Jungle Boogie

After the fresh highland climate of San Cristobal, I decided to head into the fringe of the jungle to see some Mayan ruins. Palenque was my first stop, and is considered one of the most important archeological sites in the Mayan world. The first thing that one notices when getting off the bus in Palenque town is how freaking hot it is. Whew. Even though it was about 10pm when I arrived, I immediately burst into a full body sweat. Somehow I managed to get a good night's sleep in a dank hotel room that had no AC. There was a fan that had only one speed - scary fast - which sounded like a Cesna engine. But it did the job. Early the next morning I checked into a hotel in the jungle (Maya Bell) and hit the ruins early. The first thing I noticed when I arrived at Maya Bell was the jungle sounds. Birds were screeching, cicadas were chirping, but above it all was the roar of Howler Monkeys. They were so loud it sounded like they were right overhead, though their calls can carry for more than a mile.



The ruins at Palenque are expansive and impressive. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and you have the sense that the excavated sites were literally carved out of the jungle canopy. The Temple of Inscriptions is the largest excavated structure on the grounds and dominates the main plaza. It is the burial site of Pakal, Palenque's most powerful ruler. It is also unfortunately the only structure that we couldn't climb. One thing to keep in mind when viewing the pictures of the ruins is that when they were constructed, they were covered in a white limestone plaster and intricate and ornate patterns were painted in red all over the exterior of the structures.



Later that day, I booked a trip to visit two other Mayan sites deep in the jungle, Yaxchilan and Bonampak. The first site Yaxchilan is particularly impressive because of its location. We had to take a 45 minute boat ride to reach the site. The Usumacinta River is a natural border between Guatemala and Mexico and Yaxchilan is located right on the river's bank. Like Palenque it is a fairly large site, and only a fraction has been excavated. Yaxchilan stands out as a Mayan site due to the impressive roof combs many of the structures had, including the main temple at the Grand Acropolis. Many of the building have fantastically preserved stellae and bas-relief carvings. While exploring the Grand Acropolis, I even caught a glimpse of some spider monkeys eating some fruit in a nearby tree. Yaxchilan was a center of power in the Usumacinta Province for almost 400 years before was abandoned sometime around 900 AD.



Our final stop for the day was Bonampak, a smaller site than the previous two, but important for the murals that have been preserved inside some of the buildings. Like Yaxchilan, the location of the ruins are as impressive as the ruins themselves. It's hard not to feel a little like Indiana Jones as you are walking among towering trees, hanging vines and come upon a crumbling temple, half-buried by jungle growth. Bonampak is notable because of the size of many of the stellae found on the site. Stellae are carved pieces of limestone which depict important events in a the city's history, or the ruler's life. Much of what is known about Mayan history has been uncovered through careful reading of the stellae. Some of the stellae located at Bonampak are over 20 feet tall and contain richly carved depictions of Mayan kings.



My final day in the jungle included a guided hike through the jungle to observe wildlife. The most impressive of all the trees in the jungle is the Ceiba tree. The Ceiba was particularly important to the Mayan religion as it symbolized the link between the three worlds, the underworld, the middle earth and the land of the gods. The tree in the picture is estimated to be about 700 years old. While on our hike, we saw countless waterfalls and crossed several streams on rickety "fallen log" bridges. As a welcome reward for our arduous hike, we stopped at a beatiful stream, in between a series of cascades and had a nice long swim. Although we didn't spot any monkeys as I had hoped, it was a very worthwhile hike. Several times I heard the distinctive clatter of the toucan, but we never caught a glimpse. Part of the problem is that the jungle canopy is so dense, it's hard to see for any great distance.