Sunday 27th January 2008, Palenque, Mexico
Last night was spent in a wooden lodge with no glass at the windows and a roof made of palm fronds. It was sited along the jungle banks that edge the Rio de la Passion. Despite having no hot water and only brief periods of power from its own generator, we spent quite a luxurious night there.
We had left Flores around 6.30 yesterday morning and driven to Sayaxche on the Rio de la Passion where we boarded a narrow, wooden canoe with an outboard motor attached. It had a roof constructed of palm fronds and sat so low in the water it frequently washed over the back. There followed a two hour journey down river to the Maya site of Ceibal, situated deep within the jungle and so named because of the many Ceibal trees that grow there. These trees are sacred to the Mayan culture.
During the journey the dense woodland reached to the water's edge where egrets, white storks, grey herons and cormorants perched to dry their wings, or search for fish. There were also green parrots and brightly coloured kingfishers while on a particularly isolated stretch of the river, a crocodile was resting on one of the mudflats. As we approached he rose up, twisted his body and flipped back into the water and disappeared. From that point on nobody tried to cool off by dangling their hands over the sides into the water!
At Ceibal we moored against the muddy bank and scrambled up the steep, wooded track, overgrown, wet and very slippery, through palm trees, Ceibals, hanging leanders, epiphytes, orchids and fruiting trees with strange nuts and berries, quite unknown to us. Beneath our feet were lizards and frogs while humming birds flitted amongst the exotic plants and all around us the jungle echoes with the growls and roars of unseen Howler monkeys.
The Mayan city was quite lost amidst the foliage. We found a Ball Court, ruined walls, carved and decorated stelae, pyramids and altars. The site was occupied much later than other sites in the region and some of the late stelae show distinct influences of highland Mexican style. Left to our own device for a while we discovered in a clearing a circular platform with the base of a rectangular building on top.
We eventually returned to the boat for a picnic lunch and made our way back upstream passing by Sayaxche and our waiting coach. We continued for several more hours, the river widening out into a shallow lagoon before we turned off into one of the smaller tributaries making for the remote Mayan site of Aguateca. This site was fortified by defensive walls and shows the unsettled state of affairs in the region at the close of the classic period. Despite its defences it was deserted suddenly, structures left half completed and pottery and utensils abandoned where they lay.
The water channel that led towards the rocky outcrop on which it was situated became ever more narrow and shallow with sharp bends that made it impossible to get the boat round without grounding one or other end on the bank. The vegetation forced its way into the boat and we eventually became completely grounded, the outboard motor simply churning up mud and fishes from the river bed. It looked as if we'd need to get out and push it off the bank. Visions of Katherine Hepburn in the African Queen flashed before us. Would we be covered in leeches as soon as we put our legs into the water? Do crocodiles like shallow water? Eventually we managed to free ourselves using the oar as a pole. No chance of turning back though as there was no way to turn the boat. Seemingly hours later, as dusk began to fall, we reached the spot from where the river widened and we had to scramble up through the jungle to the ruins of Aguateca. Of course there was no time to look around but we got some exercise seeking through the jungle for a convenient toilet stop, eyeing the mosquitoes anxiously the while and wondering where the black, hairy tarantulas might be. (We saw a dead one today and its legs were huge!) Back on board after hours spent getting to Aguateca and only ten minutes there, we headed back down the same tributary we had arrived by, praying we would get through before darkness fell as we had no lights, not even a torch. We were fortunate. This time our boatman managed to get us round without sticking and what little current existed was flowing with us. By the time we reached the lagoon it was dark and the rain had started to pour down. We were sheltered by the thatch roof but the poor boatman sat stoically on the back driving us across crocodile infested waters in the pitch dark and pouring rain! We were all relieved to see a pinpoint of light and headed towards it. The owner of the wooden lodge where we were to spend the night was on the bank to catch our rope and pull us to the shore.
The danger over we climbed up to the lodge to discover we were to be accommodated in little wooden, one room houses, each with a bed, a cold shower and a toilet. There were mosquito nets hanging over the beds and insect screens at the windows. There were optional hammocks outside but with the insects and the rain nobody was going to take that option. While we had cold showers (we had no luggage as it was back in the coach) the lodge owner cooked us supper over an open wood fire and served us welcome beer. We dropped into bed exhausted and slept like logs.
This morning we were woken at 5.30 by the sound of Howler monkeys greeting the dawn. We were due to rejoin our boat at 6.15 which had moored beside the bank below the lodge. As we clambered down the slippery path through the coconut palms and tree roots we saw a watery dawn as the sun struggled to break through the humid, clammy damp mist that hung over the river, causing vapour to rise in steaming, atmospheric clouds from the surface of the water.
