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Mexico: Chiapas: Agua Azul

Posted on April 9th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

The main stop on this Palenque area day trip was Agua Azul, a lengthy series of cascades in the Mexican state of Chiapas.  I hiked up alongside the cascades for more than an hour without meeting the end (and it was a paved path, so I made good time.)

[Maybe half-way up the cascades, looking down]

But I can hardly be satisfied with walking a paved path along the cascades - I found a place to cut into the muddy jungle and follow some of the smaller streams that connected with the main cascades at some point.

[One of the smaller paths I followed]

I kept going until I came upon what might have been a bridge…might have been just a fallen tree…well, definately a fallen tree.  I sat there for some time debating if I should cross it - the desire to be adventurous conflicting with the knowledge that the possibility of slipping off a wet, moss-covered tree trunk (that might be rotted through) was high, and falling into the pool of water below a waterfall was not a great thing, even when help was nearby, and not a kilometer or two away.

So, I must admit, that I passed on the opportunity to cross that bridge…it would have been fun…if it didn’t kill me…but that’s life.

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Mexico: Chiapas: Agua Clara

Posted on April 8th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Bridge over Agua Clara]

Agua Clara’s blue-green waters may make it worth viewing, but the real draw to this other 30-minute side trip on your day trip to Agua Azul - in my opinion - is the stereotypical freaky bridge of wooden planks that hangs precariously from the two shores over this pretty lake.

The thing that makes these bridges freaky, other than their tendancy to make scary noises as they swing back in forth in the air, is the fact that not al the planks are wholly in tact - in fact, some of them are no longer a part of the bridge at all.  I suppose only a skinny Asian child could fall through to the rocks and water below, but if you weren’t watching, you might have a terrifying misstep.

For those who can’t bring themselves to cross the bridge back over to their waiting tour group, an old Mexican man offers a solution: for a small fee, he’ll take you back over on his raft.  (I took the bridge back - it’s so much fun!  How could I resist?)

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Mexico: Chiapas: Misol-Ha

Posted on March 15th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Approaching the Misol-Ha waterfall]

With the sun shining down from the top of the waterfall, and the stone path leading down to the clear blue waters, I nearly expected some unicorns, or at the very least some wood nymphs, to step out of the surrounding trees.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t granted so much as a rainbow.

[A view out from BEHIND the waterfall]

There’s not actually a lot to see at Misol-Ha, but it does have one very cool feature: you can follow the stone path along behind the waterfall.  In stories, heros and villians always go into secret layers behind waterfalls…but the stories never warned you that you get VERY WET when standing just behind those gushing sheets of water.  Sigh.  I always have to learn the hard way…

[Are they encouraging skinny dipping here??]

Misol-Ha is a quick stop, and alone may not be wholly worth the trip, but you can combine it in a day trip with Agua Clara and Agua Azul for a total of US$10 to $15…not bad.

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Mexico: Palenque

Posted on March 13th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Palenque ruins - back door]

Unknowingly, I entered the Palenque ruins site from the back door, which means I then got the opportunity to climb up a seemingly endless pile of vaguely identifiable ruins, covered in moss and mud and slick from morning dew.  It was great. 

[Grupo Norte] 

After making my way, miraculously - for certainly the insects should have eaten me alive along the path - I was greeted by the North Group, a set of buildings that, while not particularly fancy or large, were very beautiful, and a lot of fun to scamper around on.

[The Palace, viewed from atop the nearby Templo de la Cruz]

Approaching from the ball courts, I didn’t find out that you could enter the lower section of the Palace until I later doubled back.  (Actually, I missed large sections of the site on my first pass, so when I got to the main gate feeling rather unsatisfied, I sat down and analyzed a map before heading back in.)

    
[Left: upper section window; Right: lower section window]

Windows in the Palace’s walls were all T-shaped, a Mayan symbol for wisdom.  In the “underground” section of the palace (which was inexplicably above ground) the T-shape was turned upside down, apparently because the Mayans believe that everything in the underworld is upside down, and “underground” tunnels like the one I was in were gateways to the underworld.

[From closest to farthest: Temple of Inscriptions, Temple XIII, and Temple of the Skull]

Near the main entrance is a set of three interesting buildings, none of which could be climbed, and only one of which could be entered.  (But hey, getting to go inside is pretty exciting.)

