Welcome To The Jungle!!!

After a full week of fun with our friends, it was time for us to move on. Meta and Uri were headed to the beaches of Oaxaca. Our destination? The jungle! That's right. We're in the jungle baby! It required a nearly 7 hour bus ride from San Cristobal to Palenque. It's actually only about 100 miles away but the twisting mountain roads and topes made it slow going.

The Bus Station

What is a tope, you might ask? (pronounced toe-pay) Well, it's pretty much Mexico's favorite road feature: the speed bump. They are everywhere. Guatemala seems to be a fan of them as well but the part of Mexico we were in seems to be filled with construction workers who are speed bump enthusiasts! If there is one small roadside stand/hut shack/ building, there are at least 3 topes in the road to slow you down. They are apparently a real killer on your car's suspension so what people tend to do is drive extremely quickly and then squeal to a near dead stop when confronted with a tope. There are signs warning you how far away the next tope is so you can plan this sudden breaking. You see a sign that says "tope a 100m" and you know you should probably put on the breaks in 90m. It's not that we're against topes. We are sure that they have saved many a person's life. It's just that there is a rediculous number of them between San Cristobal and Palenque. Here's someone painting a tope:

Also, people sometimes hold a string or rope across the road to get drivers to stop. They then ask you for money. One of our shuttle drivers actually gave a child a couple of pesos. At any rate, our tope filled bus ride had a much-welcomed distraction: movies! We watched two. It was great. After arriving in Palenque Town, we hopped on a colectivo (shared local shuttle service) to El Panchan. This would be where the jungle part of our adventure begins.

El Panchan is a collection of budget cabins based in the jungle on the way to Palenque's ruins. To steal from our travel guide: " Don Moises, founder of El Panchan, first came to Palenque as an archaelogist and was on of the first guides to the ruins. He bought a plot of land, named it Panchan - Maya for 'Heaven on Earth' - and started to raise a family. Now he has divided lots among his children who run various businesses. It's about 10 degrees C cooler at Panchan due to foliage cover. Although vastly different, all businesses have intertwined themselves into the natural jungle that surrounds them, creating a Robinson Crusoe setting."

Boy were we ever intertwined! We stayed in a cabin at Rakshita's that was very basic: tin roof, indoor/outdoor cold water shower, cracks in the wooded walls, coconuts crashing onto our tin roof in the middle of the night and scaring us (3 times!), a pet warthog living just around the corner and vibrant jungle all around us!

We enjoyed a couple of dinners at the nearby restaurant Don Mucho's where we were treated to screenings of a somewhat recent Pink Floyd concert and an 80s video mix. What else would you expect for jungle entertainment?!? The clientele in El Panchan varied from seemingly well off travelers at the "high end" establishment to the very low budget "hippies" sleeping in hammocks on a palapa and rocking a hippie drum circle. It was very unique and interesting place to stay.

Our day at Palenque's ruins was spectacular! We took our time exploring the site, climbing up and down steep pyramids, spotting wildlife and learning about this people's way of life. It was fascinating.

Palenque started out as a small agricultural village in the fourth century AD and rose to achieve greatness as the first rank of Maya states between AD600 and 800. Lord Pacaya was their famous ruler who really made Palenque into a big deal. You can still see some of the decor and stucco carvings on some of the structures. We also saw their amazingly elaborate incense burners and jade pieces that are kept in the museum down the road. The fact that these structures were built over 1200 years ago and they are still intact enough for tourists to climb around on them every day is a testament to the Mayan people.

As we were checking out the prisoner's area of the palace, we were approached by four Mexican language students. They were there on a field trip with their Italian language teacher and their assignment was to find Italian tourists and practice speaking with them. They had 3 hours to complete the task. They weren't having too much luck in their "hunt" (their word, not ours) for Italians so they settled for speaking English with us instead. We were having the most lovely conversation explaining the differences between the verbs "ask", "tell" and "say" when the students suddenly became distracted. The girl shouted out "Frances" and pointed to a couple from Belgium passing by. Apparently they like to speak French more because before long, they were all speaking with the Belgiums. It was pretty cute.

Here they are speaking French:

All in all, we enjoyed Palenque (and the jungle) a great deal and look forward to more of the same at Guatemala's famous Tikal ruins!

The agua tours

Lounging in Mexico was great, but for two days in a row, we decided to book tours that ended up being a lot of fun. Booking the tours was super easy, as we obviously booked through our landlord/travel agent, Luis.

