Onward to Palenque

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SC writes: This is our third day comprising a journey and visit to classic Mayan sight.<br style="color:� font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" />Today we started early and drove 5 hours to Palenque. On the way we watched a couple of informative National Geographic documentaries about Mayan history and language. This was both important and timely as Palenque is one of best sites for preserved hieroglyphs so we got more out of what we saw there.<br style="color:� font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" />Again much of what we saw was restored... But that basically means dug out of the jungle and put back together. Frankly these sites get more impressive as we go along... We are not "ruined out" yet.

CJ adds: Palenque was one of the major Mayan cities, and it’s been very sensitively restored. All of these sites have disappeared into the jungle and have been wrested back from oblivion - often by restoring the only front face, and letting the rest remain as discovered. You really appreciate the efforts that have had to be made to get this far (and it’s disappointing to see weeds and young trees growing through the ruins again in some places).

Whilst driving to Palenque our guide played as couple of fairly old videos about the excavation of that and other sites, and how the Mayan script was translated - fascinating stuff. A tomb had been found which contained in a massive stone sarcophagus the body of a mature and politically very powerful woman, absolutely covered in red cinnabar for religious reasons - one of the few intact burials found. When we got to the site one of the first things we saw was that same sarcophagus! The museum attached to the site was full of fascinating artefacts unearthed from the site, which was finally abandoned around 700AD, when the whole Mayan civilisation collapsed over a fairly short period. This is the first museum we've been in to, and it had some marvelous artfacts including huge stelae covered in delicately inscribed text and relief carvings reminiscent of their Egyptian equivalents, and enormous censers embelished with sacred figures which had been carefully buried after only five years' use and which were consequently in great condition despite their age. It was clear that the perfumed smoke came out of the gods' mouths as well as from thwe top of the chimney-like structure, which must have been impressive to see.<br style="color:� font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="color:� font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.301961); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;" />And that, I believe, is the last of our Mayan experiences. Tomorrow we drive to San Cristobal de Las Casas for the Mexican Dios de Los Muertes (Day of the Dead) celebrations. Sounds like great fun!

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