Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen : Ruins

Road Trip 2010 - Day 3 The Ruins at Palenque

Rob Kinnon — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:20:00 GMT

We awoke on day 3 of our adventure in Palenque on the edge of the biosphere. My plan had been to celebrate Cole’s 7^th birthday with a fun trip to Aguas Azules and the magnificent waterfalls at Misol Ha. The weather cloudy, rainy and a chilly 54 degrees dictated otherwise. We had a great breakfast at Don Mucho and then headed off to see the famed archeological site.

The birthday boy!

Our cabana

Brrrrrrr.

Although we were not starting off until later morning, the cool temperatures and cloud cover kept us comfortable throughout the day. We parked our car in the lower lot by the exit and easily found (or rather were found by) a guide, Edgar, happy to show us the ruins with a full commentary in English for $600 pesos, an acceptable amount based on my research. Our money turns out to have been well spent. Edgar, born and raised in Palenque knew these ruins like the back of his hand. As a child, this was his playground, the ruins and the dense jungle fueling his young imagination, the streams throughout the site providing safe pools in which to learn to swim. He recalled the days when the guides and the guards played soccer matches on the field of the grand plaza, a heated competition that carried on for years before the games were no longer permitted. We carefully combed every inch of the property open for viewing and the kids happily climbed every structure in their path. All throughout the site, areas have been designated for vendors to sell their handcrafts and provide water and snacks for the visiting tourists making what could be a long hot day much more tolerable.

Edgar explaining the site map

Edgar deciphers the carvings on the walls

The structure in which Pakal's tomb and corpse was found

Birdie mimics the pose of the fallen king carved on the walls

The aqueduct

We parted ways with our guide at the head of the long path that would take us back to our car, our heads now spinning with all the new information he had imparted to us throughout the day. The walk back was just as spectacular taking us past ball courts, the remains of small residential structures hidden in the jungle and several spectacular waterfalls. A hanging bridge carried us from one side of the rushing stream to the next, the perfect place to snap some photos of the scenery. The walk to the exit takes you down 300 steps, something to keep in mind for anyone who is mobility impaired in any way. These steps are also a great deterrent for accessing the site from the lower entrance unless you are looking for a challenge!

The ball court

It was now nearly mid afternoon and we were all quite hungry again. Rather than take in another meal at Don Mucho, we decided to drive into downtown Palenque and see what we could find to eat. Coincidentally we ran into our guide, Edgar, on his way home and he invited us back to his house to meet his wife and two children. We picked up some beer and soda and followed him to his neighborhood nearby, a cute new gated community just about 10 minutes from the ruin site. Our kids played with his kids while the grownups chatted in the living room about life in the US, life in Mexico and our families. At some point after our tour of the ruins, I had taken a moment to refer to the few notes I had taken when planning our trip to this region. I had gleaned some excellent information about Palenque from another traveler’s trip report, including the name of a guide to look for. That guide, very coincidentally, happened to be Edgar himself and both he and his wife were thrilled to know that he has been getting such good press for his tours. A few beers later we decided we all needed lunch. Edgar was eager to introduce us to his favorite spot for grilled meats, La Asadero “El Amigo”, a small open air restaurant, hidden away in a local neighborhood. This was a place we certainly would never find on our own and definitely a place worthy of the WWMD hall of fame. Regular “Life’s a Beach” readers will recall similar “What Would Mike Do” moments sprinkled throughout our previous adventures, dining experiences and locations that might make our dear friend Mike Lopiano turn green and run for the nearest 5 star in the area. We ordered the “Parillada” a giant platter of mixed meats grilled to perfection over “carbon”.

The smell of the raw meat hitting the hot grill only intensified our hunger and by the time the platter was set In front of us, I could barely wait long enough to snap a picture of our feast. We had grilled chicken, borega, chistorra, arrachera, cesina, Argentinean sausages and costellitos served with hot tortillas, pan con ajo, grilled onions and guacamole. Each meat was tender and flavorful and cooked to perfection. I think this was the first time I have ever had arrachera that was better than we get from Mandi back in Playa, high praise from me, indeed. I actually think our friend Mike would have approved of and enjoyed this meal (as long as he never had to use the restroom).

