The ride from Palenque was a little over 2 hours. On the way, we were stopped and a guy got on the bus to make sure that none of us were illegally coming from Guatemala. They asked Katharine and I where we were from and asked to see our passports…apparently we look pretty Guatemalan. When we got to Villahermosa, it was already 9:30 or so. We shared a cab with another lady. The taxi driver spoke super fast but he was really funny. He gave us suggestions for places to go, and would start backing up to show us different things, like the cathedral, and a museum.
Cathedral:
The hotel was nice, and the air conditioning was again appreciated.
Thursday we slept in a bit, got some breakfast, and went to La Venta museum. We took a taxi there. I liked the taxi system here because you share taxis with other people, which is more economical and environmentally friendly, and to go pretty much anywhere in the city costs 20 pesos. What a deal.
Anyway, La Venta park/museum has 30 Olmec monuments that were found in La Venta (archeological site close to the Veracruz border), but were moved here because of petroleum or something. It's most famous for the Olmec heads, which way about a bajillion tons.
It was kind of something I figured we should do, but I ended up loving it. To our surprise, it was a zoo too! The first thing we saw after walking in was monkeys, so we were pretty content.
The “museum” is all outside along a nice little pathway through nature.
this little critter was all over the place:
We spent a few hours there and then continued outside, to walk along the lagoon.
One couple pointed out a baby crocodile to us. There was a tower, so we climbed up that too.
This picture has the tower:
You can see the massive cathedral that the taxi driver showed us the night before:
going back down...there's Katharine at the bottom:
We returned to our hotel and asked them to point us to a cheap restaurant nearby. Well, it was a restaurant, and it had a nice view, but it wasn’t exactly what we meant by cheap. We figured it was ok though, as we would only be eating two meals that day. We walked through the downtown area again, which was cute, but didn’t really have any historical value that I could see. It also didn’t help that we didn’t have a map, though.
Later that night, we decided to take advantage of the fact that there was a pool. We had heard that you could go swimming in one of the waterfalls by the ruins in Palenque, which we were really excited about because it was so hot, but that wasn’t the case. So, we were glad to finally have the chance. We went for a lovely swim, despite the fact that the pool was crowded with 13 and 14 year old boys who were there for soccer.
Friday we were all set to go on a tour to Pantanos de Centla which is a biosphere with some rivers that open to the ocean and animals. It’s on the list of the 13 wonders of Mexico, so I was pretty excited.
A picture of the greatness we would have seen:
We got to La Venta at 9 like the tour people told us to do, despite the fact that we knew the tour didn’t actually leave until 9:30. It was raining. Around 9:40, they told us we’d be leaving in 10 minutes. Around 10, we finally left. Ten minutes into the ride, the guide got a call that we couldn’t go, as the boats wouldn’t be giving tours in the rain. (It's a good thing we decided to go with a tour, we would have had to have gone to the bus station and ride a bus two hours there only to find out we couldn't see much). So we went back to La Venta to pick a new route, and we were off to a chocolate plantation. The guide who gave the tour mumbled a lot, and there was a lot of noise, so I didn’t really catch too much. He was nice to look at though, so that helped.
Flowers of the cacao plant (I think):
chocolate (almost)
After trying the chocolate after various stages of production, none of which tasted good, we finally got to taste the finished product with added sugar and all. Delicious. We bought some chocolate and were on our way to the Comalcalco Ruins.
We went through the little museums and were on to the ruins. I was a little ruined out, but it was still interesting because of the buildings – they were built in layers of different materials, and the top layer is bricks.
We then went to Paraíso, which translates to paradise, which is a beach town on the Atlantic Ocean (we were so close to seeing both oceans during our trip!). If we had had more time, we were going to spend a day here. The tour guide took us to a restaurant on Rio Seco (dry river), and we sat down. We started to read the menu only to notice that all of the food was seafood. So, we ordered drinks, ate their chips, and went for a walk down the river.
pelican along the river:
After being whistled, honked and yelled at (we were starting to think that it had been years since these guys had seen a woman), an older guy (I don’t know, maybe in his 40s?) whistled at us and called beautiful, and then after he passed us, asked us where we were from in Spanish and then in English. So, we started talking to him, and he gave us a little history on the town, and asked what we were doing there and everything. He said he was glad that we trusted him enough to talk to him, as most Americans fear that they’re going to be robbed. It was broad day light on a busy street, so I wasn’t too concerned, but the thought had crossed my mind. After asking if he could see us again, (perhaps coming to visit us in our respective cities), our tour guide showed up in perfect timing to tell us it was time to go. Seriously, the people here are so friendly, they’re really open and interested in what you’re doing, and I love that. However, a lot of them ruin it by being creepy.
We returned to Villahermosa, ordered a pizza, and began to pack. I decided to go for a swim as the pool was empty since it was raining. I was swimming laps when I hear some whistles and yelling. The boys from the soccer team were standing in a window a few floors up watching me. Cool. So I continue swimming as if I can’t hear them, and a few of them decide to come down to the pool. They start talking to me, asking if I’ll take a picture with them (which I politely declined), where I’m from, and what room I was in. Eventually one of their parents came down and they all left. The boys here sure start young…
Saturday we woke up, finished packing, and grabbed breakfast. We went out to the lobby to ask about getting a cab, and the boys soccer team was out there waiting for their bus. Then, one of their DADS asked if they could take a picture with us. We asked why, and their dad said “two beautiful girls, why not?” Good to see that their dad encourages this.
We got a taxi to the airport and eventually got on our flight. The rules in Mexico regarding what you can take on a plane are so much more relaxed. The flight was under two hours. They played classical music, it made the flight feel so fancy.
I ended up seeing the Atlantic:
We claimed our baggage and found the bus station, which is right in the airport. Katharine’s bus was leaving immediately, and I only had to wait 20 minutes. A three hour bus ride to Querétaro, a call to mis padres who offered to pick me up, a short car ride, and I was home again.
New Food: coco con piloncillo. A dessert thing that looked like a piece of cake. It's made of coconut and sugar cane. Sounds good, but I really didn't like it.
Photos: Villahermosa
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