[Tomb of the Red Queen]

Inside Templo XIII was a tomb (empty of course, but exciting nevertheless.)  Labeled the Red Queen, she has never been properly identified (not moreso than being female.)  But the woman with buried with over 1,000 jade pieces…so likely she was somewhat important.  Doubt I’ll ever be buried with 1,000 jade pieces.

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Mexico: Edzna

Posted on March 8th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Random unrestored structure with tunnel]

On entering Edzna, after trudging through a length of mud and jungle - during which time I not only wondered if I’d find my way to the ruins, but also if I’d ever make it out again - I came to the choice of walking across the grass, or taking a short tunnel, possibly full of bats and spiders.  Of course, likening myself to Indiana Jones, we all know it was necessary for me to take the dark tunnel.

[Edificio de los Cino Pisos - the main temple at Edzna, standing 31 meters]

Entering the main plaza, I came to realize something.  The two Brits in my taxi and I were quite possibly the only people at this site.  And I’d left them way back in the jungle somewhere, so that made me the sole human in a site littlered with ancient temples.  It was a special sensation, and I took a few minutes to let the concept soak in.

[Mayan sun god - represented at sunset in this image]

Edzna didn’t have a great plethora of buildings, nor was it overly photogenic, but I did enjoy my time there, and it made for a nice half-day trip.  It did have a couple of neat sun god masks on site - one of the god at sunrise, and the other at sunset.  You could see hints of the paint they used - largely red, with hints of blue and green and black.  (Similar to colors the Chinese traditionally liked to use, no?  Very interesting.)

[My vote is either lizard or maybe turtle - or FROG!]

The above stone I found placed randomly on the pile of rubble that was an unrestored pyramid of medium size.  It interested me because normally any carvings are either removed or highlighted by a plaque…and this one was just a step on the temple that I doubt the average person notices.  I’m sure the acheologists have, and I know it’s not in great shape…but why was it all alone in the rubble?  And does anyone think about these things except for me?

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Mexico: Campeche

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Campeche city gate]

Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the only reason Campeche ever made it on to my itinerary in the first place was because I heard it had remnants of city walls.  City walls are the coolest thing ever - big, brick walls with lookout towers that peer out over moats that you cross on good old fashioned drawbridges…entering city walls is something akin to walking into a lifesize LEGO Castle set - a geek’s dream come true.

[Looking down a street in Campeche]

Little did I know that Campeche was a nice, relaxing town with delicious food.  In fact, all along the Gulf coast, the food is most excellent…I never fathomed Mexican food could be so good.

[Camarones al Coco - shrimp rolled in coconut and fried - is a local specialty.  Mine was served with a delicious mango chutney]

Mostly I try to eat at cheap places that cater more to locals, but Restaurant Marganzo was an exception - I decided to treat myself to the above mean.  I spent nearly US$20 - way above my budget - but hey, I was on vacation, and it was sooo worth it!

[Campeche at sunset - beautiful!  Actually, I was trying to get to the Gulf to see it set over the sea, but I failed.]

In a rather hectic schedule, I spent a good amount of down time in Campeche, trying to learn the art of relaxation, which most people know I’m not very good at.  I made a hobby of watching people in the main plaza feed pigeons - to each our own, right?

[Overlooking the Parque Principal from my hostel - Monkey Hostel - which I would recommend]

The bus to Palenque doesn’t leave until the middle of the night - buy early if you want to get on the 12:30am bus.  I didn’t buy until late afternoon on the day of travel and got a ticket on a then near-full 2:30am bus…and then I didn’t get much sleep on the bus, even though it was first class…

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Mexico: Kabah

Posted on March 3rd, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

I was greeted by a series of signs as I entered Kabah.  The first (above), which declared the site’s name, was only about a foot long and a few inches high.  Quite a change from the fascades at Chichen Itza and Uxmal, which both sported letters that were probably taller than I am.  So…not so much a major site…no.

[DO NOT THROW TRASH]

Reaction: Who would chuck something in an ancient temple???

[DANGER!  CEILINGS MAY COLLAPSE]

Reaction: Cool!  We get to go inside the structures!!!

[DANGER!  CLIMB STRUCTURES AT YOUR OWN RISK]

Reaction:  Yay!!!  We get to climb them, too!

