Centro

As mentioned we wanted to started our day at 05:00 am but the festivities had made the night quite uneasy but we managed to be on the road by 05:30. Surprisingly it was already quite busy on the streets, especially the pilgrims were already running again probably to avoid the sun. The accompanying cars, vans and trucks threw candies to the waiting kids along the road so the whole way was lined with them ☺️ With all these people on and next to the streets the drive felt very safe but we still drove all the way to the waterfalls of Agua Azul at once, which was about 4 hours. When arriving there at 09:30 in the morning there were already some tourists who probably came from Palenque.
We changed quickly in our swimming suits and then walked along the shores checking out every viewpoint on the way up. The colors of the waterfalls were an incredible mix of contrast that blended perfectly and beautifully. Each view was different and had its own charm. At the top were several designated natural pools for swimming and it was perfect to refresh after the strenuous drive (tope country!!). The water was chilly but just right together with the air temperature.

The last leg of the route led us for another 2 hours to the archaeological site of Palenque, a major Mayan complex. The area that you can visit and is explored is already huge but only makes up around 2%, the rest of the city is still covered under lush rainforest vegetation. The ruins are well restored and offer an impressive sight against the green background. At a vendor we saw the Palenque Mayan (there were different Mayan tribes like in Chichén Itzá and Tikal) Zodiac signs. We were intrigued and he told us interesting facts about them, among the signs of ourselves. The signs also decided what kind of occupation the person will have later: I'm Xul, the young jaguar 🐆, which means that I'm a leader of warriors. Julia is Tzec, the symbol of balance and the occupation of advisory. We got these two as painted pottery charms ☺️ The vendor was super nice and we chatted for some time and he told us some interesting facts about the ruins and specific items. He also told us that we could go to a jungle path by ourselves because the guides had advertised it. As it was still early we decided to go there and the walk was pretty easy except for some muddy parts.

Then we went into town to check for a place to stay the night. A hotel had pretty good reviews and when we arrived it looked amazing inmidst a green jungle. Unfortunately they didn't have any rooms available but they said we could sleep in the van and use the facilities. We didn't want to look further and the hotel manager was super nice, so we decided to stay... And it was the best decision!! Right after parking a weird cat ran across the dirt street which he explained later is an agouti, a large rodent. Unfortunately it ran away before I could get a good look and picture of it. I've attached the one where you can see it from behind 🤷‍♂️ A little bit later we were surprised by a family of monkeys (mono aullador) 🐒 in the trees above us. They were super active, jumping around and teasing each other. Two of them jumped on a nearby balcony and took down the drying clothes. We watched them for about an hour before heading into the town center for dinner and a bit of sightseeing. I've tried a traditional Mayan chicken stew with vegetables and Julia had tlacoyos. A proper last meal in Mexico 🥰

We went back to Ruedi, planned a bit more the journey and watched a series. Around 11pm we went back into town to see the fireworks in celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe.Read more