Travelling Around Britain and the World

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Palenque and Back to Mexico City: Part 10 of South East from Mexico City

The Mayan Ruins of Lakhama and a Flight Back to the Capital

29-Nov-2017

Wildlife at the Chan-Kah Resort

Mexico
Chiapas
State

The Chan-Kah resort near Palenque is the sort of luxury holding pen for foreigners we usually try to avoid, but I liked our cabin on the resort boundary where order transformed into jungle. Before leaving yesterday to drive back to San Cristóbal, Al had mentioned that we might hear howler monkeys in the morning. The very loud, very aggressive noise, more growling than howling, that filled the early morning air would have been scary without that warning. They seemed to be all around us so we went out for a look, but however hard we peered into the trees all we saw was leaves and branches. Howlers habitually communicate across miles of dense forest, so we should not have been surprised.

Lynne outside our cabin, Chan-Kah resort, Palenque

The gods of tourism have decreed that the modern town of Palenque, two miles to the east, is of no interest; we were here only to visit the Mayan ruins, a similar distance in the opposite direction.

Palenque is a small city in south east Mexico, marked on this map only because of the Mayan ruins

Lakamha, The Palenque Mayan Ruins

Our guide arrived late – we were getting used to that – and drove us the short distance to Lakamha (literally: "Big Water") as Mayan Palenque was probably called. The city was occupied from roughly 100BC to 900AD, though most extant buildings date from the 7th century. Once abandoned, the city melted back into the jungle.

Part of the Palenque site not incorporated into the main tourist site. More lies hidden in the jungle

Mayan hunters telling a Spanish priest of a jungle palace in 1746 set off a series of investigations, initially amateur, damaging and often highly speculative, that became more professional with time. Today 90-95% of the site remains unexcavated but the 2.5km² open to tourists contain some of the finest Mayan buildings known. As the Mayans lacked the wheel, metal tools, or pack animals early European explorers credited the city to the Egyptians, the Polynesians, the Lost Tribes of Israel or anyone else who took their fancy. It was not until 1831 that Juan (previously John) Galindo, an Anglo-Irishman working for the Federal Republic of Central America (existed 1823-41) noted that the figures depicted in Palenque’s art closely resembled the local native Americans. His observation gradually put a stop to the more exotic ideas.

Clearly Mayan features, from a panel in the palace

The Red Queen's Tomb and The Temples of the Skull and of the Inscriptions

Opposite the entrance on an artificially levelled platform is the 7th century Temple of the Skull, so called because the only surviving stucco is of a (deer’s?) skull.

The Temple of the Skull, Palenque

The Temple of the Skull forms a single complex with the Temple of the Inscriptions.

The Temple of the Inscriptions (nearest the camera) the Tomb of the Red Queen and the Temple of the Skull, Palenque

Between the temples, beneath the temporary covering, is the Tomb of the Red Queen, so called because the coffin and its contents were sprinkled with cinnabar, which can still be seen. It was a high status 7th century burial of a woman aged about 60. Her diet had been rich in meat and she had unusually good teeth but suffered from osteoporosis.

The Tomb of the red Queen, Palenque

The tomb was discovered in 1994. Beside the sarcophagus were two poorly preserved skeletons, one of a woman in her 30s the other of a young male. They are believed to be servants sacrificed so they could assist her in the ‘Place of Fear’.

Sarcophagus of the Red Queen, Palenque

Begun around 675AD, the huge Temple of the Inscriptions houses the second longest Mayan glyphic text known, recording 180 years of the city’s history. According to that inscription it is the funerary temple of K'inich Janaab' Pakal (ruled 615-683) and his sarcophagus was found deep in the temple in 1959. It was suspected that the Red Queen was Janaab’ Pakal’s mother but their DNA showed no family relationship. Maybe she was his wife, Lady Tz'akbu Ajaw. When/if the tombs of Janaab’ Pakal’s sons are located this question may be answered definitively.

