This week I have visited so many ruins- Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque and Bonampak. I do like ruins but I think maybe now I have ruins overload, so for the next few days I plan to sightsee around San Cristobal where I am writing this blog entry from. Hopefully my appreciation for architecture and history will be recharged and I will be ready for the next part of my adventure.
The Mayan empire is truly magnificent. I am unsure as to which is my favourite site, but I loved Uxmal for its complexity and Palenque because it is set in a beautiful jungle, complete with howler monkeys. The Mayan empire was built to align with the star constellations so I would imagine that many of the ancient sites in Central America and Mexico match the sky. There were many quirky features at the sites, including aquaducts, saunas and a carving depicting how residents of Palenque starved and tortured arrogant male conquerors who dared try to usurp the King.
The jungle lodge was an experience. Lots of fellow travellers were drugged out of their minds and we had terrific thunderstorms every day. I have never seen such large insects either. Each cabin slept 4- my roommate Katherine and I, and two friendly lizards who frequently dropped from the ceiling at inopportune moments. The air was really humid so I really wanted to shower, but the water in my room was scalding hot and therefore I was unable to without getting third degree burns. It´s funny how throughout South America I longed for a hot shower and now I had one, I was still complaining. There is just no pleasing some people!
I have also spent much of the week working on my speech, as things were getting slightly out of control. I have done an extra hour of work every day and am feeling better now but its still not back to my usual excellent eloquence, so once I have written this, it is straight upstairs for me to do more practice!