The parillada

Birdie with Valeria, Edgar's daughter

New friends

Stuffed and fairly sleepy from our feast, we had one last chore to complete for the day: replacing the tire that we had blown out back in Calakmul. With a long drive still ahead of us, it would be unwise to travel further without a proper spare. Edgar guided us once again to a local store where we picked up two new tires then brought us to Bridgestone to have them fitted and balanced.

An hour or so later, we were back at El Panchan enjoying the music and the surroundings and toasting a fun and productive day with a few tequilas and spicy house-made sangrita. We stayed to dine on the famous pizza (which absolutely lived up to its reputation) and then turned in early. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to warm up and we will be spending the day at the famous Aguas Azules and Misol Ha.

Happy Birthday little man.

Road Trip 2010 - Day 2 - Calakmul to Palenque

Rob Kinnon — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:40:00 GMT

Birdie and I rose early this morning, roused by the cacophony of the sounds coming from the jungle around us. After a failed attempt to connect to the internet, we joined the boys for a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and omelets.

Cole and friend

Breakfast at Puerta Calakmul

Despite my desire to find lodging as close to the ruin site as possible, our hotel was still a good hour and a half from the archeological zone. We twisted and turned our way south, stopping only to snap a few photos of the flora and fauna. Upon reaching the ruins we entered into a good sized parking area which was nearly empty and an attractive reception center, also empty. We were unpleasantly surprised to find no water available for sale, nor were there any printed maps or guides for hire. We made a good mental note of the site map at the entrance and carried on down the path and into the jungle. Having arrived in the morning, we were there at the right time to see dozens of spider monkeys swinging and leaping from tree to tree over head. Near one of the first structures, we happened upon a peccary (a wild pig indigenous to the region) foraging for food in the underbrush and several resplendent oscillated turkeys.

Spider Monkeys

Bromeliads

Oscillated Turkey

Peccary

There are three possible routes to take through the ruins, corta, larga and mediana. For the sake of the children and considering our lack of water we chose the short route, one that would take us past the most significant and dramatic plazas and temples. This is a large site, covering over 70 acres. Most of the area can be accessed one wide, smooth roads, all of which are marked with informative signs along the way.

Calakmul Ruins - Stellae

Structure No.2 in the Main Plaza

About an hour and a half into the tour, halfway up the largest structure, no. 2, Cole blew out a flip flop. This is when we realized that there are no signs for the “salida”, no way to determine which way was out! There are no site maps posted past the entrance, no markers to tell you “You are here”, so we went back out the way we came in, quite a hike for a little boy with no shoes.

In general, Calakmul is a beautiful archeological site whose significance cannot be disputed. If you are planning to visit these ruins, you will find limited information about how to best plan your trip. You may want to keep these tips in mind.

· The ruin site of Calakmul is one and a half hours from the nearest hotel and a full two hours from the nearest town, Xpujil.

· If coming from the east, be sure to gas up in Xpujil and buy plenty of water. The next Pemex is in Escarcega and no water is available for sale at the ruin site.

· Print up a map of the ruin site before you embark on your trip or take a photo of the site map at the entrance for reference.

· Anyone who is not fit or up for walking a distance may want to reconsider this site.

· There are no guides for hire onsite. Make the appropriate arrangements at your hotel.

Despite the flip flop debacle, we did manage to see and enjoy most of the site. On the drive back out to the highway, we blew out a tire. Thankfully, a nice family, also returning from the ruins, stopped to help us, a welcome helping hand in the heat of the now high midday sun. We backtracked to Xpujil to gas up, buy water and enjoy a quick and delicious lunch of pollo asado before continuing on to our next stop.

Pollo Asado

About a half hour before Escarcega, we slowed down to pass through a small village where an enormous crowd had gathered along the roadside. What appeared at first to be a festival of some kind, perhaps in celebration of Palm Sunday, turned out to be a horse race. Super chido! Of course, we stopped to join in the fun.

Caballero

Heading for the starting line

The winner

Back on the road, night falling fast around us, we stocked up on cervezas for the night and headed southwest, through Tabasco, into Chiapas and finally to our resting place for the evening, El Panchan at the entrance to the archeological zone of Palenque. El Panchan is a lively compound with carious lodging options (none of which my husband found even remotely acceptable) and a wonderful bar and restaurant onsite, tucked into the lush, tropical jungle. The band was fired up and everyone was dancing up a storm when we arrived.

