Jungle Love...... Oh-ee-oh-ee-oh!

So, just to continue from last time (thank god it posted, i thought i had been cut short!)....

We left Teotihuacan and hopped on a "collectivo", our 1st experience of the group taxi, 10 pesos ($1) to get dropped anywhere on the route..... the town of San Juan was our stop. The 3 of us piled in, a little apprehensive, and trundled into the town in the Mexican equivalent of a Bedford Rascal (for you Brits!). We hopped out and immediately spotted the market, tacos were on the horizon and they, once again, did not dissappoint! Granted it was mystery meat, but it was delicious and spicy! From San Juan we knew there was a bus back to MC, we just had to find the stop and after a little waiting here, some bad Spanish there, we located the stop, got our tickets and waited in the shade.

The ride itself was interesting, a busker of sorts bust out his guitar and started serenading the passangers for some extra cash, interesting considering that the only "busking" that we had seen was where people got on the subway, turned on a stereo and tried to sell you the wailing melodies drifting down the car at high volume! This was a nice change and sent me straight to sleep until we pulled into the bus depot. Thomas left us and we headed to Frida Kahlo´s house (he, like me 2 years ago, did not know of the famous Mexican artist!). A few subway changes and a brief walk past more delicious smelling taco stands, we reached her house. It was very interesting to see her house, her collection of various art forms and sit in the tranquil garden and relax after the early morning and frantic pyramid climbing!

We returned to the hostel, collected our bags and headed to the bus station once again for our 13hr ride to Palenque, a small town nestled deep in the jungle, home to some of the most impotant Mayan ruins to date.

We arrived at 730am on Sunday and hopped straight in a collectivo to El Panchan, a backpacker haven right outside the national park, set up by Don Mucho so that travellers could see the ruins easily and stay at low cost. This really was in the heart of the jungle! We found our hostel, Marguerite & Ed´s, and booked in for 3 nights for a private cabana and waited for it to be ready at Don Muchos restuarant. We gobbled down some brekky and dreamt of the shower to come! The room was great, finally no roommates, although the roof space did connect directly with the cabana next door...... these mediterranean girls did not have good singing voices!

We ventured into Palenque in the afternoon and picked up some supplies, water and sandwich provisions for our trip to the ruins the next day. We ate the famed pizza here at Don Muchos and splurged on beer as the band played... so nice just to relax as opposed to the fast pace of Mexico City. Bedtime finally called and we fell asleep to the sounds of the Jungle.

We awoke early and trapsed down to the entrance of the park, hailed a collective and hopped out at the entrance ruins. On the advice of some fellow travellers we found a guide, Gustavo, who promised an hour for the both of us for 150 pesos, not bad for a small group. Gustavo was great very informative but unfortunatly the main attraction, the termple of inscriptions, was closed.... still, what a sight, Pakal, the the great ruler here, had a tomb nestled deep inside, not discovered until later in teh excavation! Pakal was inbred (the royals had only one family to choose a mate from.... their own!) with 6 fingers on each hand and his right leg shorter than his left. This was all clearly documented in the stone carvings! We learnt of the sacrificial beliefs, the Mayans cut off the heads of slave ( the Aztecs removed still beating hearts) and sprinkled the blood on crops so that the Gods of the Underworld would push the crops (corn and peyote) up through the soil. We saw the Mayan toilets, including plumbing! And learnt of the belief system, all very interesting. After our tour, we explored the rest of the site on our own, trekking into the jungle to see some of the other excavated and other un-excavated sites. Palenque has some 1400 structures, only 500 of which are excavated. We encountered, murials, steep steps, an iguana, slippery steps, more steep steps and finally some beautiful jungle water falls, ending in some amazing pools. As we left we saw that the tomb of the Red Queen was now open, an eerie, damp system of small rooms, including her sarcophagous. We had come across her body in MC, she is named the Red Queen because the dyes used in the tomb and in her death robes soaked into her bones over the years, leaving her skeloton red..... quite the fashion statement!

We left the ruins, hung out and relaxed here at El Panchan. We were halfway through a movie (a creature comfort for us.... the wonders of the ipod!) when the heavens opened. We had been hearing thunder and seeing lightening all afternoon but none had affected us. Now, in full force, we were witnessing our 1st tropical downpour. Quite the sight! After hitting the hay however, something unsuspecting happened.... the outside light of our cabana turned itself on.... rather odd and a little concerning, was someone trying to lure us out into the jungle?!

So we spent today relaxing, this is a vacation after all, venturing into Palenque for more tacos and a stroll in the sweltering heat and humidity to return and do some more relaxing before we leave tomorrow for the town of Campeche. Located on the coast 7 hours north of here, it is famed as a place frequented by pirates..... should be interesting!

More updates in the near future, hope all is well with everyone!