The Temple of the Inscriptions

Inscriptions found here and elsewhere on the site have allowed historians to piece together the ruling dynasty from 431 to 799. Lakamha was semi-permanently at war with nearby rivals Calakmul and Toniná (see yesterday’s post). Calakmul sacked Lakamha in 599 and after another defeat in 611 the King of Calakmul actually entered the city. Government collapsed, religious ceremonies were not carried out and a contemporary inscription reads "Lost is the divine lady, lost is the king." Recovery started when K’inich Janaab’ Pakal (the Great) came to the throne in 615 and gathered pace throughout his 70 year reign, which became Lakamha’s golden period.

The Palace

The Palace is set at right angles to the Temple of the Inscriptions. The oldest parts date from the 3rd century, though there were many later additions.

The Palace (and Lynne and several vendors), Palenque

The palace has 12 rooms, two courtyards and a tower all connected by a series of narrow passages. Mayan architecture seemed to be groping towards the concept of the arch, but had not yet arrived, so the masonry is massive, the corridors tall and narrow, and the rooms small.

Corridors in the Palace, Palenque

Stucco decorations appear in places that would have had little or no natural light.

Stucci decorations in the corridor, the palace, Palenque

Several of the rooms appear to be saunas or sweat rooms and three contain stone benches. A stucco relief shows the king sitting cross-legged on one to receive visitors.

Stone throne, the palace, Palenque

Behind one throne, the Oval Palace Tablet records the coronation of Pakal in 615 AD. He was crowned by his mother, who had been his regent and the probably ruled jointly with him for some time afterwards.

The Oval Palace tablet, the palace, Palenque

As the tablet is undecipherable from my picture, here is a reconstruction (thanks to mesoweb.com)

Reconstructio of the Oval Palace Tablet, Palenque

Some decorations still show traces of the original colours.

Traces of original colour on the stucco, the palace, Palenque

The west courtyard is small, its use unknown…

The west courtyard, the palace, Palenque

…while the larger east courtyard was probably used for public events and the greeting of important visitors.

The east courtyard, Palenque

The surrounding walls were decorated with images of humiliated captives - a warning to visiting foreign dignitaries.

Humiliated captives, east courtyard, the palace, Palenque

The tower standing above one corner of the east courtyard was originally roofless and probably used for astronomy. The roof was the work of early archaeologists when the sophistication of Mayan astronomy/astrology was not yet understood.

The tower at the palace, Palenque

North of the palace is a small ball court.

Ball court, Palenque

The Temples of the Cross

…but we crossed the aqueduct that provided water for the sweat rooms….

Aqueduct, Palenque

…to the Temples of the Cross. This group of three temples built during the reign of Pakal’s son K'inich Kan Bahlam II (reigned 684-702) face each other in a bowl beneath the sacred mountain Yehmal K'uk' Lakam Witz, (Great Mountain of the Descending Quetzal).

Temple of the Foliated Cross

The temples contain inscriptions confirming their builder…

Temple of the Sun, Palenque

…and were given their name by early explorers who noted the crosses (a representation to the Mayan World Tree) in two of them (we earlier encountered the Mayan cross in Chamula).

Temple of the Cross, Palenque

Leaving Lakamha

There is more, but we had seen all the major buildings, so we made our way back to the car park by a path winding through the jungle,…

Lynne (and pandas) winding through the jungle, Palenque

… what may have been a residential quarter of the city…

Possibly residences in Palenque

…and across the Otulum River which flows from springs on the sacred mountain and provided the water for the aqueduct.

The bridge over the Otulum River, Palenque

Agoutis and Other Entertainment

We were back at the resort in time for lunch, nachos followed by soup, and then enjoyed an afternoon of leisure.

We walked through the extensive gardens…

The gardens at the Chan-Kah Resort, Palenque

…and spent some time stalking agoutis. Two of the eleven agouti species are found in Mexico, the critically endangered Mexican agouti and the abundant Central American agouti. These little chaps are very common in the Palenque area so I presume they are the latter species, though their colouring fits the description of the Mexican agouti. The hotel gardens were full of sleek, well-fed looking agoutis, but persuading one to pose nicely took patience.

