Paradise in Palenque -- Palenque, Mexico

I'm starting this post from the home of my new hosts in a village just outside of Merida. A very modern, artsy fan whirs diligently overhead, a small lamp glows softly in front and to the left and a treadmill stands between me and the sliding glass door. After spending nearly two months at an elevation of over 5000 feet, dropping to just about sea level (and the heat, humidity and mosquitoes that come along with it) has been rather shocking to my system. 

I can't wear comfy things when it's this hot out. DRAT. No funky green hats, no thick woolen socks and no cozy Mexican ponchos. 

I am a walking display of all things comfortable. Welcome to me. This is the reference that German left on my profile (I think it's one of my favorite couchsurfing references thus far):

Aimee is a really really really easygoing person who enjoys life in all possible ways, she has a lot of energy to discover new places but sometimes she might need to take a nap to recover the power lost in the morning. Is an amazing guest and she doesn't need much to survive, she only needs a moka by the morning, cheese all day, hot chocolate in the afternoon and if possible a wall to paint amazing landscapes.You will always have a place to stay in San Cris, comfy pants.

Favorite new nickname = comfy pants. This is a sign that I'm winning at life. 

The bus ride to Palenque was long and uneventful. I found Yaxkin Hostel nearly straightaway and nearly just as straightaway reluctantly removed my comfortable clothes and tried to fall asleep in an incredibly humid dorm room. 

This is why I will never live in the jungle. The scorpions and spiders and vast array of blood-sucking/itch inducing insects are awful enough -- but this kind of heat? Oof. I'm not built for it. 

I couldn't sleep Wednesday night. I spent the long hours listlessly tossing and turning on the top bunk, pining after reasonable weather and my comfy pants.  

At first light, I eagerly and blearily leapt from my bed.  I've learned that in tropical climates, first light and last light are the only totally tolerable times of the day, and staying in bed doing nothing is an unforgivable act of squandering the only hours wherein I can function like a normal human being. 

So I walked down the mostly abandoned streets of Palenque in search of a) tamales and b) any store in which I could buy bananas. Before I'd collapsed into my night of listless, comfortable clothing-less tossing, I'd managed to book a tour for my single day in Palenque -- a tour to see the ruins, a single waterfall called Misol-Ha and a group of waterfalls called Cascadas de Agua Azul.  

Hence, my search for bananas. I'd learned during my tour in Oaxaca that guides have a tendency to drop their tourists off at the most expensive restaurant in the area, and was determined to bring my own stash of goodies, should this 180 pesos for one meal catastrophe occur again. 

Bananas secured, I found a young fellow selling tamales and bought a spicy, banana leaf wrapped breakfast off of him for 8 pesos. 

Just about 60 cents. Gosh, I love Mexico. 

I boarded the tour shuttle at 8:00 and introduced myself to a couple from Canada. They'd been traveling together for a while, so I immediately transitioned to interrogation mode and asked them to tell me their secrets to maintaining a healthy relationship AND being together 24/7 in (usually) high-stress environments. 

"The first trip was rough," Stephen said, looking over to his wife, Kim. "You just really have to communicate what you want to do. Where you want to eat and what you want to see. But after you start communicating better, it's great." 

I also learned very valuable tips from Stephen and Kim. Like facial expressions I should adopt if I want Boy to carry my bag for me. 

Our first stop was at the ruins just outside of Palenque. These fantastical ruins are a Mayan archeological site dating from 226 BC - 799 AD. Our guide dropped us off at the entrance and told us he'd meet us four hour later down in front of the museum. 

"If you want a tour, this man can show you around," he said before hightailing it back down the mountain. 

That's a disappointment. I thought I'd already paid for a tour -- not just a chaperone. Oh well. I guess these are things to clarify before surrendering four hundred pesos. 

I was in no mood to pay another 200 pesos for a guided tour, so I brazenly asked the Canadians if I could tag along with them. And because they're Canadian and have a heritage of politeness and all-around friendliness to uphold, they readily accepted my company. 

So we walked together. 

We walked up and down many, many steps.

We saw startlingly enormous spiders.

We survived the most vertical stairs I've ever experienced.

I like that this tree looks like a dinosaur foot. 

I like that this tree looks like it's slowly crossing the trail. And is very upset about it taking so long.  

I like that this tree has dozens of other trees growing inside of it. 

I don't like this. I don't like anything about this. But I had to photograph it. 

Our next stop was Cascada de Misol-Ha, the single waterfall located about 20 km outside of Palenque.

I walked around the pool and wished that Boy could be there to convince me to swim with him.

Our final stop was Cascadas de Agua Azul, a group of cataracts about 70 kms away from Palenque.

A group of cataracts dyed blue from the mineral content of the rocks over which the water rushes.

Beware... umm.... savage, killer trees?  

Just after we'd finished snapping all our photos, it started positively pissing down rain. So the Canadians and I escaped inside one of the many covered restaurants alongside the cataracts and ordered a cheap meal of empanadas. Then escaped to another covered restaurant and ordered not-so-cheap coffee.

At least it's warm. And there are few things better than warm drinks in the midst of pissing rain such as this. It's... almost as nice as comfy pants. 

Our "guide" dropped us off at Yaxkin just before seven o'clock. As the internet at Yaxkin (along with a good number of other things of Yaxkin) is absolute shit, I meandered into town and ordered a chocolate caliente at a cafe.

Where I Skyped Boy and told him how much I wished he could have been there to share the experience I'd just had.

You're leaving together for Europe in the spring. You have all the time in the world to share experiences with Boy... just... this whole waiting thing is stupid hard. I don't really believe in waiting, and this is why. STUPID HARD. 

Also, it would be nice to have someone around to help carry my bag.