Chiapas Highlands to Chetemal, Feb. 14-18
Four days at Palenque
on the edge of the Chiapas highlands provided a feast of tropical
birdlife, Mayan ruins, and today's Mayan rural culture. Our
pleasant campground was also the site of a hilarious festival of
competitive performances orchestrated by our social secretary Pat
Yoder. The world class archaeological site adjacent to our
campground proved in addition to be a world class birding site.
One day we enjoyed an excursion higher into the mountains to view the cascading cataracts of Agua Azul along with equally impressive birds. An even more spectacular excursion for multiple wonders carried us to remote Bonampak deep in the jungle on the Guatemala border. Because of persistent unrest in the area we traveled with local guides. The ruins at Bonampak are among the most recently excavated and feature the most extravagant Mayan murals ever discovered.
A special experience on this excursion was lunch at a remote Mayan village.
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| Afternoon social (H) | Fun and
games (F) Cecile Magyar, Chris Tenney |
Our guide to
the ruins (H) Carolyn, Sue Hertz, Brenda Wright, Ray Hillesheim |
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| Turistas (F) | The Palace (H) | Temple of the Inscriptions (H) |
One day we enjoyed an excursion higher into the mountains to view the cascading cataracts of Agua Azul along with equally impressive birds. An even more spectacular excursion for multiple wonders carried us to remote Bonampak deep in the jungle on the Guatemala border. Because of persistent unrest in the area we traveled with local guides. The ruins at Bonampak are among the most recently excavated and feature the most extravagant Mayan murals ever discovered.
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| Bonampak ruins (H) | Murals (Wr) | Bonampak birding (Wr) |
A special experience on this excursion was lunch at a remote Mayan village.
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| Chow line (H) Virginia Landeck, Pat Coe, Virginia & Ralph Wiggers, Chris Tenney, John Powles, Gwen Woodhouse, Lee Yoder |
Our
host (Wr) Coen Dexter, Chris Tenney, Charlie, Bert Frenz |
First course - okay (F) |
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| Main course - not bad (F) | Cleanup crew (M) | Precious
shade (Wr) Charlie, Carolyn, Marianne Gentemann |
A long day's drive across the lonely base of the Yucatan peninsula brought us to Chetemal, only a few miles from the border of Belize. Arriving late at the "Sunrize on the Caribbean" RV park, Harry and his passengers found that margaritas and a site by the sea had been saved for them.
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| Sunset at "Sunrize on the Caribbean" (F) | Harry (M) | Overdue margaritas (F) |
Initials appended to photos indicate copyright (2003) by (F) Bert Frenz; (H) Dan and Sue Hertz; (M) Carolyn Merchant; and (Wr) Brenda Wright.