And I wonder why my mother worries about me.

[The Palace of Masks]

Though I know you cannot see it clearly - at all - the Palace of Masks is covered from head to toe…or ear to ear…in masks of the rain god, Chaac, though most of the long noses have long since broken off.

[Chaac mask on the Palace of Masks]

Above is a close-up of one of the masks, which claims a rare in tact nose, most likely thanks only to the fact that it is sitting on the ground.

[A supporting collumn in the shape of a person]

On the back side of the Palace of Masks was the above collumn, an interesting site because 3D human images are extremely rare in Mayan works that have been uncovered thus far.  More impressive to me is the fact that it’s in as good condition as it is.

[The Palace]

The Palace - not to be confused with the Palace of Masks - was probably a government administrative building.  Now, iguanas live there.  I climbed up to the main level to take a look around.  “Don’t wander off,” my guide warned me.  “There’s nothing but jungle for miles and miles.” 

 
[Doorway pillars are a trademark of this area’s architecture style - at one time, perhaps ceilings were common, too.]

Carefully I made my way around to the back side of the side of the Palace.  Yep.  Nothing but jungle as far as I could see…yet didn’t my guide book say there was one other pyramid out there…a little disconnected from the group?  Imagine me…out in the jungle…discovering new pyramids…  Then something I had read earlier came back to me…  “Don’t wander off - it’s no fun playing Indiana Jones in the sweltering heat.”  Another day, perhaps.  I turned back.

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Mexico: Uxmal

Posted on February 25th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

The one guided tour I took was to Uxmal and Kabah.  The pronounciation on Uxmal is ”oosh-mal”, which translates from Mayan as “three harvests”, representing the three harvests of maize that they could reap from the soil at this location each year.

[The size of the main pyraymid overwhelms you as you enter the site - I couldn’t even fit the image into the scope of the camera lens.] 

Once again, you could see nothing from the entrance, a quasi-handicap accessible uphill trek.  When you get back down to the bottom of the hill, the trees finally part to give you a view of the back side of Uxmal’s main pyramid, a 39 meter (127 foot) temple dedicated to Chaac, the Mayan rain god.  As there were no rivers or lakes near Uxmal, its residents relied heavily on regular rainfall.

      
[Why do some Chaac noses turn up, and others down…?  Is there a difference…?]

Images of Chaac lined every side of the doorway to the room at the top of the temple, and thirteen huge Chaac faces accompanied you up either side of the main staircase (where numerous “no climbing” signs were once again placed.)  The rain god’s face was easily identifiable on other buildings around the site.

      
[Left: Dude with a jaguar head above him; Right: A snake winding its way around the roof.]

There was a fair deal of animal symbology scattered all over the site, which made exploration quite interesting.  The down side of being on a guided tour was that I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to explore all these images - yet without the guide, I would have had no clue what they meant…win some, lose some.

Up on a hill was the governor’s palace, where it is believed that the rooms of the structure served as government offices.  (But they’re rather dank and musty and personally I wouldn’t want to work in there without a HEPA filter.) 

[Myself, hanging out with a rain god.  Everybody’s gotta have a hobby.]

Behind the governor’s palace was another pyramid.  This one had only been fixed up on the front side - the other three sides looked like a rocky hill, overgrown with grass and a few bushes.  This one we were allowed to climb - I couldn’t resist, of course.  Inside the small room at the top, I took a picture of myself with Chaac.

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Mexico: Chichen Itza

Posted on February 24th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

The confusing thing for me, as I approached my first Mayan ruin, was that you couldn’t see ANYTHING from outside. In fact, the entraces to many of these places are set a ways away from the main sights, and you often find yourself trudging through the jungle for a while before you actually see something other than hawkers with their blankets full of sourveniers.

[El Castillo]

At Chichen Itza, the trees suddenly part to either side, opening up to a grassy expanse where El Castillo, the site’s most famous pyramid. At 25 meters (about 80 feet), with serpents snaking their way down either side of the four wide staircases, El Castillo was a great greeter to the ancient Mayan world.

