Dec 20, 2012 - Welcome to the Jungle

Next we headed into the jungle to the ruins of Palanque. Palanque is a large complex built over a number of platforms which once again meant more steps. Besides that normal residences for the upper class of Mayan society, there is also a palace that when the sun is reflected though holes in the wall, shows the Mayan's skill and knowledge regarding light refraction. The ruins are just getting better and better.

Nov 22, 2012 - Amazing ruins and waterfalls

Nov. 20 This morning I woke to the sound of rain pouring through the down spouts onto the tile at what I thought was 6:30. After checking email, etc. I came back to the room to wake Theresa, turned on the light, looked at my watch and … uh oh, it's only 6 am. Good thing she's wearing earplugs and an eye mask. I snuck back out, skyped Mike, cleaned out my email and resized some photos for uploading and went back an hour later. After breakfast in the hotel as none of us felt like going out in the rain, we piled into taxis and then the ADO...

Oct 27, 2012 - Palenque

Palenque- Jungle, Ruins and waterfalls A hot and sweaty jungle town next to some awesome Mayan ruins. We arrived at 6am went straight up to our shack by a creek in the jungle and were on a tour by 8am. More fab Mayan ruins and then an afternoon of visiting and swimmking in beautiful waterfalls. Would have had a quieter night sleeping on runway 3 at heathrow with all the howler monkeys and andy saw a spider so big and hairy at first he thought he'd seen a mouse! ( he's promised not to show me the picture till we get back to England) Next...

Mar 15, 2012 - Palengue

We are no longer in the Yucatan. Up very early this morning and took the 6 30 a.m. bus to Palengue in the Mexican state of Chiapas. We are in a very nice neighbourhood of Palenque called Canada, although it is pronounced Canyada. It is really nice with shaded streets and coffee shops. Many of the better hotels are located here. There are many tourist agents who arrange trips all over Chiapas. We are at Hotel Xibaba which is one of the nicer hotels and cost 650 pesos.

Nov 8, 2011 - Moving on, further adventures in Mexico

A night bus trip from Tulum took us to Palenque where we spent one day discovering the beautiful ruins of the old city, discovered not so long ago. These are some of the snapshots of the day...glad to report we didn't get sacrificed nor buried alive for the sake of the Sun Gods. We stayed in a jungle hostel called Margarita & Ed's, in the area of El Panchan, where we decided that if we ever have to hide from someone, this will be the place to be. Then we are off to San Cristobal de Las Casas, still in the region of Chiapas. See you there. x

Jul 26, 2011 - Changing Gears

Ixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico Sometimes big decisions need to be made...and they need to be made quickly. Not always my strong, but, in this case, I suddenly became Senor Decisive. Here are the circumstances: In Ixtepec, Oaxaca ( I still enjoy saying the name over and over) research is a bit stagnant for my style. Yes, I've been monitoring the major migration path through Ixtepec and dialoguing with Gang Bangers, but nothing truly captivating. I feel unproductive. And, too make matters worse, I haven't eaten much except a surfeit of King Cones...

Jun 29, 2011 - Palenque alias La JUNGLE

Bonjour a tous!, Palenque est notre moment fort du voyage!!! Pour vous donner une idee, on avait un petite chambre au milieu de la jungle!!! IL n;y avait pas de fenetre, seulement des mousticaires! La nuit on s;endort au son de la pluie et on a vue sur les arbres geants et les lianes a la tarzan!! Cest magnifique!!! Durant notre trop court sejour la bas, nous avons ete voir les ruines de Palenque! Les plus belles jusqu;a maintenant! Une ancienne cite maya perdu au milieu de la jungle entourer de brume! Trop magnigique! Juste avant, avec un...

Jun 12, 2011 - Palenque

On the way to Palenque, we spent the day traveling by bus through the Chiapas highlands passing by Misol-H a and Agua Azul waterfalls. This place was amazing. Pictures can be found here. I also spent some time at the ruins of Palenque and took a guided tour through a large part of the area. Our tour guide even took us past a few areas blocked off areas so that we could see some of the partially discovered ruins that make up some of the hundreds of the buried ruins. In sites like Palenque, it's quite common to have many "artificial mounds"...

May 18, 2011 - Palenque: 1-jaehriges Reise-Jubilaeum

ein weiteres weltkulturerbe, diese verlassenen, mitten im dschungel chiapas` himmelwaerts ragenden pyramiden mit einer zugaenglichen grabkammer samt offenem (leeren) sarkophag einer ihrer ehemaligen herrscher der bluetezeit, welche bis ca. 900 n. christus andauerte. palenque ist ein weitlaeufiges areal mit den ueblichen fussballplaetzen der maya, welche fuer rituelle spiele und anschliessende (menschen)-opfer verwendet wurden. palenque war immer wieder auch schauplatz rivalisierender staemme der heutigen mayastaette calakmul, und so fanden...

Feb 14, 2011 - Palenque, Mexico

Time to say Goodbye to Guatemala and move on to Mexico. After a fairly long bus journey to the border, another bus took us on to San Cristobal de las Casas for a short overnight stop, then on to Palenque. The ruins here are one of Mexico's most important Maya sites. The site itself is apparently quite large, but only a fairly compact central area has been excavated, which makes it very easy to wander around. The buildings here, although not as tall as at Tikal, are more accessible, and it was fascinating to be able to stroll in and around...

Apr 11, 2010 - Day 9-10 Palenque

Day 9 We stopped 1st at a small waterfall and swimming hole. Felt Divine to get into the water and was a very nice area, if a bit crowded. Next we stopped at a very picturesque waterfall, got some good photos. And our guide lost his cell phone :). Around 5, we got to our hotel. El Panchan. 4 plex cabanas...And it was Hot. :) Day 10 We explored Palenque ruins. Was still hot, but the ruins are beautiful, great pyramids amids the jungle. After lunch a bunch of us took a guided jungle hike. Took 2 hours, was about 2km, got to see more ruins,...

Feb 15, 2010 - Palenque Ruins

Next stop Palenque...on the way there our van was stopped by demonstrators...they held huge cloth signs that stretched across the road both ways, stating their cause. Of course, not understanding Spanish, we didn't know what their cause was...but a young woman approached our van stating we could pass if we paid them 200 pesos. Danny paid the amount and asked if he could take pictures of their signs... Spent two days in Palenque at the Chan-Kah Hotel (300 pesos...what a deal!). Really nice, 4th floor room with a balcony overlooking the town...