PALENQUE - MAYAN RUINS

Palenque seems to be a town totally set up to service the archaeological site which is just 7 kilometres up the road.  In many ways the main street resembles lots of similar streets in Southern Europe right down to the waiter who was keen to demonstrate that his English was better than my Spanish when I went for my morning coffee.  Even at such an early hour the sounds of distinctly western music wafted out from the shops.

Given that there really isn’t much else to do here, the plan is for us to take the day to visit the ruins before taking the overnight bus to Merida.  This should give us more time there instead.  The bus leaves at 11pm so I’m hoping that the experience of the last trip won’t be repeated.  More time in Merida is a bonus but I need my sleep.  Given the air conditioning on these buses is so effective I plan to solve the boot problem by wearing them.

We set off to the ruins as a group this morning and were led around by an excellent guide, dispensed lots of information in an interesting and humorous manner.  The first part of the tour was through the jungle so we could appreciate the extent to which it has grown over what is a vast site.  The Mayan calendar started some 5,000 years ago when all the planets were in alignment.  This will next happen in 2012 so there is some speculation that the end of the world is nigh!  The pyramids, rising out of the jungle created a dramatic scenario and the precision with which some of the features were aligned to cast light through windows at the solstices and equinoxes seemed awesome in the truest sense.  All the structures are built on 9 levels; this represents the number of days it takes for seed maize to germinate once placed in the ground. 

Most of the buildings were coated with a thick layer of plaster that required a huge amount of wood to be burned in order to make the slaked lime necessary. 

This caused such deforestation that the rains failed for 9 consecutive years and the civilization collapsed around AD 900 in consequence.  It seems bizarre that a culture capable of placing the windows of separate buildings in such a way that a sunbeam on 21^st June, could shine through one and onto another, couldn’t see this coming. 

When our guide left us people went their separate ways and along with other hardy souls, I wandered around the remaining buildings before taking the footpath down towards the excellent museum.  The path was well maintained, picked it’s way through lots of ruins and gave a genuine jungle experience. 

Howler monkeys seemed to follow us down but I didn’t see one, although others were more fortunate.  At one point we rested by a very picturesque waterfall.

Mauricio has just knocked on the door to tell me that we are not taking the night bus now but will be staying here.  I’m glad I didn’t pack!  Apparently, we are waiting to see what Hurricane Rina is going to do.  We still have to hit Playa del Carmen by Friday as that is the end of the tour for some and the start of the next leg for others.  Poor Mauricio now has a real logistic headache.