmul definitely wins for overall experience and magic.

After visiting the site for a happy (and hot) four hours, we taxied back to the town and spent a lovely evening eating regional food (and Magnums, Lorenzo's favourite ice cream). Tomorrow, we leave for San Cristóbal de las Casas.

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Photos

Waterfall
There were waterfalls, but they weren't that exciting. It was a relief from the sun, though. It was so hot!!