Day 17: Yaxchilan & Bonampak – Wednesday November 24

6 AM departure was very early. Arturo was our excellent professional guide with 25 years of experience with the Mayas. We ate at the roadside restaurant where all the minibus tour drivers go for a typical Mexican breakfast, with fruit, beans & platanos. After reaching a small village on the river we caught a launch for a 45-minute jungle cruise downriver to the site. Biodiversity is at its highest in this tropical rain forest. The Howler Monkeys were cool – they sound like large Jaguars when they howl. The huge trees were incredible: Due to the shallowness of their roots, they were suspended by huge root trunks above the ground or river and they often had parasite plants.

Yaxchilan was once a major ruling town. The monuments were grand especially the super tall one. Only a few of the structures have been uncovered out of over 2,000. Of course it was fun to hike through the jungle to look at those in exploration and some not so. I could just imagine how the original explorers felt. It is noteworthy that the foreign tourists were French, German & Italian, but we saw no other Americans. We lunched at the village at “Corazon de la Selva” – an honest local open-air restaurant with a limited kitchen – beef or chicken with the usual adds. (“Heart of the Jungle”)

The drive to Bonapak included a change of vehicles to one that could take a 13K gravel road to the site. The current inhabitants wore long white night shirt look alikes and were using bow & arrows to hunt just 25 years ago. Their young are leaving for the cities and bright lights. The site is privatized - according to the guides the government paid plenty to the indigenous inhabitants. I imagine that they will join the street blocking protests, as there are big signs against the privatization.

This was another great site with lots of jungle. The huge climb up the stairs to the top of the biggest temple was worth it for the meditation vaults overlooking the valley and the wonderfully preserved frescos that we could still see in situ, that is before a paved road brings in more tourists. Up to 2 years ago, the only access was by a 13K trail hike; now there is a gravel road that is going to be paved. Then back to the hotel. Everyone agrees that it has been a great day despite the effort.

We head off for Tikal in Guatemala tomorrow. Apparently a new road opened up from Tabasco toward Tikal that bypasses Belize. All the currently sold maps are over 3 years old. Here we go again: Google, asking questions & dead reckoning. We will probably spend 2 days in Flores, GT. Then on to Copan, Honduras. Wow!