Tulum to Palenque

12 hours!  Bus departs Tulum at 6:30 and in the morning I should be having breakfast in the jungle.  I am headed for Palenque Mayan ruins in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Anyone interested can read all about the ruins here . When I purchased my ticket, thought I had selected a seat in front of the bathroom. Well, that seating chart was wrong and seat number 44 was in the last row right next to the bathroom. It smelled and the bus was full, so no change of seats. Two dudes in front of me immediately put their seats in the recliner position, leaving me with one seating position. Thankfully there was no sitting next to me, but two bus seats still does not allow for any comfortable positions.

Found that if I positioned my head just right, there was a direct flow of fresh air that I could breathe in to take away the smell. Unfortunately that vent could not be closed so it was a chilly night. I had a jacket, but was still wearing shorts and used a travel towel that my co-workers at JAOtech gave me to cover my legs.

We stopped once in the night, somewhere, sometime, but I have no idea. Wasn't sure if it was a quick stop or what, so hesitated before getting off.  Apparently it was dinner hour because the driver(s) there are two, were seated at the roadside tables eating.  I bought a couple of Tacos from the cart and had just enough time to eat, grab a water and head back to my corner of hell.

Restless sleep between dreaming how warm I had been just a short time ago and my head bouncing off the window as the bus went over bumps, natural and man made. Occasionally I would open my eyes and find myself staring at a group of police armed with machine guns as we passed through a Police checkpoint.

The bus arrived on time in Palenque and I took a 5 minute cab ride to El Pancha, a jungle Hostel just outside the park entrance. Park opens at 8:00 so I have breakfast and made a reservation for a Cabana that night.

At the entrance to the park, I am waiting for a collectivo (public transport) to take me the 3 kilometers into the park.  An American couple pulls up and asks if I wanted a ride.  They were from California and were driving around Mexico. Interesting couple, they met in Spain and had traveled to over 95 countries in their lifetime.

I spent the next 5 hours wandering around the ruins, taking lots of pictures and taking it all in.  Posted pictures are of all the buildings they have uncovered so far, but it is estimated there are thousands more still covered by the jungle. Photos of Palenque Ruins

After touring the ruins, I decide I didn't want to hang around for the night, so I head to the bus station. I hear good things about San Cristobal de las Casas, so going to head there and spend the night. Another 4 hour bus ride....yikes!

That's all for now. Next post from San Cristobal de las Casas.

P.S if anyone wants to chat, you can find me online through Skype or MSN at rich_purcell.