Once out on the river however we soon became chilled as the damp permeated our clothes and dripped from our hair. The journey back down stream lasted over two hours by which time, after the many hours we'd squatted on the hard benches yesterday, there was not one amongst us who would have minded if it was some time before we took to the water again. The last couple of days were an experience, but too much was crammed into it and river levels are so much lower than normal in Guatemala that the boats cannot navigate through the narrow creeks of the jungle.
Bidding farewell to our delightful river boatman, who had patiently spent so many hours sitting on the back rail of the wooden boat, guiding us through narrow channels and around fallen trees, we eagerly rejoined our waiting coach at Sayaxche to warm up as we headed along rough tracks through maize fields and sugar plantations towards the Guatamalan/Mexican border.
By the time we reached the exit border the weather had turned hot again. After some delay getting passports stamped, changing Quetzels into Pesos and queuing for the toilet (a wooden shed with a hole in the floor and a jug of water to rinse around) we arrived at the edge of the Rio Usumacimta. This divides the two countries and today there was a fierce, fast flowing current of rapids and shallows with many partially submerged rocks. As we reached the shore, several eager Guatemalans arrived to unload our cases and stack them into yet another fragile looking boat waiting to carry it downstream to Mexico! It took three boats to carry us all. We had no choice but to abandon ourselves to the skill of the boatmen and apart from some rocky moments, in 30 minutes we clambered out onto the muddy, wooded banks of Mexico. It was one the most exciting entries we have made into a country, rivalling crossing the border into the GDR back in communist times. At the top of a steep climb we reached the road to discover our new, Mexican coach and driver waiting for us. First though, Mexican border controls had to be complied with, necessitating another long wait in the hot sun while our forms were checked and passports stamped. Soon though we were on our way to our first Maya site in Mexico.
Bonampak is famed for the three rooms of murals in structure 1 on the main plaza, a unique survival from the classis period. Painted in fresco in 790AD they depict the ceremonial initiation of the young heir to the throne, a battle and the subsequent judgement of the prisoners and the following celebrations. There is vivid insight into court life and the colours of the costumes give a hint of how the painted stelae must once have looked. The site is run by the local Lacandon Maya who own the land and drive visitors there in mini-buses. The site itself is small – just one main plaza with is temples and acropolis. There are large flat stelae carved in elegant low relief, mainly depicting the ruler in 790 Chaan Muan. Structure three to the left of the temple of the murals also shows faint traces of paintings. One of our group who had visited some years back says that the colours are less distinct than when he last visited them. The guides only allow three people into each room at a time and flash is not allowed but one wonders how long these paintings can remain generally accessible.
A further three hours travelling along bumpy roads through wayside villages – better kept, cleaner and tidier than in Guatamala – brought us to the town of Palenque where we are installed in a modern hotel. What it lacks in charm is compensated for by the hot showers, air conditioning and complimentary glass of Tequilla Sunrise on our arrival. After settling in we left our group and ventured out for supper. We discovered a very pleasant restaurant playing Latin American music while Mexican couples sat outside relaxing by candlelight. We were told everything on the menu was off except fish. We said fish would be fine and spent a very happy evening with a beautifully served meal of seafood cocktail with tortilla chips followed by fillets of grilled fish served with lime, avocados and mixed salad with rice, accompanied by three Mexican beers. Our total bill, including service, was around £9! (20 pesos to the £)
Monday 28th January 2008, Palenque, Mexico
Most of today was spent at the stunningly beautiful site of Palenque set amidst the steaming green jungle where avocado, orange, teak, mahogany, and the sacred Ceibal (Capoc) trees offer shade from the hot sunshine and a home to exotic birds. Officially it is necessary to be shown around with one of the Mexican guides but as we had our own archaeologist, Coral, a charming young Mexican girl who is studying bones and objects found in ancient middens on the Palenque site, we paid the guide and once we were out of sight of the officials, he left us alone and Coral gave us a far more detailed, amusing and accurate account than would otherwise have been the case. There is also considerable resentment among male Mexicans towards women involved in archaeology and Coral is having such difficulties completing her research that she is actually going to Australia shortly where the government is prepared to fund her in exchange for lecturing there!