El Panchan Palenque

We had a fabulous and economical dinner and then tucked ourselves into bed, tired from a long day on the road and looking forward to the next leg of our adventure.

Ruins, Cenotes, Monkeys and More

Rob Kinnon — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:14:00 GMT

Yesterday, the kids had a day off from school to celebrate (early) Benito Juarez' birthday, so I packed them and their bikes into the Xterra and we set off on a much needed adventure. Our first stop was Coba, about an hour and a half from Playa del Carmen, where, for $81 pesos ($51 pesos for my entry fee and $30 pesos for my bike rental), we spent a wonderful few hours riding through the jungle, spotting coatimundi and iguanas with green parrots flying overhead. On bikes we easily managed to see the whole site and all the various ruin formations. Our kids love visiting ruins and I can really see their fertile imaginations at work as they try to read the hyrogliphs and decifer the mystical carvings worn by centuries of weather. They looked for "footprints" along the paths made by civilizations long gone. They concocted fanciful stories about the renegade chicle farmers when we would happen apon a tree with the tell-tale machete marks.They played on the ball courts pretending they were ancient Maya youth competing for the pride of their city and the favor of the Gods. What more could a child want than this fantastic backdrop on which to paint their fantasies!

Our last stop was the grand pyramid which I was obliged to scramble up behind my two intredid explorers. As always, it was worth it to see the look of accomplishment on their faces.

The next stop on our trip was a well deserved cool off in a nearby cenote. Recommended by like minded adventurer Sara Moen of Playa Maya News, Cenote Tamcach Ha was a spectacular find. Cool, deep and unbelievably clear this cenote is almost completely underground, accessed only by a twisting, narrow wooden staircase that disappears before you into the eerie darkness. Once inside, the enormous cave is well lit by floodlights running off of a generator, casting dramatic shadows on the stelagtites and stelagmites and allowing us to see to the very bottom of the cavern. Cole was brave enough to leap from the jump off point and encouraged some of the older swimmers to follow. A mere 10 minute drive from Coba, this is the perfect place to cool off and relax after a hot day at the ruins. There are 3 other cenotes nearby to explore as well. Adult entry for each cenote in the area is $45 pesos. My kids, at 5 and 7, again entered for free.

Now, well into the afternoon, we dried off and once again set off on an adventure to find Punta Laguna, also recommended by our pal Sara. Some 20 kilometers down a well paved but perilously narrow "highway", we found the tiny Mayan village supported primarily by tourist activity at Punta Laguna. To say that there are more dogs and chickens than human inhabitants is NOT an exageration! We pulled in, quickly paid $20 pesos admission to the park (again, kids were free) and trudged off with our towels down to the water's edge. We shared the lagoon for just a while with a group of French tourists and then we had the whole place to ourselves! We rented a kayak ($70 pesos for an hour) and the kids took turns paddling while I laid back and enjoyed the sunset.

I'm not sure sure how long we were out on the water, (there was certainly noone watching us) so we returned the kayak on our own and headed into the jungle in hopes of finding some spider monkeys. On the way, we found our kayak guy and $150 pesos later, we were surrounded by monkeys, jumping, swinging and feeding in the trees above our heads. Adults, juveniles and mothers with babies all gathered in this area, close to the edge of the lake, to forage for food after the sun had dipped below the horizon. According to our guide, dawn and dusk are the very best times to view the primates in their natural habitat. Unlike the howler monkeys at The Baboon Sanctuary in Belize, these monkeys are not tame, just tolerant of our presence. We tiptoed along the ragged paths following our guide and trying not to trip or disturb the creatures around us. Our guide, a young Maya, pointed them all out to us, identifying each one by name and approximate age. Having grown up in this tiny village, he knows these creatures as he knows his family and neighbors. It was an amazing experience.

Tired and sore (just me really) from our exciting day, we wound our way back to Tulum for a quick dinner. I was so tired, I don't even remember the name of the restaurant. We all split a large bowl of piping hot seafood soup, and a couple of tamales, treated ourselves to ice cream and, sleepily, (not just me) drove back home to Playa. It was a great day and one that the kids will be sure to remember and talk about often. With all the remarkable places of interest within a reasonable drive from Playa del Carmen, we have no shortage of great destinations for special day trips and fabulous adventures. Next time you have a free day, log off the computer, turn off the TV, grab your kids, fill up the car and just go! You'll be making memories that last a lifetime!