The first tour, on Wednesday, was maybe an hour mini-bus ride to see the Mexican national park, Sumidero Canyon. The great part about this adventure, was there were some amazing views, and all we had to do was sit our butts down on a boat. Immediately after getting into the boat, I knew I was going to enjoy this more than anything we have done yet. Even more so than climbing a volcano. Some people would argue that the volcano is a more worthwhile experience because you have to work for the best things in life. But I argue, I'M ON A BOAT!!!

So we get to the dock, begin collecting life-vests, and load up. As you can see, Laura and Meta are excited and ready to go. Laura and I get to sit in the front row, with Meta and Uri right behind.

So we began as the guide explained what we were about to see(in Spanish), and I zoned out. I am increasing my knowledge of the language every day, but sometimes it's just system overload. I did hear him mention cocodrilos, however!

Well, not more than 15 minutes into the ride, our guide turned the boat straight toward shore and brought us in for a closer look. As we realized there was a crocodile on shore, and continued to speed towards it, we wondered just how close we were going to get. Well, he brought us withing 20 feet or so, and although this croc acted unbothered initially, a minute later he entered the water towards us. A little creepy at first, but he turned away.

Here's a little closer look.

Throughout the tour, our guide made sure to slow down and turn the boat, for some picturesque moments. The second photo of the two of us is the backdrop of the symbol of Chiapas. Chiapas is the state in Mexico where this all takes place.

Not long after a few photos and the crocs, our guide begins heading in toward shore again. As everyone in the boat is looking around confused because all we see are trees, the guide points out an iguana on top of a log. I don't know how he saw the thing, because it was motionless.

Apparently, at this point, we were in iguana territory as the guide saw yet another. This one is a bright yellow color. He told us that the bright yellow iguanas are all males, while the females are more of a grayish/green color. Seems like the males have to pretty themselves for the females.

Just a bit later in the tour, our guide spotted a monkey. It was pretty far away, so my picture didn't turn out. But I'm sure we'll see some more in the future.

Along the ride, this was a particularly interesting spot. During the rainy season, this is a very active waterfall, but at the moment, all you see is the path where a waterfall might be. There was actually a trickle of water, but for the most part, it was dry.

The following picture shows what the guide called "The Christmas Tree".

From a distance, it certainly has the appearance of a tree, but up close, we see that it was formed from water seeping out through the rocks creating a series of ridges. It is green because of all the mosses and plants that have attached themselves to the face of the rock.

It was a very exciting trip to this point, but we have to turn back somewhere. The last stop was right outside an eco-tourism complex. The guide explained that, here, you could find jaguars, pumas, monkeys, and so much more. Thanks for making me jealous, guy. I want to see jungle cats.

Not all of the animals were exciting to see exactly. Here we have some turkey vultures. There were maybe 100 or so in the air and on the shore. Even though they are pretty creepy, our guide explained that they actually do a very good job of cleaning dead animals out of the river. At the same time, they certainly live up to their name. They don't necessarily distinguish between vultures and other prey. Sometimes a fellow vulture is the prey. They sure have quite the brotherhood.

All in all, a very fun and relaxing expedition!

On the way back to San Cristobal, we made a lunch stop at Chiapa del Corzo. The four of us found a nice wall to sit down on in this structure, and enjoyed the lunches we packed.

After lunch, I took a walk around the plaza with the camera, in hunt of good shots. But all around the plaza, all I got was the same thing. (I'll have an entire post dedicated to this trend)

Day 2 began with another mini-bus ride. We were on our way to see a waterfall, caves, and lakes. As we approached the waterfall, Chiflon, I saw a white speck on the side of a mountain. We got closer, and I realized, that was the waterfall. You could see it from quite a distance.

To get to the top of the main waterfall, it was a 20 minute hike or so, but there were plenty of smaller falls that offered some excellent photo ops.

It was a bit of an extra hike to get to the very top, but here we are in front of the top falls.

Facing away from the falls, the nearby town is in the background.

Here is a view from the top, straight down.

Another stop of the day, was Las Grutas cave. There was a very nice, paved walking path through the cave that allowed a nice leisurely walk to view plenty of stalagmites and stalagtites.

After exiting the cave, we saw what looked like a giant slide. However, there was no one around using it, and no one monitering it's use. So, at first we ignored it, because we couldn't figure it out. Well, my curiosity got the best of me, and I found flattened plastic Coke bottles on the ground at the bottom. Hmmm. Of course, I had to give it a go, and Meta came along with me. It was super fun! I just wish I would have tried it earlier, because on our way down, the bus driver was loading up. No second run. Oh well.

