2015-11 Nov -- Yaxchilan (Chiapas, Mexico)

Fear drove me. What if I never made it back to this area? Would I regret not having visited? Fear and determination to outdo any other Mayan ruins tourist that I met with stories of who had gone the furthest to see ruins. I've always been a bit competitive.

On the Usumacinta River.
Mexico to the left. Guatemala to the right.

Yaxchilan. Part of the adventure of visiting Yaxchilan is the journey. From the ruins of Palenque, it is another 155 kilometers away (96 miles). Google maps does not predict enough time for stopping every 2-3 kilometers for speed bumps. After arriving, you need to take a lancha along the Usamacinta River, which is the border between Guatemala and Mexico. The ride is between 40-60 minutes. There is a possibility of seeing crocodiles; but, thankfully, I did not. (If my lancha driver saw any, he wisely did not point them out to me.) While the park entrance is free on Sundays for Mexican nationals and residents, the lancha ride is not.

Small Acropolis

Due to the late hour (we docked at the site at 3:30 pm; and, the park closes at 4:30 pm), I got in my workout running up and down series of steps. For once, the Moon guidebook provided useful information -- it recommended going up the stairs to the Small Acropolis first because then the rest of the visit would be downhill. I jogged, walked, trudged my way up to the Small Acropolis. There was a group of high school students just finishing their tour, coming up the stairs from the other side. They looked exhausted. They were also the last tourists that I would see in the park.

Lintel carving

Lintel carving

One of the interesting architectural features of Yaxchilan are the lintels over doorways. A peek underneath; and, intricate bas-relief carvings are largely intact. The paint on the carvings unfortunately has not stood the elements. The Small Acropolis has three different lintels, of which two are mostly intact.

Buildings 39, 40, 41

I quick-stepped down the Small Acropolis and took off in a jog down the trail. There was a turn-off for buildings 39, 40, 41. Checking the time, I thought that I could make it up and back. Jog, walk, trudge and finally made it to the top to see these three temples. During the entire time, there were these loud noises emanating from the forest. A bit frightening, actually. And, the trail was taking me closer to them! But, I was alone (or, so I thought until I heard the familiar sound of a text and saw a park guard sitting atop Building 39).

Coming upon Building 33

Time was running out, I jogged back down to the main trail as quickly as I could, avoiding rocks and tree roots. To the right and on it went. Through the trees, a structure started to take shape. However, there was a lot of action going on in the trees above me. Animals quite large were rustling in the trees and jumping from tree to tree. To announce myself, I started whistling random notes very loudly. The tree action slowed a bit. Here and there, a tail poked down from the foliage. Monkeys!

Building 33

I climbed up to the large building, continuing to whistle, all my stuff tucked tightly in my purse, just in case these monkeys were handsy. But, not a one of them descended to investigate the intruder in their jungle. In front, the building (originally named Building 33) is even more impressive! Inside, there is a seated sculpture. On the lower level, covered by the shades, there are the remains of bas-relief sculptures. From here, a long set of stairs descended into the main plaza below.

Looking down toward the main plaza

In the plaza, there were multiple stelaes still standing, covered with small roofs for protection. Some of them were in pretty good shape, as was one now on it's back that had twice thwarted people trying to move it from the site.

In the 1960s, a failed attempt was made to transport this stelae to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

By this time, one of the park workers had struck up a conversation with me. He told me that the scary animal noises were howler monkeys and pointed out a toucan flying by. The park worker recommended the highlights that I needed to see before the park closed. His best tip was walking through the building that is called the Labyrinth. It is open to walk through; but, make sure to bring some kind of light. Inside the building, the original white stucco remains. The main occupants today are bats. Somehow, they cling to the white stucco A-frame ceilings. We turned our cell phones into flashlights and walked through the labyrinth, coming out a back entrance.

Inside the Labyrinth (bats hanging above us)

We walked back to the entrance. During the walk, the park worker told me how people used to come out and camp at Yaxchilan in order to see the ruins. The park workers still do. I speculated out loud that there couldn't possibly by many visitors since it was so tough to access. But, he said that there had been 150 visitors that day. Then, I raced down the stairs to Juan and his lancha waiting at the boat dock. The ride back was beautiful. A haze was over the water; and, dusk was approaching.

Pumping gas at Yaxchilan's gas station

My final adventure of the night? Going to the "gas station". In Yaxchilan, it's a man and his wife selling gas from their house. You can purchase either 10 liters or 20 liters. They bring out a tank of the appropriate size and plastic tubing. Through some combination of blowing or sucking air into the tubing, the gas flows into the tank. The man told me that they brought the gas in barrels from the Pemex in Chancala, over 100 km away.

Tips:
Zona Archeaological Yaxchilan. Free on Sundays for Mexican nationals and residents. Lancha ride is 40-60 minutes. I don't know how much it costs for a group. For just me, he asked for 1200 pesos; but, we finally agreed on 800 pesos round trip.

