The bus ride to Palenque was long, six hours winding through the mountains to be exact. The path to Palenque was beautiful (green valleys, mountain tops peaking up in the distance and blue skies).
(I can't write about this naturally beautiful area without mentioning the heartbreak as we past poor mountain villages. Maybe one day Mexico will figure out how to ensure all people have opportunities... Maybe one day the road to the waterfalls will be lined with sustainable homes with healthy children playing in the yard... Maybe one day... And if you're looking for a way to help, here are two organizations that I found doing a quick google search on Chiapas: http://www.schoolsforchiapas.org/ and http://www.chiapas-project.org/about.htm)
So, as we traveled through the mountains, to the fabulous 80s soundtrack our driver chose, I tried not to focus on the quick stops, bumps and turns. It was next to impossible. I was ecstatic when we arrived at our first stop, Agua Azul. The name, while spot on in terms of the color of the water, doesn't give justice to the waterfall (photos don't do much better, but I gave it a shot).
We didn't have time to swim, but we did get to dip our feet in and feel the water spouting from a fish-like rock sculpture at a midway point to the top of the falls. The water was refreshingly frigid considering the heat. The path to the top is neatly carved steps, with a bridge over to a lookout point where mountain peaks filled in the distant skies and the pooled blue water began to cascade down hundreds of feet. We made it to the top just in time to see a swimmer gain the courage to swing into the water using a tarzan-esque rope. Her friends applauded and we had to make our way back down to the bus (equipped with stored fresh air and a Sprite for the rest of the bumpy bus ride).
We stopped once more before Palenque at another waterfall, Misol Ha. Fun fact: Ha means water in one of the local indigenous languages, so most of the sites have Ha as a part of their name (like all the "parks" and "groves" in the names of American towns). Misol Ha is one big fall rather than a series of small falls, it reminds me of a shampoo commercial. One of the problems with group tours is that you don't get to operate on your own schedule. I wish we had more time here. We quickly took photos in front of it and raced on the path to walk behind it and by the time we got behind the water it was time to go back to the bus.
After the refreshing trips to the falls, we boarded the bus one last time before getting to Palenque (see last post for the adventure that began there). I forgot to mention, in my post about Palenque, that we were there on the first day of Spring. This meant dozens of sun worshipers dressed in white clothes came to celebrate that day. It would be a great place to meditate, but our time was spent soaking up our guides insights on the thousands of years of history hidden in this site (like the death skull in the photo below).
After our six hour travel, the rest of our week-long adventures were closer to my new home in Tuxtla. Another catch up post will be up soon. If I keep up this pace, I'll be writing about my US travels soon enough (like this trip to Ohio).
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