Our final stop of the day was to Lagunas de Montebello, where there was a series of 56 lakes that were very vibrant blues and greens. We only saw the first four in the park, as it would take a whole day to see them all.

The tour bus made a stop at the fourth lake for a very late lunch. We had packed some lunches, but there were a few shelters where locals had plenty of food for sale. They were all lined up next to each other, and if you stepped anywhere near them, they began reciting all of the foods they had available. Nevermind that another woman 5 feet away was trying to do the same. Each woman just talked over the other in hopes that you would end up buying from their own stand. It's completely about grabbing your attention, because they all had the same exact foods anyway.

It was good to finally get some food in our systems, but not everyone was in agreement on that one. This one Spaniard, asked the bus driver if we could skip the stop to eat, and instead see more lakes. Really, dude? They're just lakes. They all look pretty much the same. Looks a lot like Wisconsin if you ask me. Haven't you ever been to Wisconsin? Silly question.

El Caballo

Well, we've been spotty on internet on the last few days, so we're going to play a little catch up in the next few.

I'm going to tell you about a fun excursion we made in the first few days of being in Mexico.

Last Sunday, I saw three Chickens die right in front of my own eyes. Yup, I'm just going to throw that out there right away. Now I'll tell you how we got to that.

The day started as most of our days in San Cristobal did, we had a nice breakfast with Meta and Uri. Then, we were off to go for a horseback ride.

A short bus ride(minibus actually) took us to a very small ranch on the outskirts of town that was maybe an acre or two large. Our plan was to ride the horses a couple of kilometers to a neighboring town, San Juan Chamula.

It was a slow uphill ride along a nicely paved road. Even though we wanted the horses to run or even trot, it was very apparent that we had no control over them and they went at their own pace. Meta's horse(we think was younger and more energized) led the way, followed by my horse and Uri's horse. They kept close to each other, and traded the lead between the two of them. Uri kept trying to "inspire" his horse to go faster, but no dice. Same with mine.

Laura brought up the rear with our cowboy guide, Juan, as she was told her horse needed to be kept away from the others because she likes to bite!

Well after about an hour, we arrived at the town, tied the horses up by the side of the road in some shade, and ventured into town. There was a very large market in the central plaza, as is the case on Sundays. You could find all sorts of interesting fruits, vegetables, trinkets, ice cream, native foods/treats, chickens, hand-woven mayan textiles and lamb's wool garments.

I couldn't believe these wool tunics and wool skirts that the men and women were wearing on such a hot day!

So next, we ventured into the Church were we encountered some very interesting methods of worship and prayer. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the Church, so I'm going to try to paint you a picture. It was a narrow Church with no seating. Locals brought in many candles, anywhere from 10 to 100, and created a small altar on the floor in front of themselves as they knelt. Then as the candles burned, they recited prayers. Some of these people were alone, some had their family with them. Then came the real shocker. I noticed some people had brought live chickens into the church with them. Well, these chickens didn't leave alive. I only watched this three times, but we were only inside the Church for 20 minutes, so I imagine there were quite a few more fatalities. They were suffocated, and once they were done trembling and kicking, they were waved above the heads of each family member as a cleansing ritual. Next, they all took a drink of "Posh" which is basically a clear moonshine that they mix with Pepsi or Coke. The idea is to drink enough until you throw up as a way to cleanse your body. Before we ventured out from the ranch, we were actually given a sample of posh, and it isn't very good, but tastes a little like vodka.

Well, that's about all I needed for one day. We strolled around the market some more afterwards, then headed back to the horses. Again, they went at their own pace, which was quite slow. It was still a lot of fun anyways.

When we got back, we noticed some other little critters on the ranch, like tiny puppies, kittens, and this one dog that just wanted to play. Well, his style of play was extremely aggressive as he kept jumping up on me, and trying to bite me. At one point, he actually latched on to my ankle with a pretty good grip. I had to basically kick him off of me. After that, he played nicer and followed us to the bus stop. What a jerk. I really wanted to hate him.

That seemed like a pretty full day, but it wasn't over. The four of us took a walk into the central plaza of San Cristobal, and there was a huge stage set up. It was a bit of a rock concert. Band wasn't very good, but fun regardless.

Our next stop was to have some coffee in a nearby cafe. Well, we had our coffee and were about ready to leave, when in walked a Mariachi band in full gear.

They were really good and played for half an hour. It turns out that the owner hired them to come in because they were celebrating their one year anniversary as a business, as well as the addition of new bathrooms! What a fun treat! I've always wanted to see a real, authentic Mariachi band. Check!