The last ruins I got to visit in Chiapas was Palenque, a "medium-sized" site smaller than Chichen Itza but containing some of the finest Mayan architecture, sculpture, and bas-relief. Because of covid they were heavily limiting daily ticket sales and we were unsure whether we would even be able to get in. Fortunately one of our group got there early, waiting out a long line, and managed to get us an afternoon entry time. I spent much of the morning strolling around Palenque (town) trying to find a clinic that would administer a covid test, which I would need for my U.S. reentry. Eventually, a half hour before we were to leave for the ruins I finally managed to find a place that would swab my brain. The result of all this was that I neglected to eat or drink anything. In the humid heat of the day this quickly degraded my condition and I strolled around the ruins as a half functional zombie.
The architecture was quite impressive between the sheer size of the temples, some of the elaborate roof ornamentation that was preserved, and the standalone multi-storied towers that I had not seen at other Mayan sites before. Once again covid detracted from the quality of the experience. Apparently there were less people walking around the site than there would have been otherwise, but the supposedly excellent museum was closed, all side trails were closed, and no one was allowed to walk on or enter any of the structures. Basically we were forced to walk a one-way loop through the site. Best I could tell the market at the entrance was no less busy than it would have been otherwise and there were countless people inside the site hawking their wares so appropriately hypocritical. So I did what I could, walking through the site, snapping photos, and trying to appreciate small details from afar.
Some of the structures had ornate carvings preserved or smooth stuccoed walls that offered hints of just how impressive these buildings would have been in their heyday.
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| Palenque's ball court |
Overall it was a neat site that seemed well planned in terms of its layout, including a channelized creek that flows through the site. I'm sure the views from the top of some of the stairways would have offered a nice perspective. It just seemed a shame we only got to see a small fraction of what the site had to offer.
Back in town I made an efficient run of my errands and then spent a bit of time by the pool before crashing back at my room. The others had plans for an epic 4 hour dinner with live music and fireshow but I was feeling downright lousy in my borderline heat exhauasted state and so opted for sleep and relaxation so that I would be completely functional for tomorrow's grand finale adventure.
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