July 7 - Welcome to the Jungle

Last night we arrived in the Tropical Forest of Palenque.  

What have I noticed?

Our lodging is an eco-tourist resort with cottages tucked in between rivers, tall banana trees, and flowers drooping over roofs and archways.  Bursts of rain interrupt the humidity and sunshine.  Each cottage has a front porch perfect for blogging, complete with wooden rocking chairs.  Monkeys laugh and birds call back and forth to each other while rain drips just in front of the porch. 

A path at our hotel

This morning we made our way to the Palenque archeological site.  Like the other archeological sites that we have visited, Palenque has an abundance of Mayan temples, living quarters, and a game court.  This visit was different because we hiked our way through leafy jungle to find ruins that are yet to be fully uncovered.  It is humbling to think about the Mayans who built these structures and abandoned them in 900 A.D., leaving them to be undiscovered again until 1850.  This left plenty of time for the jungle to swallow up much of the site with new plantation.  Today many of the figures have been uncovered and restored.  We are still able to climb our way up the narrow stairs to the top of the pyramids and temples and imagine what it might have been like to be there.  I understand why people felt closer to God looking out to see temples peeking out from the tropical forest.  

A View from Palenque Ruins