Palenque to the Pacific Coast

I forgot how cold the nights could get in the city of San Cristobal, tonight I am quickly reminded. Thank goodness we are beach bound.

After a day of touring Palenque, one of the most historic and well-known pyramid sites of Mexico, we stopped in San Cristobal for our last sleep as a whole group in Mexico. Although I had been before, the ruins of Palenque were just as shockingly stunning as the first time. The design and architecture so complex, the hieroglyphic’s lining the walls, ceilings and archways telling the stories of the ancient Mayan past and the tales of jewels and gems found within the caskets and tombs of past rulers and kings and queens. The images of the exploration to discover these hidden treasures rush through my imagination and the idea that at one time these ruins housed an entire civilization, thousands of years ago only to be completely consumed by the life of the jungle. The thought that there are hundred more similar to Palenque, perhaps not as grand, hidden all throughout Mexico, Central and Southern America.

It’s interesting to consider that perhaps, thousands of years from now, our ancestors will be discovering the ruins of our civilization, trying to unwind the tale of our disappearance and or migration. As there is no doubt that within their time, the civilizations of Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan and others were developed and many cannot agree as to why they no longer stand tall, inhabited by people.

I have heard many stories; attacks by rivaling cities, peasants rising to conquer the leaders, some say they disappeared by aliens or rampant disease and others believes natural resources such as food and sufficient water ran out and people were forced to migrate, eventually mixing with other cultures and moving away from their direct heritage of the Mayan.

With all of this in mind, it is time for me to splendor the last evening with my group as a whole. It is time to indulge in a beverage and a game of cards with my roommate and good friends as we have one more reflection of our adventures together in Chiapas before heading in our separate ways. For some it is Guatemala, Mexico City, Cuernavaca or back to Canada. For myself and two Compañeros, it is the Pacific Beaches of Puerta Arista, then backpacking our way to Mexico City, stopping in Oaxaca and any place else that catches our eye.