Mexico Road Trip: Palenque and What Happened to the Maya?
We pass through poor Maya towns and it is obvious the countryside remains poor. There is some agriculture but not much. We see a few cane fields and a few cattle ranches but eventually the jungle wins again and it is impenetrable and impossible…
There are a few rolling hills as we go along and it’s certainly not as flat as the Merida – Can Cun route. It’s green and greener and I imagine in 500 years will be populated with German eco-resort zones and Maya communities. Maybe it will only take a 100 years.
We zip along and I can see the double tractor trailor beer trucks headed to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Those Germans must drink as much beer as we Mexicans, ha!
Angelica says it’s finally time we visit some ruins and we pull over at Xpujil. Sometimes I have to give in and admit she is right. Although we didn’t come for the ruins; we can’t go back without seeing some. Such is life. We park and go through the entrance and she asks the ranger if the ruins are worth seeing – as if he will say no. She sometimes says the strangest things…
We walk down the path and see some of the same trees we have back in Tierra Blanca, but they are thinner and go straight up before they branch out. Such is the jungle. Everything fights for the sun. We see some mounds that have not been excavated and she takes some pictures of me standing by them…I tell her I am going to tell my gullible California friends these are some ruins I discovered while hiking through the jungle. We goof ball Californians will believe anything, ha!
The ruins are actually nice and well done…not sure how many more ruins we will visit along the way. Except for Palenque. We climb up some very narrow steps in the narrow temple. The Maya were, and are, certainly a short people – am curious about how we will get down. We do it but have to back down…maybe it’s some sort of sacred ritual.
The odd thing is these ruins were discovered in the late 1930’s by you guessed it, a German archaelogist. Such is life. How the Maya could live so close by in villages and not know these types sites existed is beyond my simple comprehension. They must have been a very provincial people that were very afraid of getting lost in the jungle. The Germans may be afraid of many things but getting lost in the jungle is not one of them…
We head back onto the highway which begins to curve through some low lying hills. We can see cutoffs to other ruins and even some eco-tourism resorts…the Germans are already here. I should have known and will have to reassess my development estimate…. The countryside is lush and green and supposedly protected…we get out for a stretch but don’t venture far into the bush – once lost it would be hectic!
About halfway to Escarcega the highway construction begins and it’s clear this will be a major highway route very soon. It must be a faster route to Can Cun than the Campeche - Merida route. We pass through a string of small towns with names like Xbonil and Conhuas – Maya names. And then El Centenario, La Libertad and my favorite – Justicia Social. I didn’t stop to find out how they got their names but it must be an interesting story and a task for the next trip…
We stop for a bite to eat in Escarcega and can see the construction all around. Because of its strategic location it is set to boom big time here. It is the crossroads to the peninsula. We head out of town and even more highway construction. It’s hard to tell if the highways will be four lanes or the Texas-style large two lane ones; but they will be fast and well made. I wonder if the progress will touch all the residents on the peninsula or just make life more difficult and expensive for many. The influx of euros and dollars will make it interesting…
We hit some dark clouds and downpours and it’s hard to see so I have to slow down…the wind also picks up. Fortunately our beleaguered car will get a much needed bath and a freshwater rinse of all the Riviera Maya salt. I feel like I need a rinse too.
Outside of El Aguacatal we stop for some queso de hebra or string cheese. Angelica has this obsession for this type of cheese and we are constantly stopping for it. The seller pulls out a few pictures of some exotic birds his ‘friend’ has for sale and asks if I would be interested. Everybody living in the jungle has to hustle something on the side…
We cross into Chiapas and the road changes and I will miss those great Campeche highways. At the same time the countryside becomes more dense and it starts to rain so the effect is highlighted. We can see all kinds of small lakes and ponds and swampy areas…lowlands that must be filled with mosquitoes. We see some large sugar cane farms and even some with airplanes…so not all in Chiapas are poor. But from the stats, Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state – the very bottom.
We turn off the road to Villahermosa and head for Palenque. The hills become more pronounced and there are signs for hotels and tours and the things that tourists like. Just as it becomes more hilly we enter Palenque and I am surprised at how big it is. I can aleady see some Germans so we must have arrived…
We find a hotel and settle in. I turn on the movie channel and by coincidence it’s a Tin Tan movie where he plays an Indian from Chiapas. In Mexico, the stereotypical Indian in the movies and TV comes from Chiapas or Oaxaca. As I fall asleep I wonder just what coincidence is all about…maybe it has something to do with irony and destiny?
Right now I’m sitting on the fourth floor balcony of the Hotel Maya Chan in Palenque. I’ve slept my requisite five hours. The sun is coming up and the mist on the surrounding mountains is burning off. It’s cool and I’m glad to be back to a climate more similar to coastal California…we Californians are certainly spoiled. All the tour guide books and Internet sites pan Palenque as a dull place whose only redeeming feature are the ruins but what do they know…it’s an interesting place where tourism meets Maya Mexico. Tortilla shops are in between the souvenir shops and the mix is pleasant…there are plenty of Germans here but there is no beach so things won’t change as quickly as they have in Playa del Carmen.
I see lots of European backpackers and the only difference I can tell over the 35 years since I was one is that some actually carry two backpacks – a second one on their stomachs. What they can be filling two backpacks with is beyond me…maybe they brought the kitchen sink along too…or maybe it’s ballast for balance…ha!
Across the plaza I can hear the mournful music of the first Mass of the day…Catholocism is so sad compared to the Evangelicals and such that sing and shout with joy…somehow the Catholic God is a much more serious type of guy…what with all the sacred blood and agony and such. But then again I’ve never really been able to get a handle on religion anyway so what do I know…
The plaza below has come alive and I can see the barefoot Maya women stirring and getting ready to peddle their wares. It’s Sunday, Super Sunday at that, but we will be heading deeper into the mountains and missing the game. It’s also Mexican Constitution Day – a national holiday and they are having a flag raising ceremony right below us.
The only Super Bowls I’ve missed were when I was traveling or in Mexico…such is life. All has it’s priority. The mournful church music also saddens me and I just hope it’s not a close game so I won’t miss much…ha!
Silly gringos…and we think the Germans are a bit odd …ha!
Jack D. Deal
