Saturday in Palenque

After arriving in Palenque at around 8:30am, we quickly found a hotel and some breakfast before heading off to see the ruins of Palenque.  I had heard a lot about the ruins and was excited to go see them for myself, but upon arrival we decided to take a tour of the jungle first.

Our guide took us around the ruins to the unexcavated areas of the jungle.  We learned all about different types of trees and plants that the Mayans use for medicine and then we got to swing from the vines like tarzan.  Our trek wound us around the jungle until we came around to a small stream that our guide called "la fuente de la vida" or "the source of life."  Then he declared that we should have a Mayan baptism.

One by one we got baptized right there in the stream of life.  My Mayan name is now Nicte Ha which means "flor de la agua" or "flower of the water."  I actually learned that it was a popular name for several Mayan princesses, so I guess I'll keep it.  After the baptism someone asked the guide if he could drink the water because it was so incredibly clear.  He told us it was safe to drink and that its what the Mayans drank years ago in Palenque.  Now that we had officially been baptized, it was almost a must for us to fill up our bottles with stream water for the rest of the day.

With our Jungle guide

Much to our disappointment, our jungle tour ended without seeing any monkeys and we were left alone to explore the ruins of Palenque.  The ruins site was pretty incredible and they were some of the most elaborate ruins I have seen thus far.  Two very important tombs were found in Palenque.  First of which was the tomb of Hanab Pakal, or Pakal the Great.  It was the first tomb found inside of a pyramid and it still remains the most important and impressive.  While Pakal's tomb is no longer open to the public, there is another tomb that we were able to view.  This tomb dates around the same time as the Pakal's tomb.  The woman inside is thought to be his wife, although no one is quite sure.  I did find it interesting that inside the tombs they found several jade and obsidian goods along with food and drink to sustain the deceased on their tr

ip down to Xibalba - the underworld.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins - only 2% of which have been restored - and trekking through the jungle before we returned to our hotel in the tiny city of Palenque.

The view from the top of a pyramid

My Lesson of the Day: One day in the jungle down and still no monkey sightings.