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

July 6 - Turtle Time

Today was primarily a traveling day. 

We went from Campeche to Xpicob’s turtle conservation camp.  It was another beautiful scene at the Gulf.  We learned about the conservation of sea turtles and other sea animals.  After touching starfish, turtles, and octopus, we took a boat outward from the beach to witness the release of a turtle.  We stood in waste-deep, bright blue water.  The perfect sand at our feet allowed us to hang out until it was time for the release.  We all said our goodbyes to the turtle and watched him begin his exploration.  

From there, we began our journey toward Palenque, Chiapas.  Road construction and a stop where an authority figure loaded our bus made the trip more than twice as long as we expected.  The young man was quite pleasant, but a little intimidating as he made his way down the aisle of the bus, asking us questions.  

Even with a long bus ride, my first sunburn of the trip, and several fulbrighters experiencing “stomach sickness,” I ended my day with thoughtful conversations about education and the ideas that we are taking back to our classrooms.  

Monica holding her new friend

Lunch on the beach after releasing our turtle friend