Three cities in three days
I left San Cristóbal on May 12 and headed for Veracruz. I had considered making a short detour to Guatemala, but ultimately decided that, given the limited time available, I would rather visit a few places in Mexico on the way to Veracruz. I planned my route so that I covered part of the distance each day and spent about a day in each place.
Palenque
Palenque is a small town in the east of the state of Chiapas, near which there are Mayan ruins. Because the roads between San Cristóbal and Palenque are too dangerous at night, the night buses take a longer route via Tuxtla. The detour isn’t too bad, though, because you can sleep during the trip. What’s more annoying are the bad roads, which shake you up almost constantly.
I finally arrived in Palenque shortly after 6 am. Since the buses to the ruins don’t leave until 7 am, I used the Wi-Fi at the bus terminal to call my family. Finally, I took the bus to the ruins, only to find out that the door to the archaeological park doesn’t open until 7:30 am. After that, it took until 8 am for the ticket office to open. To pass the time, I bought an atole and enjoyed my breakfast of sweet bread that I had bought the day before in San Cristóbal. Thanks to my early arrival, I was in the first group to take the bus to the excavations.
The excavations in Palenque are definitely worth a visit. Since the ancient city was abandoned around the eighth century and gradually overgrown by the jungle, the ruins were not discovered until the 18th century and excavated a few decades later. The buildings of the city that have been excavated so far include the royal palace and pyramid-shaped temples and tombs. In my opinion, there are a surprising number of parallels with Egyptian civilization, even though there are major geographical, temporal, and ethnic differences. Of course, the Maya had a different culture, religion, architecture, language, and writing system, but they also built pyramids, had rulers with divine claims like the pharaohs, and had their own writing system based on symbols. What is particularly interesting about the Maya is their strong focus on astronomical cycles and the important role of the corn plant in their religion. It is also interesting to note that Maya civilization was more decentralized, which is why the various structures are scattered across Mexico and Guatemala. Comparatively, Palenque is not particularly large, but it is well preserved.
After visiting the ruins, I went with my guide into the nearby jungle, where further ruins lie buried under nature, waiting to be excavated. Most of it can only be roughly identified, e.g., whether it was a temple or a residential building, because only scattered stones can be seen on the surface. At one point, however, even a tunnel entrance is visible. There are also many animals roaming free in the jungle. However, it is rather rare to see them. While we were walking through the jungle, we actually encountered a group of howler monkeys, which we were able to observe for several minutes. Unfortunately, they were too high up in the trees to take photos, but the experience was definitely something special for me.
After visiting the excavations, I treated myself to a cold pozol, which is basically the original version of cocoa. In the heat, it’s really the perfect drink and also much healthier than the usual soft drinks you can buy in Mexico. Afterwards, I made a short detour to the nearby archaeological museum, which is relatively small but exhibits some interesting archaeological finds and provides some context through information boards.
Back in the city, I still had a few hours to spare before my bus would take me to nearby Villahermosa, where I had booked a hotel. So I walked around the city center for a while and bought some delicious tacos to eat. The only thing that struck me as unusual in Palenque, compared to other cities in southern Mexico, was a street dedicated to tourists. The street is nicely arranged and lined with numerous hotels and restaurants that are at least twice as expensive as the local restaurants just one street away. However, due to the stifling tropical heat, I was quite happy to arrive at the bus terminal at some point and continue my journey.
Villahermosa
The journey to Villahermosa, the capital of the state of Tabasco, went smoothly and took just over two hours. However, I was surprised to find that there were numerous speed bumps even on the country road. The bus had to slow down repeatedly from high speed in order to pass the speed bumps.
Once I arrived in Villahermosa, I went straight from the bus terminal to the hotel and checked in. Then I went on a tour of the city and walked a good distance along the Río Grijalva. The sidewalk along the river is really nicely done and, even after sunset, is very nice for walking or, theoretically, skating. For dinner, I bought elotes and tamales, which were sold at small stands along the way. I especially liked the tamales.
In the evening, I met a man on the street to whom I was able to tell about the Bible. He believed in God and had traveled extensively throughout Mexico, but was rather disappointed with Christians. I was able to encourage him and explain the gospel more clearly.
Finally, I arrived back at the hotel quite late and went to bed. All the traveling and possibly the constant humming of the air conditioner caused me to oversleep my alarm clock, which I normally set to vibrate, and I woke up just before check-out. So I hurriedly packed my things and set off again.
This time I explored the pedestrian zone and a lake near the center called Laguna de las Ilusiones (Lake of Illusions). In my opinion, there was nothing remarkable to see in most parts of the city, but I really liked the lake, especially because of the beautiful paths and the wide variety of birds that could be seen up close. Towards evening, I bought two more tamales, but different varieties, and a huarache (literally “sandal”) and prepared for my onward journey to Orizaba.
Orizaba
The trip to Orizaba, a small town in the mountains of Veracruz, went well, but I didn’t sleep very well on the bus. When I arrived in Orizaba, I headed for the hotel, but I had to wait until the afternoon to check in. In front of the hotel, I found a beautiful park where I had breakfast and took a break to recover from the night on the bus. I left my luggage at the hotel and called my family from the lobby before heading back to the city center.
Shortly afterwards, Miguel, a teacher from Orizaba, approached me, probably because I was obviously not a local, judging by my sombrero and the rest of my appearance. That day happened to be Teachers’ Day, so Miguel had the day off. We explored the city together and had a long conversation about various topics. Among other things, I told him a bit about my experiences with God, and he told me a lot about the school system and politics in Mexico.
I found it particularly interesting that school is compulsory until the age of 18 in Mexico, with everyone attending the same type of school. Each new government also makes significant changes to the curriculum and educational guidelines. There are still some contracts from the past that date back to corrupt governments, which offered many people government jobs in exchange for money, sometimes without qualifications. At that time, it was also possible to take on several teaching jobs at the same time to supplement one’s salary. This is no longer possible, but due to the large number of teachers with old contracts, Miguel sometimes teaches classes with only eight children.
Traveling with a teacher also had some practical advantages. For example, Miguel was able to take me to the botanical garden for free. Although small, the garden is beautifully maintained and not only features plants, but also has an enclosure for parrots.
Afterwards, he drove me to the Palacio de Hierro (Iron Palace), which was actually designed by Gustave Eiffel. There are numerous small museums there, which we visited. Afterwards, we walked to the equally beautiful government palace and stopped briefly to eat tortas together before I said goodbye and made my way back to the hotel.
Perhaps the constant bus rides or eating on the street didn’t agree with me. In any case, I didn’t feel very well in the evening, had diarrhea, and the night at the hotel was not particularly restful. So in the morning, I stayed at the hotel a little longer than planned to recover. But I felt fit enough again to see one last attraction in the city.
I took the Teleférico (cable car) up a small mountain near the city. From there, you can see the city very well and normally also the highest mountain in Mexico, the Pico de Orizaba. On this day, however, it was very hazy, so unfortunately you couldn’t see very far.
Interestingly, the place also has a special history. During the French intervention in Mexico (due to the suspension of debt repayments and further power claims by Napoleon III), a battle took place there in 1862. The Mexican troops, who were pursuing the French, took up positions on the mountain but were ultimately forced to flee themselves.
After a light lunch, I left the mountain and headed back to the bus terminal, where I would continue on to Veracruz (a city with the same name as the state).