The ruins at Palenque are definitely worth a visit, they are very impressive, doubly so due to their picturesque jungle setting.
Not a jungle ruin (the photo uploading went wrong but took 2 hrs so we have left it) -Bobby who did very well out of us for tortilla scraps thanks to some very cute begging he's learned to do
Welcome to Palenque ruins and howler monkey refuge
Mario our guide explaining if we ever got lost in the jungle and had a machete to hand we could cut through a liana for a refreshing drink.
Butress roots
Mario encouraged us to eat termites fresh from the nest by putting our finger into it and eating ones that ventured on to us...sorry termites. They tasted really earthy.
Surely this is called Birds nest fungus
the tree roots made amazing shapes
The Mayan ruins, this is El Palacio, the Palace built in stages from 5th-8th century
Temple of the skull, its a rabbit skull.
Temple of the Inscriptions which housed the tomb of Pakal, a former ruler, his skeleton was found inside covered in jewels and a jade mosaic mask.
These stucco figures are always shown side on so that the deformed head shape can be seen. Noble babies had there heads bound to produce long pointed skulls which accentuated the long nose.
The windows- 'Ik' openings are T shaped as the T represented the wind to encouraged air flow. Ones on the bottom floor where the tombs are, are T's but upside down representing the Underworld, where the dead had gone.
Templo del Sol as seen from Templo de la Cruz. The Cruz or cross represented the Ceiba tree or tree of life, the branches grow very horizontal and straight from the trunk.
Having been all round the ruins with nothing to eat all day we went a bit mad on the way home and ordered the local speciality which turned out to be a red hot cast iron bowl of bubbling sauce, strips of cactus, various meats and melted stringy cheese! it was a bit hot for it really but we were very happy to have a huge jug of agua de fruta - Pina, fresh watered down pineapple juice -yum.
1 comment:
Just goes to prove that termites may be nourishing but not very filling. Maybe it was them gnawing at your innards made you feel so hungry. Any excuse will do with so much exciting food around. Best Wishes for more thrilling adventures (and blogs) in the New Year.
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