Sightseeing

It's been a loooong week, but a great chance to see some of the south of Mexico with work footing the bill. Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to see the towns we stopped through. I did manage to take one day at the end to see Palenque's majestic mayan ruins. I had heard so much about them that I had to see for myself. I put some pictures below, but if you want more, visit my Snapfish album. You'll have to log in, but if you have any problems, let me know.

So, I started out monday evening by bus (this whole week's been long bus rides) from Mexico city to Oaxaca, Oaxaca (8 hours), arriving just about midnight. We had a whirlwind day of meetings before leaving again at 6pm for San Cristobal, Chiapas (12 hours). We got in bright and early, checked into a hotel to leave our stuff, and went straight to Guaquitepec, a community in the nearby mountains (4 hours away). From there, we went to Ocosingo (2 hours) and made it back just around 11pm to San Cristobal (2 hours). The next day, our meetings were all in San Cristobal, supposedly one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico, so I was looking forward to exploring the mix of colonial and indigenous (mostly Maya) culture. Unfortunately, since our meetings kept getting pushed back, we only had time for a 30 minute brisk walk from the center back to the bus station. Here's a quick glipse of the cathedral:


We left just around 6pm for Merida and arrived bright and early (14 hours later), just in time to freshen up before our 9am meeting. This time I made sure to take some time to see the center, even if was just an hour. Since we didn't manage to get reasonable plane tickets in time, I bought bus tickets for that same night. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was a long weekend for Merida residents. Almost all the buses were full and I was lucky to get a spot leaving at 7pm, just when the second night of Carnival was starting. I didn't get to see any of the celebrations, but I did get the idea with the air of excitement around preparations and the last-minute street closings all over. I almost didn't make my bus because no taxis could get through and with all the people (especially kids in costumes) walking around the streets between me and the terminal. I made it, though, and took off on an 8 hour bus to Palenque, Chiapas.

Palenque was well worth the trip. I got in around 3am, found a hotel, and prepared for my last and only rest day before heading back to mexico city. Though known for its Mayan ruins set in the jungle (supposedly the best, second only to Tikal in Guatemala), I grabbed a day tour that also took me to two nearby waterfalls: Misol- Ha and Agua Azul (wasn't so blue that day). Though they weren't their finest that cloudy day, it was a beautiful, relaxing tour.