Welcome to the Jungle

After Chichen Itza, we went to the gulf side for a night in Campeche then on to Palenque for some of the most impressive ruins we saw. For the structures themselves, but also for the surroundings. The rolling hills of the highland jungles were breathtaking. It was also about the hottest we've ever felt in the jungle of Palenque. We walked from our campsite at the Mayabell along the road that climbed a few miles to the top of the hill and the ruins. It was just before 9 am in the morning, but it felt like it was about 120 deg. with 110% humidity. So, no, I haven't been for a swim in this picture.

The carvings on some of the buildings were quite impressive and meaningful. Still don't know what the T was for tho.

Nick, off in the distance, had some great time to "zone out" at this site. We all had to take some time to let the significance of where we were standing soak in. Just like in Tikal, we could almost hear the pulse of the old Mayan culture in and around the ruins.
Ahhh, the day in the jungle made the next day all the sweeter. On our way to San Cristobal de las Casas, a mountain town over 5,000 feet, we stopped at two sets of falls. The first place we had all to ourselves. A perfect swimming hole and a place to walk behind the falls.

The view from behind the falls...

Bringing the tradition of the cairn to Mexico.

The next place we stopped for the day was packed with tourists and local families and was a series of beautiful turqoise blue falls that stretched far up the hillsides. There were countless pools and a couple rope swings to monkey on along the way.

Lost in translation?? This was by the set of falls in the picture above that was roped off for swimming...

More pics back in Mex

From the border crossing from Belize into Mexico, we only had a couple days to make our way to Tulum to pick up Nick Walker...a friend living in Denver now who jumped in the van for a month. After a quick overnight in Tulum (since it felt like an extension of Cancun craziness) we moved inland through the Yucutan. We stopped at a wonderfully refreshing cenote (swimming hole), especially so since it was over 110 degrees in the Mexican jungle. This cenote was a little built up and more commercial than some of the others we stopped in, but no less beautiful. Set a few hundred feet down in a cave with vines hanging down and through the opening...
The water itself was amazingly clear and filled with hundreds of black catfish. They also had a diving platform that we couldn't get enough of.

From there we saw our first set of Mexican Mayan ruins...CHICHEN ITZA. Saw a light show the night before recreating how this temple was made in accordance with the calendar the Maya are so famous for. With exactly 365 steps and a light and shadow event that takes place on the spring and fall equinox showing a snake coming up and down the stairs. The ancients really did their research before building anything.
This was in the ball court, where evidently the Mayan taste for blood even extended to their sports. They were known to slaughter the captain of the losing team and sometimes the entire team at the end of a game. That had to bring on some friendly competition.
This is believed to be one of the sacrificial platforms. Hard to tell why! If you didn't lose your head here, you might have been pushed into the cenote of death a short distance from the main plaza, where among bones of the poor souls pushed in they have also found countless amounts of gold, silver and jewels given up as offerings to the gods.

Back to the States

We are officially back in the good old USA. We crossed the border into Arizona a couple weeks ago now. The first few days back were blazing hot until we met Angie's parents in a Scotsdale resort to soak up some pool time and A/C. Walt and Sharon then jumped in the van to camp for a few days through the Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde Nat'l Parks. We stopped in Durango along the way to ride the Narrow Gauge Train along the river up to Silverton...quite a ride.


We are currently in Colorado Springs and have been treating ourselves the last few days to another plush hotel. Said a sad goodbye to The Johnsons yesterday and we are on our way out this morning and back to van living. We are camping in Colorado for the next month!

Have some catch up to do on the last month in Mexico and getting some more pictures posted! Will get some up soon! Love to all and more to come...