Dia 65–69
Dia 65 Delina Alta - Palenque 116 kms
It's no longer X-mas, but I'm still opening gifts! Today was another day of pure mountain beauty. I'm definately in the jungle now. It's not just green, it's flourescent! And the flowers and the birds, and the Aguas Azules waterfall, where I stopped for a swim in the turquoise waters, made today as magical as any so far! I'm feeling stronger, too. Not certain if it was that day off in San Cristobal, the rich, clean air, the altitude or the inspirational scenery. Probably a combination of factors. Whatever the reason, I'm in my best cycling form of the entire trip. Made the city of Palenque and will visit the ruins tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll stay for a few days as I've found yet another comfortable and cheap hostal, 50 pesos a night. At dinner, I met 2 nice ladies from DF, Guadalupe and Tere. We had a great time talking about all kinds of interesting subjects and laughing a lot. I'm so thrilled to be converstional in Spanish as I can now engage people in some depth...
Dia 66 Palenque
OK, if I wasn't already enamored with Chiapas, I am now!! The ruins at Palenque are my new favorite. Words or pictures cannot capture the beauty. You can feel the antiquity. This place, for a time, must have been as close to paradise as this planet has to offer. At least for the ruling elite.... The setting is exceptional with mountainous rain forest backdrop showering magnificent waterfalls through the site. Crystal clear pools of cool water are never far from any of the structures, which are the most beautiful examples of ancient arquitecture I've seen yet on this trip. Not only the structures themselves, but the careful, tasteful layout. I'll look forward to studying the history of this place as well as the others that I've visited. Facinating stuff!! Met another lady from DF here named Aurea Chavez. Intellegent, spiritual and full of internal beauty!
Dia 67 Palenque
I'm staying another night here, just because I want to. So there!! Re-connected with Barry, one of the Brits I'd met in San Cristobal. Saw him at the ruins yesterday.....
Dia 68 Palenque - Nuevo Guererro 104 kms
Yesterday and last night, I slept a lot and deeply. Physically, I feel ready to advance on towards Bonampak and into Guatemala. Another day of esquisite cycling through jungly Chiapas. I climbed out of Palenque and in a full sweat, stopped at a beautiful waterfall named Webij-hi. It was a small tribal park and no one was there except me! I swam in the cool water below the falls before cruising on. Made it to this small pueblito and noticed a slow leak. I'd broken a spoke as well earlier in the day, so I asked if I could camp here. The people speak a different dialect here and only one person, Hilda spoke spanish. So she translated for all the locals, who showed up to check out "the gringo." I broke out my tent and stove and drew quite a crowd. Hilda translated and we all laughed a lot.
Dia 69 Nuevo Guererro - Bonampak 54 kms
Now I have more "amigos de paso." Hilda, her husband Esteban are added to a growing list of kind friends who have helped me along the way. The interactions I had with them and the neighborhood children were priceless. The innocence, the interest, they asked me for everything. They wanted my tent, my gloves, my helmet, saying that I could buy new ones in the next tienda! We negociated and finally settled for friendship and chiclets. Showered outside like a local and asked for the bathroom. They waved out back and I found it in the woods. No outhouse, no hole in the ground, just piles of poop with used, discarded toilet paper to indicate the location of "the bathroom."
On towards Bonampak, another Mayan site. More remote than Palenque, the traffic is nil. Just pure jungle splendor with an occasional cornfield created by the common practice of clear cutting. Tons of clear water running everywhere. Got to a camp place and stashed my bags to ride the 9 kms of dirt into Bonampak. Much smaller site, but had amazing colored murals in one building and huge "steles," which are thin carved stone slabs that stand guard around the site.
Tomorrow, I'll leave Mexico behind and move on to Guatemala...
It's no longer X-mas, but I'm still opening gifts! Today was another day of pure mountain beauty. I'm definately in the jungle now. It's not just green, it's flourescent! And the flowers and the birds, and the Aguas Azules waterfall, where I stopped for a swim in the turquoise waters, made today as magical as any so far! I'm feeling stronger, too. Not certain if it was that day off in San Cristobal, the rich, clean air, the altitude or the inspirational scenery. Probably a combination of factors. Whatever the reason, I'm in my best cycling form of the entire trip. Made the city of Palenque and will visit the ruins tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll stay for a few days as I've found yet another comfortable and cheap hostal, 50 pesos a night. At dinner, I met 2 nice ladies from DF, Guadalupe and Tere. We had a great time talking about all kinds of interesting subjects and laughing a lot. I'm so thrilled to be converstional in Spanish as I can now engage people in some depth...
Dia 66 Palenque
OK, if I wasn't already enamored with Chiapas, I am now!! The ruins at Palenque are my new favorite. Words or pictures cannot capture the beauty. You can feel the antiquity. This place, for a time, must have been as close to paradise as this planet has to offer. At least for the ruling elite.... The setting is exceptional with mountainous rain forest backdrop showering magnificent waterfalls through the site. Crystal clear pools of cool water are never far from any of the structures, which are the most beautiful examples of ancient arquitecture I've seen yet on this trip. Not only the structures themselves, but the careful, tasteful layout. I'll look forward to studying the history of this place as well as the others that I've visited. Facinating stuff!! Met another lady from DF here named Aurea Chavez. Intellegent, spiritual and full of internal beauty!
Dia 67 Palenque
I'm staying another night here, just because I want to. So there!! Re-connected with Barry, one of the Brits I'd met in San Cristobal. Saw him at the ruins yesterday.....
Dia 68 Palenque - Nuevo Guererro 104 kms
Yesterday and last night, I slept a lot and deeply. Physically, I feel ready to advance on towards Bonampak and into Guatemala. Another day of esquisite cycling through jungly Chiapas. I climbed out of Palenque and in a full sweat, stopped at a beautiful waterfall named Webij-hi. It was a small tribal park and no one was there except me! I swam in the cool water below the falls before cruising on. Made it to this small pueblito and noticed a slow leak. I'd broken a spoke as well earlier in the day, so I asked if I could camp here. The people speak a different dialect here and only one person, Hilda spoke spanish. So she translated for all the locals, who showed up to check out "the gringo." I broke out my tent and stove and drew quite a crowd. Hilda translated and we all laughed a lot.
Dia 69 Nuevo Guererro - Bonampak 54 kms
Now I have more "amigos de paso." Hilda, her husband Esteban are added to a growing list of kind friends who have helped me along the way. The interactions I had with them and the neighborhood children were priceless. The innocence, the interest, they asked me for everything. They wanted my tent, my gloves, my helmet, saying that I could buy new ones in the next tienda! We negociated and finally settled for friendship and chiclets. Showered outside like a local and asked for the bathroom. They waved out back and I found it in the woods. No outhouse, no hole in the ground, just piles of poop with used, discarded toilet paper to indicate the location of "the bathroom."
On towards Bonampak, another Mayan site. More remote than Palenque, the traffic is nil. Just pure jungle splendor with an occasional cornfield created by the common practice of clear cutting. Tons of clear water running everywhere. Got to a camp place and stashed my bags to ride the 9 kms of dirt into Bonampak. Much smaller site, but had amazing colored murals in one building and huge "steles," which are thin carved stone slabs that stand guard around the site.
Tomorrow, I'll leave Mexico behind and move on to Guatemala...
posted by Bicycle Bob at
10:59 AM
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