Palenque, ruins in the Jungle

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Over the course of history these Mayan ruins have been lost and found several times. In 1773 Father Ordenez Aguilar led an expedition to the ruins and wrote a book about. In 1782 Captain Antonio del Rio explored Palenque, his report was filed away in Guatemalan archives until 1822. An English translation was made and a number of expeditions were made. In his sixties Count de Waldeck lived in one of the pyramids for two years, and wrote highly exaggerated reports of his findings.

Now bus loads of tourists file into the entrance of Palenque everyday. Still the magic of the place has not been lost. Because of the size, it's possible to avoid the other tourists. The buildings set in the jungle have a sense of mystery and sadness. It's sad that so much of the Mayan civilisation that must at its height have been extremely impressive has been lost. One small path lead deeper into the jungle. At its end was a smaller building with deep chamber that had very narrow dark stairs down into it. Had it been used for storage of food or prisoners?

Many of the buildings were accessible, both inside and out. In the two hours I spent there I visited most of the ruins, though I could easily see how a lifetime could be spent studying them. Still more impressive is that even to me it was obvious that the jungle still holds more secrets. If only it hadn't been quite so hot and humid, jungle, nice but hot and humid.

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