Chiapas: Palenque, ruins, jungle and rain

Almost when William and I arrived to Palenque in the evening we were terrified. It rained a lot in Palenque and would continue to do so then next couple of days. Since we arrived in the evening, we hoped for better weather the next day for our one day visit of the area. Before sleaping however, first we visited the town.

It was a cool town, very different from the ones we had seen so far. The differences between the Yucatan peninsula and Chiapas. Less touristic and more of a welcome atmosphere. The locals are more friendly and helpful, although cannot speak any English. Oh well, my Spanish can only improve from that. :-)

The next morning we woke up early to go to the famous Palenque ruins. It appeared to be a bit too early as we arrived 7:35, even though it opened at 8:00. Therefore we decided to eat with the working Mexicans around the entrance with amazing real local Mexican food, quite a funny experience.

Then the ruins opened and we got the 4th and 5th ticket. This made our trip to the ruins unforgettable, with hardly anyone else around. The ruins are amazing, especially being right in the jungle. The rain also helped: it was just a little bit of rain, reducing heat and the number of people visiting places. The best part of the ruins was that we could even enter them, for the first time seeing the insides as well. It is a 'hidden' gem that in 10 years will most lkely be as touristic as Chichen Itza though, so visit it as soon as you can. :-)

In the afternoon we went to search for waterfalls that were near Palenque. We found a bus going there, but were a little bit scared. The jungle around Palenque is known for being unsafe, due to a Mexican 'guerrilla' force being there, known to rob non-locals. We even saw a building owned by them during the trip. Nothing happened however and the scenery seen from the small bus was amazing! We arrived to a tiny village for seeing the waterfalls and quickly became amazed by both the village and the waterfalls. The village is one that you would see in the movies, the real rural villages. The waterfalls were huge and fantastic and even bigger due to the rain that fell the past day. Also, the rain kept the number of tourists that visited them to a minimum, making the experience even better!

That night we left Palenque, kind of disappointed leaving so soon (but we bought the tickets already). With the bus having ac fully on even though its 11 degrees we arrived at 6 in the morning, shivering and tired. San Christobal so far seems amazing. We visited the cleanest and interesting market place ever and I also visited some interesting sights (most of them are renovated though, this month being low season). This city seems very interesting and I am looking forward to investigating it even further!