On the way to Palenque, we were stopped 6 times: 4 by the military, 2 of which involved a cursory search of the car, and 2 road closing protest by the indigenous people demanding that their grievances be heard -- less exploitation & more services. I got into a sometime heated and sometime friendly discourse with the protesters. As a dyed in the wool motorist, I believe in the unobstructed flow of traffic. But that seems to be the way of protest in the Catholic countries, including France & Italy. Chiapas seems to be going through a tough civil time.
The drive itself gave us one window into contemporary rural Mayan life. As usual, the scenery was magnificent, particularly with a 6,000 variance in elevation – from tropical pine forests, to Hotel Chan Ka in the jungle. Chan Ka is a wonderful faded timepiece from the 1950s with all the amenities of a then high end resort.
Tomorrow: 2 hours in the developed Palenque and 2 hours in the jungle where hundreds of sites remain to be excavated. We will end up in jungle waterfall & pool for a swim.
Wednesday: 6 AM departure for an all day excursion to Yaxchilan & Bonampak -- including travel by boat. These are so remote that we happily changed our plans & will stay at Chan Ka for 3 nights.
Notes:
We were on the road nearly from 9-5, including some 2 hours for the road action & lunch. I have covered about 4,000. This adventure may last longer then anticipated as long as I am having fun.
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