The Ruins at Palenque

So I left my Israeli friends behind, and voyaged south to Palenque.  Joining me were Severe and Philo.  We met a three middle-aged Greeks who teach in Sao Paulo, Brasil.  On our way to Palenque, famous Mayan ruins in Mexico, we stopped at two waterfalls; Cascada de Agua Azul (which was brown at the time) and Misol-Ha.   On our way to falls, the camposinos stopped us and collected a tax for using the road.  The police were standing 500 yards down the road, doing nothing.  I assumed that they did not want to anger the crowd of a hundred men who were standing by road without anything to do.

We then went to Palenque, named after the famous Mayan king Pa-ka-la.   At the height of the classic Mayan period, this city-state dominated Central America.  The priests and royalty relied on their exclusive knowledge of astronomy to predict the seasons.  They would predict when the rainy season would begin, and the population would be awed by their accuracy.   They had their temples built in the line of the sun so that during the summer solitice, the sunlight would shine through their windows and upon them as they made announcements to the crowds.  The ruins here are spectacular.  It was was also hot and humid as hell.

My "Amazing Race" Moment...

On my last day here, I had an "Amazing Race" moment.  Remember, I had been taking bamba vans to travel around Mexico, thereby obviating the need for me to make my own arrangements.  So I needed to travel to Villahermosa (120 km away) to catch a plane to Mexico City.  When I arrived at the bus station at 2:00 p.m., I was told that the next bus was at 3 p.m. and that I wouldn't get to Villahermosa until 5:30 p.m., the time of my flight.  I suppose I expected that the buses would leave more frequently, but I had spent my morning re-visiting the ruins.  The bus I needed to take left at 1 p.m.

Instead of buying a bus ticket, I hailed a cab. I asked him how much to get to Villahermosa, and he told me $90.  I talked him down to $75 and got there in a hour and half.  I caught my flight, and even checked in early.