Today will go down as one of the most "interesting" days I have ever had when travelling. We set off from San Cristobal, bound for Palenque. We had been warned that we may come across roadblocks set up by protesting indigenous people. They are protesting against unfair taxes and land acquisitions. With this in mind we set off in our mini van. We hit the first roadblock about an hour later. Being surrounded by some aggressive men with machetes and batons was an eye opener to say the least. It seemed they weren't interested in us but merely using our vehicle as a means to stop other vehicles, principally utes, that they could commandeer to load up with their people. About 20-30 minutes later we were allowed to head off in a convoy of about 6 utes loaded up with the protesters. Everything was going along okay and then we were stopped again, this time in a town. No real threats just a delay and the payment of some money and we were again on our way. Not long after another roadblock. A rope across the road accompanied by boards with 3 inch nails driven through them to create a set of spikes capable of deflating a tyre. Another conversation between our driver and the protesters, the payment of some more money and we were again on our way. The next road block however things were a little more serious. Apparently someone in the village had been killed by a person from another village and a manhunt was on. These people were angry and agitated and not only did they have machetes and sharpened bamboo poles, about every 4th person was carrying a pistol. Even some of the children and women had weapons of some sort. This was serious. About 10 minutes of negotiations and the payment of some more money and we were on our way. All of this about 5 minutes from a police checkpoint we had passed through. We had all gone very quiet and weren't sure what was up ahead of us. We soon found out. A commandeered police vehicle parked across the road. We got around this one in no time. A little further on we saw a burning house. No one was in sight. About 200 metres further on there was another. Clearly they had been deliberately lit. Probably done in retribution. Fortunately we didn't come across any further roadblocks and our swim at Agua Azul was a welcome relief as was lunch at Misol Ha. We arrived in Palenque with the reality of life clearly implanted in our memories.