Agouti - cute whatever the species, Chan-Kah resort, Palenque

Then it was time for a dip in the pool.

I don't know why Lynne chose to photograph her toes,
but I can be seen wallowing in the water in the background

30-Nov-2017

Back to Mexico City

The next day we returned to Mexico City. A cheerful and chatty man turned up in plenty of time for the two-hour drive to Villahermosa airport.

Palenque to Villahermosa

The road was good, though there was plenty of traffic, particularly after we joined the main highway from Guatemala where everyone, locals included, had to pass through a customs post. Traffic was divided into categories and sent through different channels in a large roadside compound; it was all a bit of a charade and when we reached the sharp end we were waved through with hardly a glance.

At traffic lights hawkers worked their way through the lines of vehicles, a dangerous way of making a meagre living.

Hawker selling food at the traffic lights, Palenque to Villahermosa
Tabasco State

We entered Tabasco state (everybody knows the sauce, but I had not previously realised it was a place) and reached Villahermosa airport in plenty of time. The airport is east of the city so we saw nothing of Tabasco’s capital.

We lunched on beer and sandwiches, ham and cheese and shredded pibil chicken. Pollo pibil, I read, ‘is a true gastronomic jewel of the Yucatán Peninsula,… the main ingredient being Achiote paste’ (a blend of spices coloured red by annatto seeds). Our sandwiches were expensive and borderline nasty, which I attribute to airport catering rather than the actual merits of chicken pibil.

Our flight took us over Popocatepetl in perfect visibility, recompense for the mountain hiding in the haze when we were in Puebla.

Popocatepetl from the air

As darkness fell we were back in the same Mexico City hotel where we started almost a fortnight ago. We dined in a nearby restaurant, drinking Mexican - tequilla and another good red from Baja California - but eating Spanish, the solomillo was a particularly fine piece of steak.


South East from Mexico City

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Location: Carretera a Palenque- Zona Archaeologica Km. 8, 29960 Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

San Cristóbal to Palenque via Toniná: Part 9 of South East from Mexico City

A Magnificent Mayan Site and an Incident Packed Drive to the Caribbean Coast

Mexico

Leaving San Cristóbal de las Casas

We were up so early for our 220km journey north to Palenque that we had to rouse a member of staff to unlock the front door and let us out into the dark, cold morning.

Lynne outside the Hotel Cuidad Real at 5.55 in the morning, San Cristobal de las Casas

Al and his driver Freddy were on time, but our packed breakfast was not. Al chased up the hotel kitchen while we hung around shivering. During the drive we would drop from San Cristóbal’s 2,200m to a mere 60m, so this was, we hoped our last cold morning.

Early morning in the park opposite our hotel, San Cristobal de las Casas

We set off a little after 6.00; the driving would take 4¾ hour, but with things to see on the way - and the possibility of unscheduled stops - it would take far longer, and then Al and Freddy had to drive back.

We travel north from San Cristobal de las Casas to Palenque across Chiapas, Mexico's most southeasterly state

Some Problems on the Road to Ocosingo

The road wound across the plateau, occasionally giving us views down into cloud filled valleys.

Looking down on a cloud filled valley outside San Cristobal

It was slow going, the twists and turns and the recent earthquakes’ legacy of landslips and sudden dips had to be negotiated carefully and then there were the traffic calming measures. We passed through no settlements for the first forty minutes, but there were many buildings alongside the road and at each one a narrow ridge of tarmac ran across the highway. Hitting them at speed was uncomfortable.

A school beside the highway as dawn breaks outside San Cristobal

[These were not the only dangers. On April the 19th 2018 two cyclists, one German, one Polish, riding from San Cristobal to Palenque were robbed and murdered outside San Cristobal, their bodies and bikes thrown over a cliff to make it look like an accident. Mexico had 31,174 homicides in 2017, 25 per 100,000 inhabitants compared with 17 in the USA and 1.2 in the UK.]

