Day 13 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly              
 
Like sleep deprived zombies yours truly and the better half awoke to the strains of my mobile phone alarm yelling Get Up . We packed on autopilot neither of us having seen 5am for a long time somehow we were ready for pickup time waiting expectantly for our driver plus van to arrive. Having being primed with some key Spanish words to explain Nik's hatred of minibuses and need to sit near the front; I sat muttering to myself repeating said mantra. The minutes ticked by oh so slowly Nik like an expectant father pacing the pavement gazing anxiously up and down the one way street. At 7am amidst a lot of swearing whereby it was agreed we were heading back to bed a gold coloured van appeared out of the gloom windscreen cracked from side to side and Senor John got out with a fairly inappropriate swagger as if to say I'm not late you had the wrong time. As I was about to spout forth with my newly learned key phrases relating to claustrophobia sit in front next to driver it was deemed as unnecessary as Nik said "Can I sit in the front?" John nodded I was rendered somewhat speechless and useless. Climbing into the cosy inner sanctum of the stalls in the back, whilst Nik doffed her cap from the front and said let them eat cake. I was greeted by various Holas and Alright mate from the existing occupants. Turning forward I saw said windscreen and the reason for its slow demise Winne the Pooh was hanging from it. It got more bizarre it was intimated that the driver was a bit of an ARSE and needed abit of a shoeing (great English colloquialism). In addition the feeling was that he was on the wrong side of the beer. What a fun day this was going to be! We set off around town picking up other invited lost souls he drove as if he owned the road and anyone else on it was in his way. The main idea was to head north drop in on a couple of waterfalls, spend some time at the Maya ruins and be dropped off at Palenque bus stop thereby killing several birds with one stone.
 
The journey was interesting not only due to the scenery but also the conversation within the van . It was a real mix of people all from different backgrounds and some of whom had travelled extensively. One particular american guy told us of his travel exploits across India and Pakistan in the 70's, hanging out of trains and falling off, riding 600 miles on the top of a bus in the sweltering heat holding on for dear life, we definately had had it easy travelling compared to how it was then! We also learnt about Palm Springs where Steve and Marvin were from, definately sounds like a place to add to the list.

The minibus's route meant that we passed through some beautiful landscapes - lush green valleys shrouded in mist and cloud, shacks with chicken and kids creating mayhem in the vicinity reminding us both of many previous journeys taken already on this trip, we definitely got to see the more poverty stricken areas of Mexico as we continued on. The kids even tried to stop the buses in order to sell what they could by putting ropes across the road! For some unknown reason John (for those of you who have read previous entries you will know why that's his name) seemed to think I spoke fluent Spanish it must be the way I nod convincingly or throw in the occasional Si at the right moments . He seemed to want to have conversations with me every now and then. Very Bizarre! We arrived at the first stop Agua Azul waterfall and Juan wittered at us all main point being we had one hour chop chop before the off. Agua Azul is described as a breathtaking series of jungle waterfalls and rapids swimming is an option but really only when the water is clear blue. Unfortunately today was a sort of off white day more like a muddy brown colour. It did take a bit away from the spectacle but nonetheless they were worth seeing. As always with these sights there is an abundance of vendors selling exactly the same thing god knows how they make any money.
 
As rain began to fall it was back in the Johns motor and onwards to our next stop Misol-Ha this is a different proposition from the previous falls this is more of a single drop of some metres with the opportunity to go behind it. By now the rain is fairly lashing it down and the mood is subdued in the back of the van, I wonder how it was in the front (note to self ask Nik what the large comfy seat in the front was like?). Five mins from the 2nd water feature Juan showed his true colours advising us that the waterfall we were about to visit were no good in the rain did we want to skip it? Nik our tour guide asked for a vote and it looked as if we would but then alone voice just as we got to the entrance said yes much to Johns annoyance. He only gave us 20 minutes to immerse ourselves. It was worth it with the rain tipping it down Nik and I made our way down the narrow path to stand behind this tumbling torrent of water we got soaked it was a wicked experience . Then it was off this driver doesn't hang about you know people to see etc etc.
 
 It was Mayan ruins time we arrived at Palenque around 2 in the afternoon it had been a long day. Brushing of the offer of a guide yours truly and the missus ventured back into history around 600AD. This UNESCO World Heritage sight has 100's of ruins in various states of collapse vs. reconstruction. What is evident from the outset is that it's very popular and one passenger was heard to comment its like bl@@dy Disneyland how right he was. Cars vans coaches whistles candy floss all we needed was some little tyke singing it's a small world and could have been dancing with Mickey mouse. This scene changes somewhat once you pass through the entrance all that madness and mayhem is left behind and you are confronted with an amazing assortment of "buildings". Firstly let me reassure dear reader that I am not going to list all of them with line upon line of detail. But what follows is a short summary of what we saw really for our benefit so when the grey hair is advancing and the memory reclining we can remember those all important bits of info . You find yourself in another world from nearly 1500 years past and you are confronted by numerous temples, palaces and an astronomical observatory all built in the surrounding jungle. This jungle has now advanced and covered many of these building so many that there numerous ruins still to be uncovered. As you cover the ground gazing upwards and around you it is a very bewildering experience trying to imagine just what life was like back then. The centrepiece is the palace built on a platform the length of the straight on a running track and 9m high. Apparently Kan Xul became king he devoted his life to enlarging this palace and built the 4 storey tower in honour of his father. This palace is like a rabbit warren, tunnels and passageways leading all over this structure creating a maze for us to explore. Clambering over these ruins is a bizarre experience trying to understand what life was like when they were built. Moving on from the Palace we scrambled up the Temple of the Cross and looked out over the Temple of the Sun, Foliated Cross and Temple XIV . It is quite a staggering site to behold. By now the early start was beginning to take its effect and we headed for the next ruin ready to make a move. Back on the bus Senor John dropped us at the bus station and our next task was to find a room. Palenque is a strange little place which we took to quite easily, after finding a good room our plan was to chill for a couple of days. Stepping out for food we found a decent restaurant and ate lots.

The next day was spent chilling sleeping reading catching up on emails and generally just lazing about, we did have to laugh whislt eating when we saw a local lady attempt to park her jeep in a space literally 3 jeeps could have fitted into, she took nearly 20 minutes it was hilarious! The town was pretty buzzing at night with loud music and dancing happening in the square and some open top nutty bus blaring round the streets!That eve we managed to meet up with Travis and Chiki again which was cool and sat till late chatting about the world, definately want to fly out to the amazing island these guys live on one day! It was a great end to the day to meet up with these guys again and hopefully we will bump into each other before they fly home...