We were on the bus from Campeche to Palenque today, a six hour journey with just a couple of rest stops (and one stop for the Army to check the people and bags on board - obviously too close to the Guatemala border at the time!!). There was not much to see in the way of scenery, Campeche state, like the rest of the Yucatán peninsula is, as flat as a pancake. As we entered Chiapas and neared Palenque, the ground began rise and fall slightly and there were clearings for farming cattle. In the distance, the hills rose dramatically - this according to Lonely Planet, was the backdrop at the Mayan Ruins of Palenque.

We had no accommodation booked, we wanted to stay in El Panchán, a small 'village' of accommodation with one bar in the jungle closest the ruins. We had tried to book ahead by phoning but there was no answer and the website for simply said "Just turn up, we have plenty of room"...so we did.

We jumped into a Colectivo at the Palenque bus station for the short ride to El Panchán. We were dropped at the side of the road with a dusty track heading into the jungle. A few signs with arrows suggested it was the correct way to go, so packs on backs, we started walking. It wasn't long before we came across Don Mucho's restaurant and bar so we knew we were on the right track, so to speak. After a few more bends, Margaritas and Ed's was at the end of the road and as far into the jungle as you could go. We even managed to get the room furthest away from the track, so we were definately as far into the jungle as possible - the experience we were hoping for. The room was huge with windows on three of the walls, all protected by mozzie screens, so we were going to be able to listen to the sounds of the jungle too.

It was dark by the time we headed out for dinner and the track was not so easy to follow. We ended up walking through the 'Travellers' village, a maze of accommodation and random shacks selling beer, food & jewelery. Don Muchu's turned out to be a very smart looking restaurant with a candlelit atmosphere, it wouldn't be out of place in any city albeit in a jungle setting. The menu was mainly Italian and they even made wood-fired pizza - that made the choice easy, some quesadillas to start followed by a Mexicana pizza. The quesadillas weren't great, Maria even said that David makes better ones at home. The pizza, however, was delicious - the freshest of ingredients piled high on a perfect crispy Italian pizza base. Even the jalapeños were fresh, sliced lengthways into big chunks instead of the usual small disks. We have become very used to the Habanero salsas of the Yucatán so the pizza needed a splash of local Tabasco salsa to heat things up.