Palenque

Oh hi! After San Cristobal we took a five hour bus ride to Palenque. We decided to travel in the day to check out the scenery. As we left San Cristobal it started to rain, a light drizzle that continued throughout the journey. This seemed ideal. We were travelling on smaller roads through rural scattered villages and small farmsteads. The land was green and lush, the roads more winding. The vegetation was much more tropical with an increasing amount of vines, palms, Datura trees, exotic flowers and Air plants.

It was all so vibrant, washed by the rain, a mixture of vivid greens and amazing leaf shapes. Sadly the bus windows were quite dirty, so I couldn't take pictures. The landscape became more like a jungle as we got further towards Palenque and the clouds came right down into the tree tops whiting out the horizon and hanging a heavy layer of humidity around us. We saw more villages with palm leaf roof buildings surrounded by banana palms. Lots of free range chickens, donkeys, goats and small bare foot children with bright umbrellas. Stray dogs semed to be on a mission between villages.

When we got to Palenque town itself it was a jumbled mass of iron and cast concrete buildings. Commercial, not pretty, but small steets and quite chilled. We decided to stay in the town to avoid the mosquitos and cater for the pegar.

Palenque is a Spanish word and has no relation to its Mayan name which may have been Lakamha meaning big water. Palenque is believed to have existed from before 100BC. The city thrived under the ruler Pakal, who reigned from AD 615-683. Archaeologists have determined that Pakal is represented by the heiroglyphics of sun and shield, and is refered to as sunshield. Pakal instructed the building of many plazas and temples including the Templo de las Inscriptiones, his own mausoleum that we will look at in a mo. The site of the ruins is surrounded by jungle and was very green. Fortunately for us it wasn't that hot or humid.

At the start we sat down in some shade to take in our first view of the ruins. Looking up I say that this tree had really thick chunky pyramid spikes on the top side of its branches. Wij look!


Our first view of El Palacio. Archaeologists believe that it was built from the 5th century onwards, so that Maya royalty and priests could observe the sun falling directly into the Templo de las Inscripciones (hidden to the right) during the winter solstice. It has four coutyards inside and a maze of corridoors and rooms and is believed to be the residence of Palenque's rulers (you cannot go inside or walk up it). The tower was built in the 8th century, and like the rest of the ruins was modified by different rulers over time.


Templo de las Inscripciones staircase rises 25m to a series of small room. The temple is constructed on eight levels and inside a staircase leads through these levels to the tomb of Pakal. We saw Pakal's Jewel incrusted skeleton and jade mosaic death mask in Mexico citys Anthropological museum, were they had recreated the internal setting and exhibited the artifacts that were found in the tomb. There are, apparently, murals inside that are still intact and three inscription panels that chart the history of Palenque. Mexican Archiologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier named the temple after these. It is the talest temple in Palenque. Can you spot Wij pegging it off?


Looking between El Palacio and Templo de las Inscripciones.


Looking at Templo de las Inscripciones.


Our first view of Templo del Sol, hidden by the trees.


Looking back at Templo de las Inscripciones and El Palacio.


Templo del Sol with the roof detail still intact.


Walking through the Jungle setting...


Templo del Sol.


Templo del Sol has the best example of a roof comb, believed to have been inspired by local hallucinogenic mushrooms.


Templo de la Cruz Foliada- (temple of the foliated cross) has the arches fully exposed and demonstrates how these buildings were constructed. Inside is a stone relief of Pakal with a sun shield on his chest, corn growing from his sholders and the Quetzal bird on his head.


Templo de la Cruz, you can see the roof detail here, in the same style as Templo de las Sol. There is a stone carving in the central room depicting the lord of the underworld smoking tobacco.


Looking back towards El Palacio.


The side view of Templo de la Cruz.


Looking back to Templo de las Inscripcions to the left and El Palacio to the right. There were dozens of large amber coloured dragonflies here that flew around you if you stood still. We could here their wings clattering.


Here is one for you Jenny Pin, an Orange tree with air plants galore! It has lots of shiny green leaves like yours, but unlike yours it has fruit! xx


The other side of El Palacio.


The trees were full of air plants. We could hear howler monkeys in the distance... a very strange sound coming from the thick Jungle.


Oh hi! Lots of lovely butterflies.


Not so ideal. A flying ants nest that was hanging in a tree, blown down by the breeze. Beautifully made.


Templo del Conde. After 900AD, Archaeologists believed that Palenque was abandoned. The ruins became overgrown. In 1746 Mayan hunters guided the Spanish Priest Antonio del Solis here and Archeologists started to explore the ruins. Later explorers claimed that Palenque was the capital of an Atlantis style civilization. Between 1831-1833 Count de Waldeck lived at the top of this temple making fanciful drawings that incorrectly depicted the city.


Templo del Conde. In 1837 American Archiologist John L Stephens and Artist Frederick Catherwood insightfully investigated and recorded Palenque's ruins. It was in 1952 that Mexican Archiologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovered the crypt in Templo del las Inscriciones.


This area of Mexico has the heaviest rainfall.


We loved the butress roots.




Grupo C. Off the beaten path, so to speak, no one was really here, which was great...a series of plaza's thought to have been lived in around 750-800 AD.


A beautifully overgrown and peaceful setting.


Inside the buildings, a maze of corridoors.






Rock formations caused by the high rainfall, water running off the rocky slopes leaving deposits.


Walking further out of the main site we followed a path that ran along a series of small waterfalls leading to this big waterfall known as Banos de la Reina... the Queens bath. Beautiful shelves of clear water.


The path was very steep going down hill with a lot of steps and the Jungle falling away following the water. We reached a flat area only to find we had to cross a suspended bridge. Wij had to hop across this making it sway violently. All a bit Indiana Jones, Pegar stylee. This is the view of the waterfalls halfway down the next steep section of steps.


Can you see the bridge in the distance?


Hidden away from the main path Grupos 1 and 2, very overgrown with tiny bright yellow finches singing very loudly.


At the end of the trail we made it to the site museum. Most of the artefacts from Palenque are housed in Mexico city at the Archeological museum, we saw these at the start of our trip so it all tied in well. A lot of pottery was discovered. Here one of four terracotta 'columns' with blue slip decoration.


A small bird figure modelled in clay. A classic example.


And that was our Palenque visit.