Mayan Ruins - Yaxchilan, Bonampak, Palenque - Days 39 and 40

We left San Cristobal on the morning of day 38, for a short 215 km to Palenque. There are numerous archaeological sites containing Mayan ruins along the border between Mexico and Guatemala, and Palenque is one of the largest in the area. Once there, we found a hotel, which would be our base camp for the next 2 days.

On the following day, we decided to check out two smaller sites, Bonampak and Yaxchilan, which are right by the border with Guatemala. Mihai has visited the larger ruins in Palenque on a previous trip, and he wanted to see something new. We agreed to start with the smaller sites, as according to Mihai, I would have been disappointed by these if I saw the large site first. So 160 km and too many topes (speed bumps) later, we were in Bonampak at 10 am. The site is indeed very small. A few pictures:

View of the Largest Building at the Bonampak Site

Ancient Mayan mural, which has undergone restoration.

View from the largest building on the Bonampak site

It took us about 1.5 hours to see Bonampak, and while taking our sweet time. The ruins are quite small, and unless you are a Mayan civilization buff, it is not worth the detour, in my opinion. I did enjoy the visit, but if you've seen Palenque, you will not be impressed (Mihai was right about that one..hehe).

We then jumped back on the bikes and rode another 40 km to the Yaxchilan site. Now this was more interesting. The ruins are only accessible by the Usumacinta river. We hired a boat, and 45 minutes later we were there. The site is indeed larger, and not crowded at all, since the access is a little more complicated (and pricey.. the admission fee is only about 2-3$, but the boat ride set us back 30$, after negotiations). A few pictures:

Boat ride on the Rio Usumacinta

On the left, Mexico. On the right, Guatemala. 

In the Jungle

Big ass trees!

Heading back to our boat after the visit. The return takes an extra 20-30 mins. because the boat is going against a pretty strong current.  

Sometime during the night, Mihai got sick (food poisoning). Therefore, the next day I went to see the Palenque site on my own, since he was laying in bed KO. I was really glad to leave the hotel, for obvious reasons..lol. The ruins are only about 10 km, and although quite crowded, they are impressive and do indeed blow the doors off Bonampak and Yaxchilan. Again, a few photos:

Ongoing restoration in some areas.