Transit Day to San Christobal

Willie, with a hearty "good morning" was our our wake up call this morning. He personally went around to each bungalow about 5:45 to make sure every one was up and ready for breakfast which was served in a restaurant across the street. The jungle was once again the sidewalls to the facility and as the pictures below show it was still dark with daylight just breaking. Quantities of fruit, juice and coffee were available at a table as we entered and the entree, including eggs, bean burritos, fried bananas, etc. was available buffet style in a steam table adjacent to the kitchen doorway pictured center left. Tables were large cross sections of trees and chairs were stumps. Breakfast was great with lots of good coffee.

After breakfast we wasted no time in boarding the bus and heading for the Town of Palenque. We had left our injured compadre at the hotel there for a couple of days where she could get medical attention if needed as well as a nurse who would check in on her. We had also left the bulk of our luggage in the safe room at the hotel for the Piedras Negras portion of our journey, so with all collected we backtracked to Ocosingo where we were scheduled to have lunch.

Along the way we came across a coffee processing operation. The two boys were hulling the coffee beans then washing them in a concrete trough. There were canvas tarps spread out along side the road to dry the beans. One step seemed to be missing and that is the fermentation step needed to remove the sweet juice from the beans surface. After lots of pictures were taken by our photographers

we proceeded on to Agua Azul, a series of cascading water falls located on the Rio Perlus which flows north from the Lacandon Biosphere Reserve. This area is spectacular and has been developed into a tourist attraction, lots of vendors of all types with permanent booths along well developed trails and overlooks that take advantage of the river views. The collage below is an attempt to capture the essence of Agua Azul including the picture center right where we had to walk the plank to get to a viewing platform. We assume they were rebuilding the walkway but construction was not under way at that point in time.

From Agua Azul we drove on to Ocosingo where we stopped for lunch then on to the Archaeological site of Tonina.



Tonina is a Classic Period Maya city that is rich in hieroglyphics and iconography that tell the story of great rulers who conquered neighboring polities and captured dignitaries from other city states for sacrifice. Tonina has been loosely classified as a militaristic state because of the many inscriptions referencing war like encounters. Much of what is seen today is the product of the Classic Period from AD 514 when the first ruler's accession is noted to AD 909 on January 15, where the last long count of the entire Maya world is recorded on a broken monument. While the carvings at this site are exquisite during the florescence of this city there are gaps in the history that leave little information about the rulers. The quality of the inscriptions deteriorates over that period of time to the point that indicates the scribes may have lost understanding of the writing system. Worth noting however is the obvious influence of Teotihuacan which is displayed in the elaborate stucco partly visible in lower right. The picture center bottom is of a stela in the middle of a giant stairway that may be Ruler Four wearing the headdress of a centipede representing supernatural status.
Architecturally the complex is built on a mountain in seven layers with temples, monuments and rooms on every level. The picture in the upper left was taken from the Great Plaza at the bottom and does not give the feeling for the total height. The group of pictures center left are telephoto shots of the top from two layers below. First picture is of Jim, one of our traveling companions, standing on the very top, followed by a picture of Bibi and Steve on the second level down and the center picture was taken by Bibi looking down the many layers from the top. The picture directly below Bibi and Steve was taken by Babu standing two layers below showing the country side from that level. Babu pooped out and did not make it to the lofty heights.