Days 10 & 11 - Palenque, Mexico

Day 10, by Rig 11 (Rita)

Everyone was up bright and early today, and ready to go before the
designated 8:30 AM departure time. The taxis were lined up waiting
for our business. We piled in, four to a cab, and were quickly (at
least by our cabbie!) taken to Parque Museo La Venta. La Venta is a
unique eco-archaeological park exhibiting a jungle environment, where
you can see colossal and monumental heads and majestic shrines of the
Olmec Culture. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian civilization
living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are
roughly the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

Poet Carlos Pellicer was responsible for developing La Venta,
moving most of the important monuments to Villahermosa in 1957 and
1958. Most of the monuments were transported from distances greater
than 60 kilometers. Carlos’ park concept was to have a natural
ecosystem to show the monuments.

After entering the park, pathways wound around the 30 monuments and
altars, created by the Olmec, who were the first to make sculptures
using large blocks of basalt. Most were made between 700-400 BC.
Some of the named sculptures were The Walker, The Throne, The
Grandmother, Of the Bearded Man, Triumphal Altar, Colossal Head,
Young Goddess, Altar of the Children, Tomb, The Young Warrior,
Quadrangular Altar, and my personal favorite, the Old Warrior.

The jaguar was a symbol of power and the main deity of the Olmec, so
it was only fitting that there were several in the park. Besides the
spotted jaguar, there was also a beautiful black jaguar. In addition
to the jaguars, there were ocelots, alligators, snapping turtles,
spider monkeys, prairie wolves and kotamundies.

After enjoying the park, we all made our way back to Feira Tabasco by
taxis. We had a short travel briefing, lunch, then departed the
fairgrounds in our usual pods of three or four vehicles, making our
way through Villahermosa to Palenque, 100 miles distant. It was an
uneventful drive, with the usually large number of topes...this time
marked by men in the middle of the road selling their bags of fruit,
etc., rather than road signs. Our stop for the evening is Hotel
Nututun RV park, situated on a pleasant river, with a beautiful,
emerald green swimming hole.

The days are starting to get warmer (in the 80’s today), so everyone
congregated around the swimming pool, with many of us going for a
swim. Of course, there was one...the youngest in the group...who had
to show us his diving skills. Personally, I thought the judges were
generous when they gave him a “6” for technique....there was way too
much splash. : )

Just another nice day in Paradise...............

Palenque
Day 11

A beautiful day for out tour of the Palenque Ruins, Agua Azul and Misol Ha waterfalls. We boarded a really nice bus at 8 A.M. and were introduced to our guide Salvador. He gets an A+ for humor and information. His big sombrero hat
was easy to spot in a crowd. These ruins were the best yet with high temples and many, many steps. Lots of folks climbed to the top level for a better view. Bill and I stayed below with others that were not too anxious to climb. We then took a walk around the ruins to the museum. This was not just any walk. It consisted of many, many steps. Steep ones, shallow ones, narrow and wide ones. Thank goodness it was mostly downhill. The path led through the jungle with many unusual trees and a lovely stream. My knees were glad to get on level ground.
We next visited the museum that housed artifacts from the ruins and more information about the civilization.
Then back to the bus for the ride to Aqua Azul. The road was through the mountains and very curvy. This did not agree with Pat who is very sensitive to motion sickness.
All were ready for lunch at Aqua Azul. Bill finally got his whole fried fish and it was very good. You have to work to get the fish off the bone but it is worth it.
Some folks swam in the blue waters below the waterfalls. Others shopped or just took in the beauty of the place.
The bus took us back along the same curvy roads and poor Pat is so sick. She will be so glad to be still. One more stop at the Misol Ha waterfalls. You could walk behind these high falls. This stop was brief and we are close to our camp.
A travel briefing was around the pool and folks scattered for their evening doings.
After checking e-mail we walked to the hotel restaurant and Mike joined us for a pretty good meal.
It's been a long day but a most interesting one.
Bill and Gerry Marcum, Rig # 10