| Difficult as it was, we tore ourselves away from the beach hammock heaven of Tulum and the Diamante K cabanas and went to Palenque. As we had a multi-flight pass with Mexicana airlines, we bussed back from Tulum to Merida and then flew down to Palenque in a small plane. The flight was spectacular over the Yucatan - dead flat with white roads radiating out - but really speccy when we got near to Palenque and the rich green jungle and mountains of the Chiapan highlands. (Note for travellers: buy a multiflight Mexipass with Mexicana airlines if you wanna cover distance because they are great value - we got 5 flights including Havana-Merida for about the same price as the standard one-way Havana-Merida flight!). It was really really hot in Palenque, so you have to move slowly and go nocturnal. Palenque village is pretty cute and has a lot more character than big towns like Merida. Because there are a lot of backpackers visiting the ruins at Palenque there are a lot of cafes in town. The thing to beat the heat is to down a jug of yummylicious agua de frutas (freshly squeezed juice and ice water). The oranges in Mexico are nothing like the hard orange baseballs you're used to at home: we're talking soft, fleshy, sweet juice dripping down your arms oranges like they oughta be! Anyway, back to Palenque ruins - fantastic, atmospheric and one of the highlights. We got a lot out of the visit because we got a guide who filled us in on a lot of background and pointed out things we might not have noticed. |
