Although the land close to these Mayan structures has been cleared, making them very visible and more accessible, they are in the midst of dense jungle. In fact, after they were first discovered by outsiders, they were again lost to the jungle, only to be rediscovered years later.

The site dates from at least 100 A.D., but it was in the 9th century that Pakal the Great brought Palenque to it’s heights.

With our great tour guide Luiz, we climbed on and through the various structures for about two hours.h He was able to bring the story to life for us.

It is amazing to see such construction done with tools much more primitive than those we have today. Of course, part of the complex has had to be rebuilt in order to preserve it, but care has been taken to reuse the old materials, stone by stone, in the original manner

The sights were enhanced by the sounds. A Howler Monkey “growled” from behind the temple and palace. He sounded more like a jaguar, and Luiz told us that is the male’s way of declaring his territory. Part of our group returned to the site after lunch and saw both the male sitting in a tree and his family group.

We, on the other hand, opted to go with the majority of the group on an additional two hour bus ride to Bonampak.

The ride there was on a highway that paralleled and was close to the Guatamalan border. We rode through overgrown mountains and areas of land cleared for small farms. The houses generally looked like single rooms with wooden exteriors and metal roofs. There were a number of thatched roof structures, however.

At the Bonampak site, our bus was met by vans that took us the additional fifteen minutes over a gravel road deeper into the jungle. Finally we arrived at the archaeological site.

Bonampak appeared to be less popular with tourists, perhaps because it is less accessible. Its highlights include some beautiful carved stelas that are in surprisingly well preserved condition AND its murals which are considered the best in Mesoamerica. The colors, given the centuries that have past, are amazingly well preserved. We have been told that we can see a full reproduction in the museum in Mexico City.

For me, however, the highlight of the tour may have been meeting a 14- year-old Lacandon boy from whom I bought a wooden paddle for stirring food. He had made it and was happy to sit with several of us while we tried to use our basic Spanish to question him.

Spanish isn’t his native language either, but he studies it in school. The Lancandon are a dying Mayan tribe. There are only about 600 members left in three communities. Their tradition is to marry just within their tribe, and this has lead to genetic defects.

Members are recognizible by their long black hair and their loose cotton “dresses.” The boy we met was an especially handsome young Mayan.

Right now, we are on another bus in the state of Tabasco, headed to Villahermosa.

The trip was long but through some beautiful country. We were basically going downhill from the mountains around San Cristobal, first through areas of tall mountains and deep valleys, all covered with giant conifers. As we descended, we encountered thicker growth, even jungle-like greenery: banana trees among miscellaneous other trees, all of it sometimes covered with thick vines.

The road itself was narrow, very curvy with frequent speed bumps. In fact, our guide said San Cristobal and Palenque are 200 speed bumps apart.

Mike is convinced that Mexican bus drivers have trained as Mexican taxi drivers. Ours seemed to find it necessary to speed and then pass every car and truck he found in front of him. Add that to the road conditions, and we had quite a thrill ride!

Our room in the Hotel Ciudad Real on the outskirts of Palenque is the nicest one we’ve stayed in on this trip.

Tomorrow we visit the ruins.

The jaguar is a special animal to the Mayans.

The pottery in this picture is Mayan and from the little town of Matenango del Valle. When we were there yesterday, we visited the home and workshop of a woman who makes such pieces. We had seen similar items in markets, so many that we assumed they were cast, not handmade, but we were wrong. In minutes we watched her make a complete pot using the coil method. I think it’s the glazes that make them special, and I especially love those that use the jaguar motif. The jaguar is a special animal to the Mayans.  We had already purchased a jaguar figure and added a pot to our souvenirs while we were in Matenango.

iPhone pics can't illustrate the beauty and charm of this place. This is the pedestrian walkway that runs north and south of the zocolo.

Local men, women and children wear these on a daily basis.

