The wheels of the stallion are rolling, I'm well over 1000km and averaging about 100km a day, which is comfortable (as one can be on a bike seat) and can hit major pueblos in the region. Immediately after the last blog I headed into the Pantanos de Centla, 6,600 sq. miles of wetland reserve. It runs from Frontera, Tabasco to Jonuta, Tabasco, and nothing in between but birds, turtles, crocs and water. Stayed in the reserve the first night with a family that runs some cabins called El Negro Chon righ by the reserve's museum/park La Casa de Agua, they didn't have any power at the time so they let me camp there for free. The devious little kids of the family took my bamboo flag and lost it, chalk up another item up on the lost chart. This little family, besides being kind and giving, is an example of how families living in reserves successfully change their lives to adapt to their new conditions. They were wild game hunters and fishermen, and now that the animals are protected and the fishing is restricted, they have turned to ecotourism (trained by govt. programs) and are doing as well or better than before.
The 2 pueblos of the wetlands don't have much to offer, they lay 112km apart and there is no civilization between them, so pack rations appropriately and enjoy the ride.
Unfortunately when I was downloading my photos in the internet cafe in Jonuta, there was a power outage, all the photos were lost and some of my journal. I did take some photos on the way out to give the readers an idea of what it's like.
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| Pantanos de Centla |
Now To the heart of Mayan civilization, the impressive ruins of Palenque. First of all, the modern city of Palenque isn't much, it's good for supplies and as a travel hub, but all the sites are around it. If you are going to stay in Palanque, hands down, the only place to stay, a collection of cabins and restaurants by the ruins known as El Panchan.
This place has a neat story, told to me by the owner and world renown Mayan historian Moises Morales, 82 years old but kicking strong, the day I arrived he renewed his driver's license. He is a small brown indigenous man from Palenque, he started his career as one of the first guides in Palenque, learned French and English from text books, and while working with various arquiologist he became the authority on Mayan history, he later worked all over the world with various journals and magazines. Around 40 he married a flight attendant from the states and had 6 kids. She took them to Austin and he stayed in Palenque, during their divorce negotiations he gave her and the kids everything and started his life again at 50. He was given 7 hectares (20 acres) of land by the ruins, reforested it, and after 25 years he has the only successfully reforested land in Chiapas. With the newly reforested land, he gave each child one hectare, and saved one for himself to live on. His children built cabins and 2 restaurants in the epicenter of the land, and have created what is now the the world famous El Panchan. I camped on his son's land, Beto, and bought tours from his daughter Cheryl. Besides the jungle environment, the occupants are people from all over the world and all social classes, this creates a unique cosmopolitan atmosphere. As you can imagine this place attracts a good number of hippies, but Moises doesn't let them stay for free, he puts them to work, they are either selling stuff, cleaning, or the entertainment in the restaurant (musical jamming, fire dancing, and other general hippie activities).
Day 1 of 3 Palanque Ruins
A giant complex of temples and plazas, built in the classic Mayan period 600 - 900 A.D, when their civilization was at it's peak in enlightenment. King Pakal (died at 82) and his sons built most of what is seen today. The pictures of the ruins speak for themselves
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| Palanque |
I met a super cool couple from Lithuania, Paul and Goda, and some Mayan indigenous that live in the pueblo behind the pyramids. The people that sell artifacts in the park, are egidos, like Indians on reservations but on their original land and not in some remote desert area, so they have rights to sell their art in the park. They mainly sell leather mats that are painted or burned with some sort of scene, calendar, or hieroglyphic pertaining to the area.
I passed my last 2 evenings in Palanque putting down beers and tequilas with the Lithuanian couple.
Paul first worked selling used car in Siberia at 18, later as a bouncer in various bars in Dublin then as a furniture mover in the Baltimore, during that whole time he practiced martial arts and supposedly won some championships. His wife went to school in Lithuania and Sweden, she also spent time working in the states. After 5 hours of politics, jokes, breaking stereotypes, and pizza, we became pretty good friends, maybe setting up a future bike trip through Russia?
Day 2 of 3 Yaxchilan and Bonampak
A whole day of cars and boats will get you to the arquilogical sights of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. Both were built in the classic Mayan period by kings and queens with names like Jaguar Shield, Juguar Bird, and Lord. The sites are still covered by jungle, infested with the howling growler monkey and bats have occupied a majority of the temples. These sites are unique in their tall flat lime stone structures called stelas that tell of the civilization's history. Bonampak is even more unique in that one of the temples frescos are in very good condition. To the photos...
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| Yaxchilan |
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| Bonampak |
Day 3, Water
Today's tour was full of water falls and rivers, not only known for their clarity and size, but their cameos in the first Predator movie. Misol-Ha, a 90 foot waterfall, was our first stop and is also the site of Arnold's jump to escape the alien's grasp.
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| Misol-Ha |
This is also where I met my tour partner for the day, the beauty from down under known as Nalini, a 24 yr. old Austrailian aero engineer that is doing a backpack tour Mexico.
The second stop was Agua Clara, a bright turquoise river crossed by a suspension bridge, or better known in the Predator world as Billy's last stand.
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| Agua Clara |
Not much here, you cross the bridge and then take a crude raft back to the other side, perfect for the 30 minutes they allow you. The last stop was Agua Azul.
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| Agua Azul |
This was a large system of waterfalls with various places to eat and swim. Here we swam for a good hour, sunned and enjoyed the Mayan cuisine. 2 hours later I parted from the my new Austrailian buddy and Palenque in a bus to the cosmopolitan mountain hamlet of San Cristobal de las Casas.
The Hello-Goodbye kiss Matrix
Belgien, Mexican, Lithuania - 1 kiss
French, Hungarian - 2 kisses
American, English - 0 kisses
Note on asking for distances
If you ask someone how far something is you will get the distance in time (especially in pueblos).
If they give you the time a bus takes to reach its destination, double that time for a bike, if the time is by car, triple it.
Not only maps but now road signs can not be completely trusted. When highways are built or destroyed, all signs stay up. Useful and new metal signs are sometimes taken down by poor people, apparently they are good for making tortillas.
When it comes to leaving your stuff somewhere, some Mexicans will say, "Don't worry, nothing will hapen to it here (no pasa nada)", you should follow that up by "Would you leave your stuff here?".
Sandal Lineage
Chacos -> Sport -> Mike
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