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
