Enchiladas verdes - Mexico 2005

Palenque

In the shower this morning I was wondering about this very strange noise. Like running water. Of course, when you´re in the shower you most certainly hear the sound of running water but this was different. It almot sounded like... rain. I called out to Silke to look out of the window but she said there was nothing. However, when I came out of the shower it was raining cats and dogs! I have no idea if this was the influence of hurricane Wilma but we had infact three showers of rain today. Nothing serious because it was as warm as the air outside. It wasn´t even refreshing. <g>

After breakfast (fruit salad for me) we visited the ruins of Palenque. It was more humid than yesterday, probably due to the rain fall. Still, it was so warm and I had on my shorts and a top - and my hiking boots. It looked quite adventurous but if there is one thing I´ve learned from this pyramid thingies, then it´s to wear good shoes. Due to the rain before the steps and stones were wet and we needed to be extra careful when climbing down. Same rule as always applied: Up is easy, down is dangerous.

The ruins of Palenque are surrounded by tropica rain forest and the sight is breath-taking (if you still have some because of the 95%+ humidity). Is it possible that the green seemed yet a little bit greener than yesterday?

We walked around the archeological site and took lots of pictures when the next round of rain pourred down. At first I tried to seek some shelter under a big tree but the rain came down so heavily that I decided to climb up to one of the small temples and hide there. The rain curtain gave the pyramids a mystic look and we just stood up there and looked around until rain stopped after 15 minutes.

The humidity was back instantly and then the sun came out. It is not a good combination. Silke and I sought the big trees for shade and bought some souvenirs from a boy (Mayan symobls on a limestone, quite pretty).

After lunch we headed back into the mountains to visit the Agua Azul waterfalls, which are supposed to be the most beautiful waterfalls in the country. We paid some sort of "save the roads" toll and then the entry fee and parked our car. A boy of about 10 years offered to watch our car. We had read about this in our travel guide and it is supposed to be a good thing. Of course, there were many other tourists too, but we surely didn´t mind a set of watchful eyes. We "negotiated" the fee, 10 pesos, and the boy said his name was Pascal. Payment was due upon our return. I don´t know if he really watched our car but he surely showed up promptly when we returned about three hours later. So, I guess he did keep an eye on it.

The next rain sent us into a small restaurant where we had a coke and some food. Not bad but not good either. Oh, beware of the toilets! (The toilets in the jungle were cleaner.)

Silke slipped on some wet stones and fell into the mud. My heart stopped for a moment because the fall did look bad but she laughed and already complained about her white pants - which now were not white anymore, of course. I event took a pic of her dirty butt. Evil me, I know.

We went for a walk around the waterfalls that cascaded down from the mountains. Again, the sight was breath-taking and we stopped here and there to take pictures. On top of the trial we came to a small vendor who sold freshly pressed orange juice. Yum! We´ve come to enjoy this beverage and it is so very different from the stuff you buy in the supermarket. Silke was even allowed to take a photo of the man squeezing the oranges.

Silke´s mishap had taught a lesson and we walked down slowly. My constant problem is that I cannot estimate the distance between steps or if it is a deep one or small one. However, we both managed the walk down without compromising our pants again.

On our way back to Palenque we stopped by the Miso-hal waterfall, which is not as big as the Agua Azul ones but not less intoxicating.

Tomorrow we´ll head north to Merida, Yuactán. We don´t know how long we´ll be staying there but there are many things to see. Another pyramid site and a national park with Flamingos. And, of course, the beach is getting closer.