Bonampak Ruins March 24

 

We broke up the bleary hot drive from Palenque to Frontera with a short excursion into the Bonampak archaeological site. In contrast to most Mayan sites managed by INAH, this one is under the purview of the local Lacandon Maya that inhabit the area. After being shuttled down a dirt road and traversing the stalls of local artisans, we somewhat abruptly exited the forest path to arrive at the main plaza of Bonampak. The site is not overly large and is dominated by structures on one side of the plaza plastered upon a notable hill with lower structures fringing the rest of the space. Bonampak is best known and most frequently visited for its three colorful floor to ceiling murals, among the best preserved Mayan murals anywhere. Unfortunately due to covid concerns the three mural rooms were closed off and we were unable to see them in person. The plaza had some impressively large carved stela to 6 meters in height. A prominent tree had numerous colorful loud cacique birds and their large dangling nests. Climbing up the steep stairways (pro tip: diagonally) was a nice change from many of the "don't touch" Mayan sites I've visited thus far. The entry lintels for some of the temples at the top also had impressively well preserved carvings. 

Stela 1

This was the smallest Mayan site I have visited thus far (apparently "fourth-rate in terms of size and political importance"), but I actually really enjoyed this one as I felt like it was easier to appreciate the scale of it and the time and effort that would have gone into building the ruins. From the top of the temple staircase it was easy to look out over the plaza and imagine the day to day life. At times we were the only group in the ruins. It was all a little more tangible to immerse yourself in an imagined rendition of a culture, place, and time.

Stela 2

Looking up at a temple lintel

I could have easily spent a bit more time exploring the ruins but we had a schedule to keep. We needed to get to Frontera and get started rigging our flotilla before darkness fell. Thanks to Alejandro for interpreting many of the intricate artwork.