A Roadblock at Oxchuc

After and hour and a quarter we reached the small town of Oxchuc and joined a line of stationary traffic.

Coming to a halt in Oxchuc

‘Roadblock,’ Al told us. This, I have learned, is not unusual in Oxchuc, sometimes the road is closed for 12 hours or more. As we waited a man knocked on the window, Freddy opened it a crack and the man pushed through a leaflet explaining the peoples' grievance: in short, the government were not providing necessary financial support for the community, so they were gathering it themselves.

The cone at one end of the roadblock, Oxchuc

Two policemen sat in their car, watching. ‘They are corrupt,’ Al said. ‘The new mayor promised to end corruption and they burnt her house down.’ The Mexico News Daily, 9th of January 2016 has a different story. The mayor was (probably justly) accused of corruption and an angry mob rampaging through the streets set fire to her house, among much else. They also torched a tourist bus; the American/Canadian tourists were not harmed but it must have been alarming.

Our encounter ended quickly and without conflagration. After ten minutes, leaflet man returned, demanding 100 pesos (£4) from each car. We paid, the cones vanished and it was over.

A little further on Freddy recognised the car in front as being from his company. He flashed his lights, both cars stopped and there was a consultation and some phone calls. They weighed the probable delays (and possible dangers) of continuing against returning to San Cristóbal and taking the alternative route which would add three hours to an already long day.

We went on - they had the local knowledge so we accepted their decision. For the next hour nothing happened so we ate our breakfast and had a nap.

A Roadblock at Cuxulja

At Cuxulja we encountered a second roadblock. They claimed a villager had been unfairly dismissed from the Coca Cola plant in nearby Ocosingo and denied compensation - and if Coke would not pay up then we had to. At Oxchuc the approach had been polite, the roadblock a line of plastic cones; here a plank bristling with nails had been dragged across the road and a crowd of men milled around, some with baseball bats, others with police nightsticks and one or two with machetes. The situation was uncomfortable and drawing attention to ourselves by taking photos seemed foolish, so we didn't. Al and Freddy looked irritated, but not frightened, which was reassuring. We waited and eventually there was a knock on the window and another request for 100 pesos. We paid, the plank was hauled clear and we were relieved to move on.

A Welcome Coffee Break then down to Ocosingo

We stopped again before Ocosingo, but this time voluntarily. Freddy pulled into a service area where he and Al had breakfast and we drank coffee.

The service station above Ocosingo (it does not look much like Newport Pagnell!)

Afterwards a short stroll led to a view over Ocosingo lying in the valley below.

Ocosingo down in the valley

Ocosingo, is a town with a reputation for roadblocks and awkwardness, but all was sweetness and light as we drove through.

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation

In 1994 The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) declared war on the Mexican establishment. A vaguely Libertarian-Socialist movement, the Zapatistas drew support mainly from Mexico's southern states and particularly the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. The EZLN immediately occupied several Chiapan cities, notably San Cristóbal, withdrawing as the Mexican army arrived from everywhere except Ocosingo, where dozens died in days of fighting. The EZLN have since concentrated on civil disobedience rather than violence and have recently flirted with mainstream politics. They still control much of rural Chiapas – which may be relevant to our difficulties.

The last few paragraphs have featured murder, mayhem, civil disobedience and armed insurrection. It is only fair to add that the vast majority of Mexicans we encountered were decent, honourable people. Polite, calm and tolerant they treated each other with respect and consideration and offered us friendship and fairness. We encountered no aggressive begging, and Mexico is not a country with a scam merchant on every corner… but a dark side does exist.

Toniná

A side road took us the 12km from Ocosingo to the Mayan site of Toniná.

