san cristobal to palenque

Jan 3-10
After 3 weeks of Puerto Escondido- Jess, Az, and I head to San Cristóbal. Originally our friend was supposed to join us instead of Az, however, complications arose when the boys sold the VW van and he had to drive to Guatemala with the new owners of Fred to transfer papers. Az joined us instead and it was a great little trio that we had for the following week.
San Cristobal is a beautiful town in the south-west of Mexico several hours inland. After spending 3 weeks at thebeach we thought it would be a good idea to find a real city and enjoy the sites. What we were not prepared for was the weather. Although the temperatures where chilly, we were freezing. 45 degrees at night was unbearable for us beach-goers and we were dressed in layers with hats, scarves, and sleeping in gloves with long-johns. The city has a great array of music and the streets are similar to those of Oaxaca- paved in cobblestone and artsy.
Unfortunately, the weather put us off and after 3 days (but of course waiting for Sunday Giants game) we head to Palenque.
Palenque is some of the more popular Mayan ruins in Mexico, located in the muggy-jungle area of the country. After a bumpy overnight bus ride, we take cab to El Ponchon, a little community of housing and restaurants right outside of the ruins.
We find a cute cabana for 2 days in the little hippie-town and head out first thing in the morning to the ruins. At this point, I have seen a lot of ruins. The intensity and amazement is lessening at each site that I visit which is somewhat disappointing. However, Palenque had its own charismatic feeling. Set in the middle of the jungle surrounded by waterfalls, the massive temples and structures stood out amongst the highlands. We spent the day exploring the site, walking through the jungle listening to monkeys, and sitting on top of these colossal formations in silence…taking in the brilliance.