The impressive Plaza Central is reached immediately from the entrance where local Maya, often dressed in white robes, tout souvenirs and foodstuffs. The main square is dominated by the Temple of the Inscriptions built to house the tomb of Pacal I who ruled for 67 years from 615 to 683AD. Despite his long reign his tomb had to be completed by his son and successor Chan Bahlam II who ruled until 702. The tomb, which is down a narrow flight of steps within the pyramid was first discovered in 1952 by Alberto Ruz Lhuiller, who now lies buried opposite the temple. The famous sarcophagus lid, which Von Daniken thought represented an astronaut, still lies within the temple, but can no longer be visited.
To the right of the Temple of the Inscriptions however, near Temple 12, we were able to see the burial of a woman, discovered in 1994, probably the wife of Pacal. From the plaza we climbed up to the palace complex, which is richly decorated with stucco and with tantalising traces of mural painting. From the upper terraces of the palace there is a view across to the Temple of the Count, named after the eccentric French count Jean Frederic Waldek who lived in the structure for two years while he made highly fanciful drawings of the site. The palace has an unusual square tower which probably doubled as a watch-tower and astronomical observatory. It is thought that the astronomers used basins of water in which the reflections of the heavens assisted their observation - certainly the topmost roof is an addition of the archaeologists. We splashed through a maze of damp subterranean passages and admired the toilets and sweat baths, which showed that the ruling family lived in some style and, leaving the Palace crossed the River Otulum, which the Maya had converted into a covered channel passing beneath the Palace and climbed some steps to a second plaza with three temples constructed by Chan Bahlam, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and the Temple of the Cross. Two of these had the full roof combs which, like the stucco decorations in an elaborate, almost baroque style, are a distinctive feature of Palenque. All three temple contained wonderful bas-reliefs with extensive inscriptions set within shrines. We later visited Temple 18 just outside the group which also had a remarkably preserved bas relief which had been discovered relatively recently. From the top of the Temple of the Cross is a wonderful view across the site and out over the forested lowland stretching away into the distance. Following the culvert of the Otulum river below the Palace we reached the ball court, which is remarkably small and crossing the river again at a point where it fell in cascades down a wooded valley we reached the remote Group C, consisting of buildings only partly disengaged from the woodlands and hiding who know what treasures, still to be found by archaeologists.
After six hours, having climbed several of the huge flights of steps and walked miles around the site, we were hot, thirsty, hungry and in desperate need of cool showers. After satisfying some of these needs back at the hotel we walked into town in search of a bank to change our dollars to pesos and to pay the money demanded by the Mexican government before they will allow you to leave the country. The payment of around £12 each has to be made at a bank and a receipt obtained. Ian managed it all in Spanish! Next we found a restaurant on the main plaza where we ordered iced beers and tacos filled with beef, onions and peppers served with avocados and spicy salsa.
The town of Palenque is nothing special. It is better kept than Santa Elena in Guatemala but is also less colourful. Shops are no more than single story buildings with open fronts along the roads that are laid out in a grid pattern throughout the town. Street vendors sell fruit, bread, nuts, sweets and corn on the cob from bicycles on street corners and women with babies tied to their backs sweep the dusty streets or sit on benches beneath the trees on the plaza while their children attempt to sell souvenirs and reproduction Maya trinkets to tourists. There are around 60,000 inhabitants in Palenque, about the same number as existed at the height of the Mayan period during the 7th and 8th centuries AD. In the cathedral is a painting of the Spanish priest Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada who founded the new settlement of Palenque in 1567. He did much for the Mayan people and was buried in the cathedral in 1580.
It is intriguing to see the way that the people of Palenque have adopted the recently discovered Mayan rulers as part of their heritage, not always in the best of taste. The profile of Pacal adorns the Town Hall and park benches. There is even a statue of his mother in the centre of the town and a giant copy of his head on the roundabout out of town!
It was dark by the time we returned to our hotel and gone 9pm before we felt sufficiently hungry to seek out somewhere for supper. Unfortunately our restaurant of last night was closed and the only other place within easy reach turned out to be a very indifferent experience. We were fussed over by a bevy of eager waiters who made the whole process something to be endured. Serviettes were placed on our knees, our beer poured for us at regular intervals and they took it in turns to stand beside the table watching our every move, the dishes being whipped away the second we put down our cutlery. In fact we ended up deliberately holding onto our glasses to see how long they would stand waiting for them. They were whipped away the second we let go! The concept of a relaxed meal does not appear to exist in Mexico. The experience lasted a mere 20 minutes, the food wasn't particularly good and we left with a sense of disappointment and bad indigestion. It was also considerably more expensive than last night had been.
