Three days and two nights have been spent in a little town called Palenque. The town is named after the locals ruins that are found just a 10 mins ride away.

Similarly as to when I visited Chichen Itza, I feel like it was an information overload!

Palenque was the third and last set of ruins that I'll see on this tour. It's fitting because the best was saved for last in my opinion. Tikal was nice because there weren't many tourists. It was grand and beautiful and hidden within a a jungle filled with wildlife and exotic trees and plant life, but I remember walking away feeling like I hadn't learned very much about the ancient Mayan people. Granted, they don't know very much.

Chichen Itza was the biggest and there was a lot to be learned about their culture. The massive ball court, ceremonial temples, burials, and sacrificial sites such at the cenotes where (Yes Julie L) people where sacrificed as well as other things such as pottery, jewelry, etc... allowing them a greater understanding of the people and traditions of the ancient Mayans there. The down side to this site is that its virtually been cleared of trees and wildlife and it's packed with tourists!! My ex-tour leader who, he himself has a Mayan background couldn't help but comment that all the sellers and tourist were desecrating this important ceremonial site.

Palenque was all that, and a bag of chips!!! lol It's an amazing site nestled in the deep jungle. This site is mainly impressive to me because of all the artifacts that have been found here! (pictures to follow)
Our tour guide at Palenque was also extremely knowledgable about Mayan culture and calendars including the last date due to take place on December 21, 2012.

Overall what I've learned, especially when we look at these massive Mayan structures is that the Mayans were a very advanced culture. I've seen carvings depicting the creation of man which included carvings of men in Roman military outfits, American Indians with their feather headdresses, and many more. I've also seen a Mayan that looked like he was flying a ship of some sort, and toys for children with 4 wheels that look like little cars but in the shape of animals, yet the Mayan supposedly hadn't invented the wheel. ??

When you take this all into consideration you have to admit that nearly everything we think we know about the Mayan culture is an assumption which very well could be wrong. They try to tell us that the Mayans were a primitive culture but the reality is that they were anything but.

Therefore, I believe the Mayans when they say that that on Dec 21 2012 (they are very exact about this date) "the world will not end. It will be transformed."

Here's a little exert of an article i recently read:
"We are living in the most important era of the Mayan calendars and prophecies. All the prophecies of the world, all the traditions are converging now. There is no time for games. The spiritual ideal of this era is action." ("action", being the keyword)

"All was predicted by the mathematical cycles of the Mayan calendars. -- It will change --everything will change. Mayan Day-keepers view the Dec. 21, 2012 date as a rebirth, the start of the World of the Fifth Sun. It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator and the Earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy."

"At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world's spiritual traditions."

"Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel for cosmic energy to flow through the Earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all to a higher level of vibration."
*Source: SERI-Worldwide: "What the Mayan Elders are Saying About 2012 by Carlos Barrios"

When you read these words, if your like me, you may want to consider full implication of what they are telling us. We must ignore Hollywood's attempt to make us believe that a) The Mayans were primitive and savage, and b) that world will end on 12/21/12.

I strongly believe, after having seen the Mayan temples/ruins that implemented dates and seasons within their construction that the above assumptions are false and that we should heed their call to raise our vibration.

Different levels of love and hate are often viewed as a "vibration" on the 4th dimensional plane. An increase in love in our individual and collective conciousness can be considered to be raising our vibration.
We must also work towards learning to cultivate, harvest and preserve food and in essences live as one with mother earth.
K.. those are my two cents! take it or leave it. :D
~

I'm now on my way to San Cristobal. It's beautiful ride although the roads are twisting and turning so much that just about everybody is complaining that they're feeling sick. Here's a short 2min video as a little sample.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMkipTef_6o

I guess I don't have much else to say about Palenque as a town. It's cute :) Lots of bars and restaurants and the people here are nice. Totally a nice place to visit. Be warned... it's hot! Actually hmmm here's one more little video.. a mini vlog, from when I got lost at the Palenque ruins and had to walk 1.5k back to the entrance lol good times!! (nsfw.. I'm shirtless!! lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtSah5jsEuY

With love,
Mike