We were now getting loser to Chiapas, the last Mexican region before the Guatemalan border. Our last stop before Palenque and its striking temples would be Villahermosa, the capital of the Tabasco state, and a not so charming city to visit in the humid heat.
Everybody agrees that you can cross the city without making a stop at the Parque Museo de La Venta, a huge park in the middle of the city, where people can admire giant Olmec heads and other artifacts found on oil fields west of the city. The park is also a zoo, as the administration wanted to show animals that were sharing the everyday life of the Indians. After the visit, I was excited to take the direction of Palenque, a small city in the jungle, at the foot of the Chiapas Mountain.
I was lucky enough to go there few years back, when I took my first trip in Mexico, and since then, images of the site, as long as memories of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
Upon arrival in the city, found a cheap camping at US$4. We cooked diner, drank wine, and went to bed in the tropical heat.
Eventually, the morning after, we arrived on the ruins of the old city at 10, and visited the immense site. One can only visit part of the city, as the rest is still buried under the jungle. This is one of the biggest Mayan cities in Mexico, a possibly the most beautiful, thanks to the natural surroundings.
We then left for San Cristobal, a city in the mountain, at 7,000 feet from sea level.
It was an exhausting 7 hours drive, and we arrived, we agreed it was time to settle for a small hotel. We didn’t have warm showers since Monterrey, and even if you don’t miss it much, it is still a dream that you can realize once in a while. While driving in the streets, we found a small and a room in a simple hotel with a parking lot for US$ 25.
Can’t wait for the shower!