2015-11 Nov -- Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico)

From atop Temple of the Cross looking down on the Temple of the Inscriptions and the Palace

From my vantage point, the palace stretched out below. Tour groups of tiny people walked around the lawns and throughout the ruins. Yet, the jungle threatened to encroach. It was only barely contained by the efforts of grounds crew to keep the area free of all consuming vegetation. Off into the distance, the view was magnificent! The jungle stretched below and into the horizon. As one tourist remarked, "The Mayans sure picked pretty places to build!"



Palenque. My Spanish teacher had told me that this was her favorite Mayan ruin. She thinks it's even better than Chichen Itza. Before arriving, I was skeptical. And, really, first you need to get past all the very friendly and persistent men and boys wanting to be your tour guide, even along the long drive up to the ruins as well as running the gauntlet from your parked car to inside the entrance. Once you've made it to the Temple of the Skull, only the most persistent will still ask if you would like a guide.

Temple of the Skull, Temple of the Red Queen and Temple of the Inscriptions (Palak the Great's Tomb)

What a dazzling site it is once you arrive from the entrance gate and pass through the jungle. Spread out on the manicured grass are three increasingly large temples with a grand Palace at the end. Although temple is a bit of a misnomer. These are probably all burial tombs. (At least the two largest had people buried inside.) While you can't climb any, in the middle temple, you can go inside. Within, you'll see the white stone sarcophagus with the lid slide back. Inside, the sarcophagus is covered in red. The red color comes from cinnabar. Inside this coffin, a woman was found. Without any further information, archaeologists have inferred that she was royalty, coining the name for this building as "The Temple of the Red Queen".

Inside the Palace

Once you've stood in awe of the three temples, it's time to climb around the Palace complex. What a joy to be able to walk in and around the rooms where Mayan royalty lived so long ago. Unfortunately, almost all of the paint and most of the carvings have long since gone. However, for those still in situ, the view is impressive. Plus, after walking through all the Palenque ruins, a few of artifacts in very good condition can be viewed at the Museum near the entrance (price included in park entrance). The only place we couldn't go into was the tower in the Palace. To this day, it is still under speculation what the tower was used for -- watch tower or astronomical purposes. However, we could marvel at the indoor squat toilet (complete with drainage channels), the royal rooms set below ground level (and therefore a much cooler temperature) and the views in 360 directions.

Temple of the Cross to the left.
Temple of the Foliated Cross to the right.

Past the Palace is the Crosses group. All of these buildings are open for tourists to summit and peer into the roped off interiors. Inside each is a three part bas-relief carvings depicting Pakal the Great (who lived to be 80+ during the 7th century!) transferring power to his son Kan Bhalum. Kan Bhalum built all of these temples. The largest is the Temple of the Cross. But, for me, the Temple of the Foliated Cross was the most unique. It is reached by a path of rocks winding up toward it, surrounded by jungle. From this vantage point, you can see the other temples of the cross and the Palace stretching below.

The jungle beyond

There are several other structures at the site; but, the ones above are the most well-known and impressive. Although, from some of the others behind the Palace, you have a splendid of the jungle beyond.

Life size sculpture with original traces of paint

Before leaving Palenque, make sure to check out the Museum. In my opinion, while smaller than Museo Maya de Cancun, I believe that it's much better. All of the artifacts are from Palenque. One spectacular life size carving still has vestiges of the red and blue color paint. In the back, there is a well done representation of how Pakal the Great's tomb was found within the Temple of Inscriptions (the largest of the three temples when you first enter the site). According to the museum docent, Pakal was subsequently reburied within the Temple of Inscriptions, where he remains today.

Tips:
Zona Arqeologica de Palenque: Free on Sundays for Mexican nationals and residents. Includes entrance to museum. Also, I wasn't charged anything to park (a fluke?). Open 8-4:30 everyday. Museum open 9-4:30 Tues-Sun. 51 MXN.

Breakfast at Cafe Jade

Cafe Jade: quick and filling breakfast stop pre-ruins visit. I paid 71 MXN + 7 MXN tip (included in bill) for the Jade breakfast, which included juice, tea or coffee, fruit, bread, eggs a la mexicana (think migas), tortillas, refried beans and platanos duros. (And, I ate everything!) They are obviously used to American tourists, as they rushed over as soon as I sat down and my food came out piece by piece as quickly as I could finish it. No need to wave over a waiter here -- they'll come to you.
Posada Aguila Real: little hotel near Palenque town center. Booked on booking.com for $25.20; with taxes at hotel, paid 558 MXN in cash. Bring earplugs. There is no quiet place in this town (not even in the area "La Canada" where above Cafe Jade is located). Secure, free parking for car. Not far from town plaza and surrounded by restaurants, bars, pharmacies, OXXOs, etc. Clean. Not much shower water pressure. Air conditioned. Can also sell you day trips to the sites (or, you can walk to the Kichan Bajlum tour office a few blocks away and save a few pesos).