Palenque Archives - Iron Roamer

Our tour continued from the Palenque ruins to Cascada de Misol-Ha and Cascadas de Agua Azul. Actually it wasn’t so much a tour as just transportation to these locations.

The road to these locations had lots of construction, curves, topes and potholes. One person in the van was getting sick and I was trying to fend it off myself as I was sitting one row up from the back.

The first stop was Cascada de Misol-Ha.

Wikipedia on Cascada de Misol-Ha

According to Wikipedia:

The Cascada de Misol-Ha (Ch’ol language for “Water Falls”) is a waterfall located in the Municipality of Salto de Agua, 20 kilometers from Palenque by the road that leads towards San Cristóbal de las Casas.

This waterfall consists of one single cascade of 35 m of height that falls into a single almost circular pool admits tropical vegetation. The water is of clear blue color due to its high mineral content. Behind the cascade there is a cave of approximately 20 m length. The pool is suitable for swimming.

Cascada de Misol-Ha

The Cascada de Misol-Ha waterfalls were nice but I wouldn’t describe them as spectacular.

It turned into another hot day by this time. Luckily the van was air conditioned. We headed off to Cascadas de Agua Azul.

Wikipedia on Cascadas de Agua Azul

Wikipedia says about Cascadas de Agua Azul:

The Cascadas de Agua Azul (Spanish for “Blue-water Falls”) are found in the Mexican state of Chiapas. They are located in the Municipality of Tumbalá, 69 kilometers from Palenque by the road that leads towards San Cristóbal de las Casas.

This waterfall consists of many cataracts following one after another as can be seen in the first photo in the picture gallery, taken from near the top of the sequence of cascades. The larger cataracts may be as high as 6 meters (20 feet) or so. The one pictured to the right is next to the bottom of the sequence.

The water is as blue as it looks in the pictures, and has a high mineral content. Where it falls on rocks or fallen trees it encases them in a thick shell-like coating of limestone. Some fully coated log shapes can also be seen inside the fall in that same picture, as well as coating on the rocks.
During much of the distance the water descends in two streams, with small islands in the middle.

Cascadas de Agua Azul

I was excited to see these falls as I had seen other motorcyclist pictured beside them. We were dropped off at the bottom of the falls. There was a pathway up beside the falls that were lined with food and tourist stores. There must have been a 100 of them! I have no idea how they all make money.

I started my long walk up the path beside the falls.

After the hike up and down, I settled in with a couple of beers and watched people. I was fascinated by these two young boys, maybe 10 years old, attempting to flag cars down so they could wash them. When they finally got one they were so excited. They went to the river with a pail for the water and were very careful using the water. They were so meticulous.

The Ride Back

The ride back was down the same terrible road we came up. The girl who was car sick decided to sit in front of me and put her seat all the way back. I had no room for my legs and it made my feeling of getting car sick even worse. Luckily, a couple in the row behind me got off part way through and I was able to move back there where I had leg room and could look out the front window.

Free Day

The next day was a free day. It was still stifling hot. I walked around town a bit – nothing to really see – and spend most of the daytime in my air-conditioned hotel room and oasis hotel.

Although I did find a nice coffee shop called Cafe Jade. It has to be good since my daughter’s middle name is Jade.

I popped my head out again at dawn and took another walk in the slightly cooler air.

The next day I would be riding to San Cristabol where I heard the temperatures would be much cooler. I was looking forward to it.

The Route to the Palenque Ruins, Cascada de Misol-Ha and Cascadas de Agua Azul on May 2, 2017

My Location in Palenque on May 3, 2017

I was really looking forward to visiting Palenque and the Palenque ruins.

Once again it was HOT as I rode. Most of the time it hovered around 40 degrees Celsius. And once again the road was straight with bushes on either side. That is until just outside of Palenque when the vegetation began to change. All of a sudden there were trees and greenery. It was still hot though.

Hotel Maya Tulipanes

I had booked the Hotel Maya Tulipanes in Palenque. It was like an oasis during the hot day.

My room wasn’t ready yet as I arrived early in the afternoon as I normally do. So I just relaxed for a bit and talked to one of the staff about tours. I like the tours to sites only because I don’t have to worry about my motorcycle when I am at them.

I ended up booking a whole day tour for tomorrow to three different places – Palenque Ruins, Misol-Ha Waterfalls, and Cascadas Agua Azul.

The next day I woke up early to head off in a van to the Palenque ruins.

UNESCO on the Palenque Ruins

The UNESCO website describes the ruins:

The archaeological site of Palenque in the state of Chiapas is one of the most outstanding Classic period sites of the Maya area, known for its exceptional and well conserved architectural and sculptural remains. The elegance and craftsmanship of the construction, as well as the lightness of the sculpted reliefs illustrating Mayan mythology, attest to the creative genius of this civilization.

The city was founded during the Late Preclassic, which corresponds to the beginning of the Christian era. Its first inhabitants probably migrated from other sites in the nearby region. They always shared the cultural features which define the Maya culture, as well as a level of development that allowed them to adapt to the natural environment. After several centuries, ca. 500 A.D., the city rose to be a powerful capital within a regional political unit. Without a buffer zone the total area of the archeological site is 1780 hectares, 09 areas and 49 square meters and 1,400 buildings have been recorded, of which only about 10% have been explored.

Palenque has been the object of interest of numerous travelers, explorers and researchers since the 18th century. It illustrates one of the most significant achievements of mankind in the American continent. The ancient city has a planned urban layout, with monumental edifices and some of the largest clearings found in all the Maya area. Numerous residential areas with habitation units, funerary, ritual and productive activity areas were placed around the administrative and civic ceremonial centre.

The palencano style is unique for its high degree of refinement, lightness and harmony. It includes buildings with vaulted roofs upon which pierced crestings emphasized its height. Its architecture is also characterized by its interior sanctuaries and modeled stucco scenes found on its freezes, columns, walls, crests, as well as ogival vaults, vaulted halls connecting galleries and T-shaped windows, among other unique architectural features. The sophisticated architectural designs and the rich decoration reflect the history and ideology of the ruling class and incorporate the writing and calendaric systems. The architecture of the site is integrated in the landscape, creating a city of unique beauty.

Once the ancient city of Palenque was abandoned around the 9th century, the thick jungle surrounding it covered its temples and palaces. This vegetation largely protected the buildings and their elements from looting. Furthermore, the fact that the area remained uninhabited, from its abandonment until the Colonial period, aided the protection of the site’s integrity.

Residential areas, buildings with political and administrative functions, as well as those whose function was ritual are conserved in their original setting, turning the site with its exceptional artistic and architectural features into a living museum.

As in the case of the site’s integrity, the authenticity of the site and its elements was protected by the dense vegetation and the fact that the city was abandoned already in pre-Hispanic times. Furthermore, factors like the choice of durable raw materials and high quality manufacturing techniques aided in the conservation of the material culture of Palenque and in conserving the form and design of the property.

Visiting the Palenque Ruins

It was a pretty short drive to the ruins where they dropped us off to explore.

The ruins were in the middle of a jungle. And it was misty. And you could hear the sounds of animals that you just don’t hear back home. Soooooo cool.

I won’t try to describe what I saw as I wondered around. So here are a lot of pictures.

Now that was the main terrace of ruins. To get to where the van was going to pick us up I needed to climb down to the road. Along the way down there were other ruins, where the commoners would live. the walk back down along a trail was awesome.