We were up early and walked around looking for somewhere to get breakfast. Everywhere seemed to be shut at 08:00 hrs. but we found a touristy place for a very pleasant “Desayuno Americano”, a treat to be served something without the dreaded refried beans (frijoles) that looked like a pile of shit on the side of your plate.
We sat in the zocalo and watched the shoeshine men while local indigenous Indian girls tried to sell us shawls and ornate woven wrist bands. We went on to climb a daunting number of steps to a church on a hill which dominated the town. At the top we found an unusual crucifix made entirely out of car number plates.
Coming down a grubby urchin girl ran out of a hovel and grabbed my thumb and little finger, refusing to let go even when I lifted her feet from the ground. Declan chortled and took her photo as she dangled from my fingers above the steps. I gave her 100 Mexican Pesos and she let go and gleefully scampered off.
In the town many indigenous Indian folk were carrying live chickens and turkeys upside down by their legs on their way to market. Others sold nasty plastic household goods. We bought some “Carta Blanca” beer which cost 1,600 Mexican Pesos for 940 ml. and retired to our hotel room in boredom.
We have bought tickets for the bus to Palenque tomorrow at 06:00 hrs. Palenque, also anciently known as Lakamha (literally: "Big Water"), was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km (81 miles) south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 meters (490 ft) above sea level. It contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.
This place is deadsville. Our hotel manager has taken a liking to us. “Margaret Thatcher is the Iron Lady”, he said gleefully, “she showed Colonel Gaddafi what for”! In 1986 The UK Prime Minister made the decision to support the United States military action against terrorist targets in Libya by bombing.
We lay about until we got bored and then went on another walkabout. We had coffee in a dead café where the waitress was playing a game of Patience with a pack of cards and we watched The Smurfs on television. We found a nice-looking Chinese restaurant and decided to return later for a meal.
We bought some bread, jam and cheese spread in a huge supermarket to make sandwiches for tomorrows long coach journey. At 19:00 hrs. we set off for the Chinese restaurant. The town was quite lively for once, everybody seemed to be out shopping and shutters had been removed to reveal cavernous department shops.
We had a great chicken curry with rice and vegetables and then popped into “Rick’s Café American” for a tequila and a coke. It seemed to be a brand-new establishment with simple wooden furniture and good music. Unfortunately, it was devoid of clientele.
We retired for an early night and slept well until the alarm clock buzzed at 05:00 hrs.
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