Yaxchilan on the Guatamala Border

  The drive to Yaxchilan from Pelenque is about 100 miles southwest. The road is fairly new and these ruins, as well as nearby Bonampak, have not been readily accessible until the last five or six years. You used to have to fly there and I don't know how close you even got to Yaxchilan! We drove to a village on the Usumacinta River, which forms the border between Guatemala and Mexico, and then took a thirty-mile round trip boat ride to view the ruins. These Mayan ruins date around 600 A.D. We camped at the place where you rent the boat to get to the ruins. The restaurant was really good and in their menu they had a little blurb that I thought was super interesting. They mentioned how any money spent in their area was much appreciated as it supported their way of life (these are indigenous people - not Spanish) and that if they made any mistakes in their service for us to please be tolerant as they were new to civilization, so to speak. They were great! We got there in the afternoon and took a walk. Well, low and behold, the monkeys were in the trees nearby the river! Mike spotted them first and I'm just so glad we had both the video and the still camera with us. There were a total of six monkeys in this one tree - eating the flower buds or something. And babies, even. It was pretty neat. They were howler monkeys but they weren't howling then.  They did that later! And very loudly. It was amazing to see the monkeys and Guatemala right across the river. Truly amazing. We left for the ruins on the first boat in the morning. These ruins are beautiful and totally different from Pelenque. It was super hot and we only had two hours to see the entire area. It wasn't enough...... What a wonderful, and so remote, place. And we were the only ones there for a bit - the first boat to arrive other than workers. We had a yummy lunch at the restaurant after the boat trip to the ruins. They had the best french fries we've had in Mexico so far!! Then we drove back towards Pelenque to the ruins of Bonampak. Stay tuned....