Palenque

To get to the ruins of Palenque from Puebla we had to take a two hour bus ride back to the international airport in Mexico City, catch a one hour flight to Villahermosa in the south, hop in a cab to get to the main bus station in town, and endure a slow three hour ride through the coastal plains of Tabasco to the start of the jungle highlands in Chiapas. We ended up in the small but tourist-filled town of Palenque, near the Mexican Guatemalan border. Everything worked out and we were pleasantly surprised to see that I had picked a nice spot in town for our stay.

Here's a rather massive tree outside our hotel room...

Z trying out the hammock...

Our lovely pool area...

The next day we got up and enjoyed a hearty buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then we took the shuttle bus to the ruins, about 20 minutes down the road from the town. The ancient Mayan site of Palenque is nestled into the sides of the mountains overlooking the coastal plains running north to the Gulf of Mexico. At its peak (600-700 AD), this city supposedly was home to around 70,000 people and was the largest Mayan city and political power. There are major temples to explore but numerous new structures are being uncovered and examined. Luckily for us, the rain held off. It had rained the whole day before, so we were lucky that we had a day with just a light cloud cover which helped shield us from the intense sun rays. As we walked around the site, we could hear rumblings of wild hogs scrambling around in the forested hillsides above the ruins and birds squawking as they soared overhead. It really added to the already spectacular atmosphere.

Here's an overview of a small part of the park and its numerous temples...

View of the jungle from atop one of the temples...

Z exploring one the the smaller ruins...

Z walking through the Palace halls...

A very inviting looking waterfall and pool we stumbled upon as we exited the park...