[Yea though my Espanol sucks, I believe this frequent sight says “No Climbing”]

Unfortunately, however, tourists no longer have the privilege of climbing El Castillo. Most of Chichen Itza’s major sites are off-limits to tourists, which made me wonder what the point was of coming so far if not to climb them! The adventurous need not fear “the farther you venture from Mexico’s tourist capital of Cancun, the more fun you get to have at the ruins. So enjoy looking at Chichen Itza, and then move on to Indiana Jones-type fantasies can be fulfilled elsewhere.

[Myself in the midst of the Group of a Thousand Pillars]

I wondered around in an area known as the Group of a Thousand Pillars: it got its name for obvious reasons that I will leave the dim to guess at.

[Myself, just hanging out for a few minutes]

The grounds of Chichen Itza are vast, although I would later learn that this was not in the least uncommon. Although my visit was in the winter, it was still hot as I trekked from site to site on the grounds, only occasionally enjoying the shade of a jungle canopy. Somewhere deep in the jungle, I finished off the half-liter bottle of water I’d brought with me, and I ended up gratefully dishing out US$2 for a one-liter bottle at the foot of the Observatory. I was surprised that this was the ONLY hawker I met selling water all day. (Translation: Bring a lot of water with you.)

[The Observatory] 

The Observatory was a round building sitting atop a series of raised platforms (which you could climb) but once again, the inside of the Obsevatory, with its spiral staircase, was off-limits.

      
[Eagle (left) and jaguar (right) clutching human hearts, which they are eating - yummy]

Back near the entrance, there were a series of smaller buildings with a great amount of images portraying a couple of the mightiest animals Central America can boast - the eagle and the jaguar.  These animals were often portrayed eating human hearts, which they clutched tightly in their claws…kinda gives a new meaning to the words “eat your heart out”, doesn’t it?

Later, I noticed a random stone block on a grassy pile of rubble that had a skull staring back at me.  “That’s a bit creepy,” I thought, staring back at it as I strolled past.

Then I noticed that the low platform it sat on had a long row of skulls carved onto the stone walls, with remants of what looked to be red paint, although it seems more likely that there would be some metal deposits in the stone that would result in rust rather than the paint surviving the weather, but the color really didn’t indicate rust, either.

Creepy though I did indeed find this area, it wasn’t until I turned the corner to see a full wall, top to bottom and end to end, covered in skull images.  Named the Platform of Skulls, the heads of decapitated sacrificial victims were apparently kept here.  The term “creepy” doesn’t really seem to do the feeling justice.

[When I got home I found I had a number of pictures of piles of rocks, and it took quite some time staring at the pictures before I realized my reason (which I was convinced I must have, at one point, had) - I was snapping photos of the wild iguanas that inhabit the ruins.]

All in all, Chichen Itza was a good deal.  Heavy tourist traffic due to its proximity to Cancun has its drawbacks, but it was a fairly easy site that made for a good starting point on my little expedition into the Yucatan.

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Mexico: Mexican Time

Posted on February 6th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

An observation on what they refer to here as “Mexican Time”, which is similar to Asian Time, (which means up to 30 minutes after the scheduled time.)  Mexican Time, however, unlike Asian Time, is not necessarily - but most likely - later than the arranged time.

Like when I tried to arrange a trip to Edzna, and the agent promised to come to my hostel at 9:00 that night to inform me if the trip would go.  At 10:30pm, she had still not arrived.  TWELVE HOURS LATER, a travel agent arrives and informs me that we’re leaving in 30 minutes.  Ten minutes later, another agent comes to collect me so we can leave immediately.  WTF???

When I go to buy a bus ticket at the second class bus terminal, it can take a half an hour (or more) with only five people ahead of me in line.  WHY?  What are they doing?  Standing there talking like they haven`t got a care in the world while the bus I’m TRYING to buy a ticket for IS LEAVING!

Except that it isn`t leaving.  It`s 9:00, and it`s scheduled to leave at 9:00, but in reality it won`t leave until 9:20…but perhaps if all the seats were full, it might have left at 8:50.  Or 8:30.  Who knows?

I had a ticket for a bus that would stop at 4:40pm.  When the bus pulled up at 4:40, I lined up to get on.  They sent me away, insisting that it was not my bus - this was the one before my bus…that was…30, maybe 60 minutes LATE…and it`s normal.  Sure enough, the 4:40 bus came at about 5:00pm.  WHAT?

I never see Japanese tourists here - now I think I know why.  They could never hack it here.

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