Colourblind

After getting some yogurt and granola bars at a shop for breakfast, we were off for the day on a trip south to see some waterfalls. The drive out of Palenque was windy and full of lush jungle views. Our first stop was at the waterfall of Misol-Ha, about 20km south. It´s a massive fall 35m high, the water pounding down into a large, deep pool. It is set in a beautiful jungle, and there is a path that leads right around to the back of the falls so we were able to see it from behind as well. This is where some of the movie Predator was filmed. The water was too cold for a swim, but it was a lovely spot.

Not much further south along the winding road, we stopped at Agua Clara. We are not really sure why we stopped here, as there was nothing spectacular to see. We walked across a suspension bridge over the Rio Shumulhà, fending off kids selling bread and corn. `Agua Clara` means ´Clear Water´ but there was nothing clear about this water. It was a nice spot, but not really worth the stop.

Our last stop for the afternoon was Agua Azul. We arrived around lunchtime at this series of waterfalls cascading along the river in the middle of the jungle. Once again, I think maybe they got the name wrong, as ´Agua Azul´ means `Blue Water´ but it wasn´t really blue, more of a cloudy green jade colour. We walked up and up the path, past more and more small falls, but we were disappointed by all of the signs saying that we were not allowed to swim. The currents are strong and it´s dangerous, but we thought we were going for an afternoon of waterfall swimming. After some lunch at one of the many stands selling the same thing, we took a quick dip in the calm waters at the base of the lowest fall. The water was freezing but very refreshing on such a hot, humid afternoon. We then spent the remainder of our time there just watching the many Mexican families there for a Sunday afternoon of swimming. It was fun to watch all the boys swing over the water from a rope swing, and the parents and grandparents swimming with the kids.

We drove directly back to Palenque, where we grabbed a few beers and relaxed in our hotel room for a while. We then walked around town a bit, snacking on fresh corn bought from a street vendor, slathered with lime, mayonnaise (none for Kel), salt, parmesan cheese, and of course chili. It was delicious. We wandered around the market stalls in the town square again, had some more fantastic pork tacos (tacos al pastor) for dinner and then headed off to bed.