Chiapas, Mexico: April 8 - Road to Hell - San Cristóbal to Palenque

Seventeen years ago I made a vow: I was never going to travel on the road from Palenque to San Cristóbal again. Seventeen years later I broke that vow.

Once again we are taking the public bus on that same road. We leave San Cristóbal at 7:30 in the morning; five and a half torturous hours later we arrive in Palenque. This road must have been designed by a sadist: five and one half hours of endless switchbacks and curves. I survive thanks to a combination of ginger capsules, Dramamine and coca-cola. But just barely. The first time I traveled this route, I blamed my queasiness (and eventual vomiting) on dehydration after a full day under the Palenque sun. This time, I did not have that excuse. It was the road. The road to hell.

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Maya Tulipanes Entrance

Once again, nothing looks familiar. Palenque town looks like nothing we had seen before. How is such memory erasure possible? But we remember we had stayed at the Best Western for $33US a night; now it is $75. This time, we opt to stay at the Maya Tulipanes (http://www.mayatulipanes.com/english/). The quoted price is 1300 pesos; we get the room for two nights for 900 pesos a night. A very comfortable hotel. And with a pool. Essential when the temperature is nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

We grab a bite to eat the Maya restaurant nearby (over-priced for what you get) and walk into town to book the tours for the next two days. As we were going for lunch, we run into the friends who had shared a taxi with us from the Tuxtla Airport to San Cristóbal. They recommend an agency (Na-Ha Agencia de Viajes, Av. Benito Jaurez, next to Hotel Regional, telephone 916-100-78-63; e-mail: na-ha-agencia@live.com to book a tour that the others are not adverting: going to Misol-Há and Agua Azul in the morning and then onto San Cristóbal - without having to return to Palenque. And the agent, Even, is friendly and speaks excellent English. This tour costs 300 pesos. We book it for Tuesday. We also book our all-day tour for the next day, Monday, to Bonampak and Yaxchilán.

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We head back towards the hotel and catch a combi (at the roundabout in front of the Best Western Hotel) out to Palenque. The combi costs 10 pesos a person. The ride to the ruins takes about 10-15 minutes. It is already 3:30pm when we hop on the combi. By the time we got there, we will only have about an hour at the site. That is fine. We had been there 17 years ago. We are just going to refresh our memories. And besides, on Sundays there is free admission to all Mexican archaeological sites. Even if we have an hour, it will cost us nothing.

Palenque

The Palenque ruins are as beautiful as we remembered them. You can also climb all of the structures expect the Temple of the Inscriptions. This surprises us. We thought that all the buildings at all the Mexican sites were off-limits to climbing. Not true.

In one hour we scale as many as we can. At 4:45, guards start clearing the site. Drenched with sweat, we haile a combi and head back to town. After a plunge in the pool, an uninspired meal at the hotel's restaurant, we turn in for the night. Our alarm clock is set for 5:00am, in time for our 6:00 am pick-up.

Palenque

Recommended Restaurants

San Cristóbal del las Casas

Anabanana (Av. Miguel Hidalgo between Calles Ninos Héroes and Hermanos Domínguez) - Wonderful lunch spot.
Pizzeria El Punto (Calle Comitán 13-A - across from Plaza El Cerillo) - Delicious pizzas and inventive salads.
TierrAdentro (Calle Real de Gaudalupe 24)
Madre Tierra (An Insurgentes 19)
Eliliano's Moustache (Av. Cresencio Rosas 7)
L'Arrabbiata (84 Real de Guadalupe - one block east from where the walking portion ends.) - Great homemade pasta.
Restaurante Italiano - housed in the Hotel Posada Tepeyac on Calle de Gaudalupe No. 40 - Terrific breakfast.
Via Vai on Av. 20 de Noviembre (near the cathedral) - Gelato and other yummies.

Recommended Reading For Travel to Chiapas

"Moon Chiapas Handbook" - The most region-specific guidebook available. Unfortunately, the last edition was published in 2009. Consequently, many city maps are unreliable; many restuarants and businesses listed had either moved or closed. But it contains great cultural information.
"Lonely Planet's Tabasco & Chiapas Chapters" - Available for download from the Lonely Planet website. No need to get the entire Lonely Planet Mexico Guide. Again, good but dated (2009) information.
"Cadogan's Yucatan & Southern Mexico" by Nick Rider. No longer published. The edition I have is from 1999. Obviously, not reliable for specifics of hotels, restaurants and general prices but one of the best written guides to the area.
"An Archaeological Guide to Central & Southern Mexico" by Joyce Kelly. Though the latest edition was published in 2001, it offers detailed information on the major sites and archaeological museums.
"The Lawless Roads" by Graham Greene. Originally published in 1939. Chronicles his travels through Mexico but with a large and final section on the State of Chiapas. Heavy on Catholocism. And some ingrained British prejudices. But you can forgive him these excesses because the writing is marvelous. Served as the basis for his novel, "The Power and the Glory".
"More Maya Missions" by Richard D. Perry. Narrow in scope but offers an abundance of information (and charming black and white illustrations) on the churches in San Cristobal de las Casas and its surroundings.
"Fodor's Mexico 2010" - Not the Fodor's guides of 20 years ago. Better. Their chapter on Tabasco and Chiapas is concise and more up-to-date than the other guides. Yes, it is aimed at higher-end travelers but the guides have broadened in their focus. They are even useful to middle-range and budget travelers. Really.
"Colonial Mexico" by Chicki and Oz Mallan. Short chapter on San Cristobal de las Casas. Great book to own - again, even though published in 2001 - especially if you plan on visiting other Mexican colonial cities.