We're finally at Palenque the ruins I've heard most about. Even though I'm dying to see them I still spend my morning washing my clothes for the first time on the trip and it seems to take hours. Around 4pm Daren, Chris, Katie, Marc & I leave the camping spot to go to the ruins. Decide to take a short-cut through the jungle but are soon stopped by two men in uniforms with big, huge guns! They make us go back on the main road where we hitch a ride. We make it to Palenque just in time to see the ruins in the perfect evening sun, wow, how beautiful! Here another one of Mel's pictures:

Later we go to Queen's Bath; a beautiful waterfall with a niche underneath the rock. Since we're all so hot be decide to take a dip even though the Zapetistas are watching us... The water's freezing but very refreshing.
 

Here the view from inside the niche - behind the waterfall.

When we get back to the camp it's already almost completely dark and most are sitting at the bar. Soon we make dinner and Chris makes a bet for $50 with Andy that he can't eat a whole pepper (you know the really, really spicey kind). Little does Chris know that Andy has been eating them for months now - so Andy wins the money! He does start looking green after a while and just shovels rice into himself for the next hour or so to ease the burning! Poor thing, but $50 is $50! Later we hear the monkeys screaming in the jungle and decide to go away from the camp to be closer to them. We take some beers along and lay on the road which is still warm from the afternoon sun. What a feeling it is to be lying on the warm road on such a beautiful night listening to the monkeys! A great moment.
 
 
 
 

The next day we drive for a bit to Misol-Ha - a great, big waterfall. We have a couple of hours to lay in the sun and explore. So we throw ourselves into the freezing water and swim towards the waterfall. Underneath it we stand on the rocks and let the water hit us hard. Great feeling. Right nearby there is a cave that Daren and I decide to explore and find other tourists and tortoisites! There is a river and another waterfall inside the dark cave, thank God somebody has a flashlight! Later we all have lunch at the restaurant (poor waiters!) and drive for a couple of hours to Agua Azul. Here a flick of sweet Andy and Mel during the drive.