Toniná from a distance

Toniná was a city state of the Mesoamerican Classic Period (200-900 AD). Most of the Early Classic structure was built over later, but the site is rich in Late Classical stucco sculptures, monuments and inscriptions. Between the 6th and early 10th century Toniná was aggressive in its struggle for dominance over its neighbours, most notably Palenque, 130km to the north, and inscriptions in Mayan hieroglyphics give the names and dates of most of the rulers of this period. One inscription bears a date in the Mayan Long Count Calendar equivalent to the 15th of January 909, the latest date of any Mayan inscription so far discovered.

We paused beyond the car park to examine a stone model. It shows Toniná sitting on a 6ha platform, the ‘acropolis’ at its northern end having seven terraces partly set into a hillside and climbing 71 metres above the platform.

A model of Toniná with an EZNL poster in the background

I did not notice that I had also photographed an EZNL banner behind the model. Beneath the slogan Libertad Justicia Dignidad are images of Emiliano Zapata, Che Guevara and Subcomandante Marcos, the EZNL leader shown in typical pose smoking his pipe through a hole in his mask. The rest of the words are largely obscured by reflections, but it was a reminder about who is in charge here.

Walking down to the entrance Al commented on the fences beside the path. ‘They should not be here,’ he said. 'The national park is open to everyone.’ We were already aware that Al had little respect for his indigenous fellow countrymen and the sight of a dwelling being built inside the fence provoked a rant about indigenous people ignoring the law and no one doing anything about it. He never mentioned the Zapatistas, either not wanting to acknowledge the insurgency, or deciding we were better left in ignorance, so the point he never made was that it was the Mexican government’s national park not the Zapatistas; this was EZNL territory and their support came from the indigenous people.

We eventually reached the platform. Beside it is a sunken ballcourt built, according to inscriptions, in 699 by K'inich B'aaknal Chaak to mark three victories over Palenque. Nobody knows how the game was played on the I-shaped court, but surviving indigenous games involving nudging a ball with hip and shoulder.

The ballcourt, Toniná

Bound prisoners of war are a frequent motif at Toniná and the ballcourt features half a dozen captured vassals of Palenque’s ruler.

Bound captive ballcourt, Toniná

Yax Ahk (Green Turtle) is the only one known by name.

Bound captive, ballcourt, Toniná

Some say the losers of the game were sacrificed to the gods, some say the winners (which can’t have done much for the quality of play), but maybe nobody was sacrificed. Whatever the truth the ballplayers had a better outlook than Yax Akh and his unfortunate friends.

We climbed out of the ballcourt and onto the platform.

Standing on the platform with the 'acropolis' behind

The steps up to the first and second levels are narrow and uneven but not difficult. The entrances to the Palace of the Underworld on level 2….

The entrance to the Palace of the Underworld, Toniná

…led to a series of narrow passages with a definite underworld feel. The passage roofs and entrances have a stepped arrangement topped by a lintel; the builders having not quite developed a true arch, but working towards it.

Inside the Palace of the Underworld, Toniná

The Palace of the Frets is on level 4…

Palace of the Frets, Toniná

…with a throne-like seat (and a ‘no sitting’ sign).

'Throne', Palace of the Frets, Toniná

The ‘frets’ are brickwork decorations to the left of the throne. The central X-shape may refer to Kukulkan, the Feathered Serpent, or to the Sacred Mountain, or to something else. Some stucco decoration survives top left of the X which, gives a clue as to how it must once have looked but we can only imagine the colours. The sign at the bottom says no climbing. I would have preferred some informative signs around the site, Al knew his way about but he could not be a specialist on everything.

The frets, Palace of the Frets, Toniná

There is a lot on level 5, another ‘palace’ of sorts…

A room of unknown purpose, Level 5, Toniná

…a view over the Palace of the Frets…

Looking over the Palace of Frets, Toniná

…a lot of stucco in sheltered spots…

Stucco, Level 5, Toniná
More stucco, Level 5, Toniná

….and a mysterious plaque on the ground.

