Junglist Massive

It was hard to leave San Cristobal, but we´re on a serious mission here and we can´t afford to hang about. What do you think this is? A holiday? OK, I guess we´re a little concerned with running out of time with so much to see, so we jumped on a bus to Palenque in order to visit some Mayan delights. Oh and a couple of waterfalls too. You can´t beat waterfalls, in my opinion.

Like the book said, you should stay in El Panchin, just outside Palenque, if you want to have a nice time. Full marks to the book on this occasion! 10/10. El Panchin is a little community set up by some hippy a long time ago and its based in the jungle. My first thought was that I´d most likely be eaten alive and it wasn´t going to be a lot of fun, aside from being close to nature and all that. Well, I didn't see one mosquito. Yes I was wearing a layer of DEET, but even so, I thought there´d at least be the odd bite.

El Panchin has a number of places to stay and we got ourselves a nice cabaña next to a stream. Basic but absolutely fine. Instead of windows it had bug nets, so not only could you hear the jungle as you slept, you could also see the odd gecko and firefly peering in!

There was a choice of restaurants. Yes, a choice. In the jungle. It´s not sounding very hardcore, I´ll admit! We chose Don Muchos and with our new found English friend Iain, happily ate and drank while listening to live music. They had girls performing with Fire Poi too! Easily the best night so far.

With sore heads (I´m out of practise) we took a tour to the ruins, met Jasmin, a lovely girl from Germany and the four of us walked around taking in the sights, while eavesdropping on some of the guided tours!

The tour ended with a trip to two waterfalls, Misol Ha and Agua Azul. Because of the rain, Agua Azul was not very azul (blue) but nonetheless really impressive. I had to have a swim!

Pictures soon...and here!