Yesterday I was able to fulfill a long-time dream of mine: to experience the Mayan ruins at Palenque, and it far exceeded my expectations. I am not going to write much about it today, except for captions in the photos below. This first trip was a day tour, and as it was a Sunday during a holiday week, I experienced the site with thousands of others this time. I plan to go back for a quieter experience later in my trip, to paint, sit, and continue to digest its beauty.
The buildings are lofty, with very tall, steep stairways. I got a lot of exercise!
Some of the ruins are in the jungle, like this one. The trees on the site are almost as spectacular as the ruins, but not nearly as old.
Birds-eye view of the central building, called the Palace, and the jungle setting in general. The climate is very tropical, unlike in San Cristobal.
This shows another part of the site, and all the people. The visitors were mostly Mexican, still out with their families enjoying the holidays.
I just love this one--it gives an idea of the steepness, and the the solidity of the structures in their beautiful setting.
Around every corner is something wonderful to behold. It took me almost 4 hours to explore the whole site, and I have a feeling I didn´t see everything. That´s why I´m going back.
The trees really were beautiful.
I had fun taking a few self-portraits.
Beauty around every corner.
So, you can see why I want to go back.....At this moment in time I am overwhelmed by the task of sharing my experiences here. My computer is broken, so I have a little hurdle there now, but that´s ok. It is always easy to find an internet cafe.
Another exciting thing is that I started my language classes today, and am already pleased with the teachers, the school, and the people I´ve met. More about that later.
Suffice to say I am feeling inspired, challenged, and grateful. That´s enough for now.
About Ryan, Jim and Stan, They will set sail for Guatemala tomorrow morning, and I think it will be a few days before we hear from them. They are doing what they love. I hope you all are too.
With much love,
JLL
Wow, very inspired by your photos!
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