A market outside of a church in San Cristobal

The group took two vans today from our hotel in Chiapa de Corzo to San Cristobal de las Casas. It’s a drive from a valley to one of the highest points in Chiapas.  Part way there, van one broke down, and we anticipated a long delay for the entire group while help was sought. Amazingly, an empty van from the same tour company just happened to drive by minutes later, and we were all on our way again!

With the higher altitude, San Cristobal is much cooler than Chiapa de Corzo was. It’s also a much larger, more prosperous looking city. It reminds me quite a bit of Oaxaca. We already like it here.

We visited an amber museum with a tour guide and then went across the street for a brief run-through of a small regional gallery.

We drove to a very attractive restaurant for lunch and had local specialties. Bueno!

The vans then took us to a private home where the owner showed us his collection of Chiapan clothes. Clothing styles vary from one region to another in Chiapas, and we learned about the people as we learned about their clothing.

We had a couple of hours of free time in the afternoon, and Mike and I walked to the outdoor mercado and also visited a couple of churches.

There are small outlying towns nearby that are known for their crafts. We are going to visit a few of them tomorrow, so today we resisted making purchases at the market. There’s still time for that later–if we choose.

If we were going to visit just one area in Chiapas, I think this would be it.

View of the garden outside of our room in Chiapas

Day 1 started with a tour and demonstration at a 100-year-old marimba “factory.” It is and always has been in the same house, run by the same family. Beautiful instruments!

A two to three hour boat ride followed that went through a state or national park to a dam. The scenery was amazing!  I doubt if we’ll be able to tell these pictures from those we took on the Yangtse River. Plus, we saw river crocodiles, pelicans (?), comarants, a variety of egrets, vultures, and cranes.

This afternoon we took a walking tour of this “small” town of about 70,000 people.

We must make a curious sight. I see us as a marching “army” uniformed in REI and North Face, topped with Tilley hats.

These people have traveled just about everywhere!

Fengdu means rich harvest, and although it is an agricultural city, what we saw was a modern city with lots of tall buildings. In 1992 construction of the city was begun on the south shore of the Yangtze River while life continued as usual in the old village on the north shore. In 2002 the 75,000 residents were relocated into new homes in the new town. The old town was torn down in anticipation of the upcoming Yangtze River flooding.

Our local tour guide was one of those relocated people and said her standard of living is much better now. Their old house was small and “shabby,” and with the money the government gave them for it, they were able to purchase a new, modern apartment.

Today Fengdu has 100,000 residents, and additional growth must be anticipated because construction on high-rise buildings is everywhere. Last night the shoreline was bright from neon lights that outline some of the structures, however, from our ship, we didn’t see many lights inside the buildings. Perhaps the buildings with higher occupancy are a few blocks from the shore. When our bus tour took us there this morning, there were lots of people.

We first stopped in the food market area, where we saw fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, fish, meat, as well as live fish and poultry. There was a covered market area that, even with the amount of currently unrefrigerated meat and fish, was fresh smelling. Outside, local people have set up stalls to sell a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The best part was seeing the people, both those selling and those buying. There were lots of adorable babies, and parents and grandparents were happy to have you take their pictures. I guess the older children are in school. Some babies waved and threw kisses—and we sent kisses in return. Some looked a little frightened of us. Perhaps it is our “big noses,” something for which Westerners are apparently known.

Babies of potty-training age don’t wear diapers. Instead they wear pants that are open from the waist to the knee. Cute little bottoms brought smiles to all of us!

We also stopped in a park where senior citizens entertained us with a mini concert on traditional Chinese instruments. Apparently, this was not a special event for us but rather a regular occurrence. We were invited to sing Jingle Bells with them and even to participate in a local dance. I had the opportunity to dance with one of the musicians.

Our final stop was on a shopping street where we had a chance to visit stores that sell clothing, toys, luggage, etc, to local residents.

Back to the ship for lunch and an afternoon briefing on disembarkation procedures, a session on napkin folding, tea time, even a session on vegetable carving. Our final dinner tonight is the Captain’s Dinner, a special Chinese meal—and a chance to wear the silk jacket I had tailored while we’ve been on board ship!