La Aldea de Halach-Huinic Palenque

... several clambering through the foliage but they would throw small branches down if you approached too close. The restaurant in the centre was the focal point of each night, with<br>great food, live music and incredible fire juggling performances.<br><br>We set out early on our first morning to beat the crowds to the incredible Mayan ruins that draw thousands of tourists to Palenque each year. The ruins are located outside of the city in atmospheric jungle ...

... rapped or attacked and that the police were on the way. <br><br>The other night disturbance was the most all mighty thunder storm. I have never experienced anything like it. When it passed over our hut the thunder was so loud it felt like an earthquake in the sky was making our bed shake. Not ashamed to admit I was definitely a little frightened until it had passed over. <br><br>We spent our days visiting the near by Mayan Ruins and waterfalls &#8211; more on this another time.

... It seemed like a really nice place to be a couple as they made up most of the towns inhabitants (the only people who lived here lived in the Hostels, there were no houses). If you wanted to for about $20 a night you could have your very own private bungalow. We had a five bed dorm, perfect, except that the roof leaked. <br> As soon as the sun went down it started raining. On our way back to the hostel in the pouring rain we got lost in the black ...

... that led the native populations here to believe that the foreigners invading their country were gods. The other, more powerful one, is that their god Quetzalcoatl is called the bearded serpent, so when the Spaniards arrived with long beards they thought they were incarnations of one of their most revered gods. Actually, some historians believe that Vikings had reached this land and their beards are what began the story of Quetzalcoatl ...

... vorbei, wo der Rio Grijalva in mühseliger, jahrtausendelanger Arbeit den bis zu 1200 Meter tiefen Cañon de Sumidero formte. Wo bis vor ein paar Jahren ein reissender Fluss abenteuerlustige Kanufahrer in den Tod riss, liegt heute ein gemütlicher Stausees - flankiert von den hohen Wänden des Canons. Das Gebiet wurde vor einigen Jahren zum Nationalpark erklärt und für den Tourismus zugänglich gemacht. So fuhren wir den verschiedenen ...

... the ritualistic sacrifice of chickens and the reading of cracked eggs for all things ailing. Nothing short of surreal it was to enter a Spanish built, Catholic temple, pine needles crunching underfoot, the smell of candle wax and incense and the sounds of soft chanting intermittently punctuated with the snapping of poultry necks with briefly ensuing flapping of wings. Outside the markets buzzed with day traders hauling their wares of fruit and turquoise. Many a ...

Jim (M*te from Tour Group) *nd I decided to hit the town on the first night we were here *nd h*ve * few drinks. The girls th*t is the rest of the group decided to see *n Aztec Show. We h*d * few too m*ny drinks whilst listening to * loc*l b*nd *nd tried to find our w*y home. Unfortun*tely the writing on the m*p which w*s supplied by the hotel w*s too sm*ll (At le*st th*t is wh*t we s*id). So *t like 1*m here we *re w*ndering *round the ...

... 15th is a national holiday equivalent to our July 1st and the zocalo in the capital is clearly the epicentre of all things patriotic in Mexico. I had toyed with the idea of backing my flight up a day to be around on the 15th itself but opted against it considering that it was already crazy with celebrations the first time around (the 1st to the 4th) and I'm glad I did since the 14th was almost more than I could handle. For at least 4 blocks in every direction ...

... display and local Mayan worship traditions. These traditions include the floor being covered with pine needles, the burning of huge numbers of colored candles with each color meaning something different, using coca cola and chickens in healing rituals, and incense. With your ticket, there was a small but fairly well done museum about the local Mayan life. It was also market day as well. The whole plaza was covered with local produce and some touristy stuff. The village elders ...

... travel on the metro when it is busy (you'll be pick pocketed, he said) or when it is not busy (you'll be mugged), walk the streets without a boldly confident air about you or reveal to anyone that you're a foreigner. As I now looked around me in the terminal I seemed to be surrounded by gangs of loitering young men. Moustachioed lurkers with dark glasses and newspapers seemed to be eyeing me and thin-lipped characters peeped out from behind pillars. Even the woman polishing the ...