From San Cristóbal I took a bus to the town of Palenque, making a few stops along the way...

Agua Azul is a large complex of beautiful waterfalls and turquoise pools, some of which visitors can swim in. There are paths leading up through the jungle to see different parts of the river and waterfalls. Along the path are many little shops and stalls plus some restaurants and lodgings.

As the bus approached Agua Azul some people came and blocked the road, begging for money and trying to sell things. It looked a bit tense for a moment but the bus drivers refused to open the doors so they eventually gave up and let us through. Inside the Agua Azul complex there were lots of young children selling bananas.

Then we went to Mizol-Ha, where there is one tall, narrow, waterfall that fell into a large pool and was surrounded by jungle.

Further along the road we stopped at the ruins of an ancient Mayan city in the jungle at Palenque - a very impressive site with some huge pyramids and towers, it was much more complex than the previous ruins I had seen in Mexico. There were wall-carvings telling stories and depicting gods.

That night we stayed at a cool new hostel in the jungle on the edge of Palenque town and went to the Happy Fish restaurant nearby for dinner where we were entertained by a traditional mariachi band. Back at the hostel, the staff and some random people were having drinks in the bar and Helena and I stayed up for a while chatting to Estuardo from Guatemala.