Plaque, Level 5, Toniná

Lynne looked at the steep steps to level 6 and shook her head but Al knew a longer way round that avoided them. Lynne was happy to reach level 6…

Lynne on Level 6, Toniná

…but access to the final level was only possible by high, steep and narrow steps. I climbed them on my own.

I proceed carefully up to Level 7, Toniná

The top two levels were the only place on the whole site where we encountered other visitors. Those of us on the top congratulated each other for having made it and enjoyed the spectacular view….

The view across Toniná and beyond from Level 7

…and I looked down on Al and Lynne.

Looking down on Al and Lynne from Level 7, Toniná

The young descend facing forwards, I turned the other way, and proceeded carefully using hands as well as feet. About half way down I remembered that scorpions habitually bask on old, warm stones. It was a thought I could have done without but I continued placing my fingers on ledges I could not see - nothing bad happened.

That was the end of our visit, though it took some time to complete our descent and return to the car. We had enjoyed Toniná, there had hardly been half a dozen other people there and we had been able to wander and clamber at will. A time will come when conservation issues and health and safety will conspire to stop that and, as at Angkor Wat, wooden steps and walkways will sprout up to keep people and archaeology apart. I understand why it will be necessary, but I am glad we got here first.

Misol Há Waterfall

The 120km from Toniná to the Misol Há waterfall took over two hours, but only because the road was slow and twisty, we encountered no further roadblocks.

The Cascada de Misol Há lies just off the main highway some 20km before Palenque. Misol Há means ‘waterfall’ in the local Mayan dialect and it lives up to its name, the waters of the Rio Misolha (sic) which later joins our old friend the Grijalva fall 35m into a circular pool in a single cascade.

Misol Ha Waterfall, Chiapas State, Mexico

The clear pool set among tropical vegetation has attracted film-makers; among others Johnny Weissmuller swam here as Tarzan and Arnie and the Predator prowled around. The pool is suitable for swimming, even if you are not Tarzan, and I was tempted. We almost had the place to ourselves but one man was swimming. ‘How is it?’ I asked. ‘Kalt’ was his terse response. We have spent too much time recently being kalt (froid, freddo and more appropriately frío) and as I was now warm I decided to stay that way.

The Chan-Kah Resort Hotel, Palenque

We reached our destination in the late afternoon. We wished Al and Freddy well as they dropped us at the Chan-Kah Resort Hotel facing a long journey back to San Cristóbal.

The hotel was one of those out-of-town holding pens for foreigners we try but sometimes fail to avoid. We would stay the night, visit the Palenque Mayan site, stay another night and go. We would not visit the modern city of Palenque, which may not be much, but it is Mexico and that was what we came to see. That said Chan-Kah offered us a rustic looking but pleasant, even luxurious, cabin, extensive grounds, swimming pools and a restaurant, what had we got to complain about? We went to find a beer and bitch about our fortune, then had a stroll through the grounds – more in the next post – a shower and a rest.

Our cabin, Chan-Kah Resort, Palenque

Dinner at the Chan-Kah Resort, Palenque

Despite lack of altitude Palenque was not as warm as I had hoped, or expected this far south, but eating in the open sided restaurant was comfortable - with a sweater (and Christmas decorations). We had few fellow diners until a coach party arrived and commandeered all the waiters – not unusual in resort hotels. We started with nachos and tequila, our very first tequila not in a margarita; it seemed disappointingly bland after mezcal. My beef with chipotle (smoke-dried jalapeño chilis) rice and salad was an ordinary beef stew with a mild smoky/spicy flavour while Lynne’s steak, mushrooms and French fries was hardly Mexican, but she enjoyed it. After being offered only Spanish wine the last few nights we chose a more local product. Vino Verdades Cabernet Sauvignon from Baja California (2,000km away, but at least in Mexico) was an impressively solid wine at a reasonable price and perfect with beef.

Dinner at the Chan-Kah Resort, Palenque

South East from Mexico City

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Location: San Cristobal de las Casas, Chis., Mexico
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