Palenque … Tombs and Temples

This time we had a silver OCC bus and not an ADO red one … sorry Chris!

Otherwise there was no difference which was good as it was going to be a long day. We left at 10am stopping for a brief stop halfway with loos and snacks. We checked out the fruit stall …

… but just got a soft drink to share.

It said Senzao and when we checked it said it was guarana flavored soda from Brazil …guarana being a berry high in natural caffeine … well it was a long day!

We passed state border guards …

…. and the sun set.

Finally we pulled into Palenque around 6pm and I had knitted all day and reached the heel of my first sock!

As we stepped out of the bus, the warmth and humidity enveloped us, such a change from the highlands … and the pool twinkled in the light.

Having checked in, our first job was to sort out the tech gremlins as both our phones had run out of data and a very nice Telcel man helped us recharge our SIMs so we are back online and happy once more. Next dinner and bed.

The day dawned on La Cañada, the part of Palenque which translates as the glen, a green area near the bus station, but not quite in the town. It suits us with Hotel Chablis providing a nice room with balcony and a pool to relax round and dip into as well as a choice of restaurants on the doorstep. Apart from visiting Palenque ruins, this was our opportunity for R&R since we didn’t include a beach visit.

We headed to the Palenque ruins after breakfast. A taxi to the ticket office, a ticket for the national park, another for the ruins and a third for a collective to save a good mile uphill to the entrance and finally we were in!

Palenque flourished from 600-800AD and at its zenith was a powerful Mayan city with around 6,000 people. Palenque’s the greatest ruler was K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, also known as Pakal the Great who came to power at the age of 12. Most of the buildings at Palenque date from his reign or his two succeeding sons and grandson. Decline followed as another group took power in the region and Palenque was then hidden by the jungle until 1950.

Entering the plaza, the largest building is the stepped pyramid called The Temple of the Inscriptions, named for the three large inscription panels inside from which experts have deciphered around 180 years of the city’s history.

It is also the tomb of the Great Pakal who was interred in an engraved sarcophagus, still inside, which depicts Pakal at the moment of his death, falling into the underworld. Having whetted your appetite, I now have to say that the building has been closed to the public for 25 years to protect it, so here’s a copy of the lid.

Also, his body was found covered by a jade suit held together by gold wire and his face had a mask made up of 340 hand-carved pieces of jade, now in Mexico City, but here is a picture.

Next to it is the Temple of the Red Queen, named for the red cinnabar and the attributes of a royal burial.

We could go inside and see the sarcophagus.

Across the plaza is the centrepiece, The Palace, rambling complex of administrative and residential buildings, topped with a unique square tower, whose purpose is unknown – watchtower … observatory?

The patio behind has carvings but none very clear.

Across a stream was another group of temples including Temple of the Sun …

… and The Temple of the Leafy Cross, both named after pretty indistinct interior carvings …

… and then we saw the ball court. This had profound religious and symbolic meaning, representing the cosmic struggle between life and death, light and darkness, rather than just a sport.

We had been avoiding souvenir sellers, but I finally relented and ended up with a handheld whistle shaped like a jaguars head that roars … the nearest we will get to a jaguar I’m sure!