Be warned this is a long post 3 days of catching up to do….It is Thursday evening and I am in the parking area of a restaurant in a little village called Yaxchilan, which is right on the border with Guatemala. This is also the place where the boats leave to visit the ruins that can only be accessed by water. It was just over a three-hour drive and Ramona is settled in and had a wash and spruced up inside and I think she is really glad to get away from those hippie type people and their ugly vans. Here it is very quiet, really in the middle of nowhere and she is the only one parked. There is absolutely nothing here except the restaurant a few small stores and a tiny village. The ruins up until recently were only available to fly in guests but the advent of a new road has opened up the area.

Tomorrow I will take the early boat to visit the ruins and then drive another 25 miles to another famous ruins and spend the night there and tour the ruins the next day before I head back to Palenque. After that I start my journey to Cancun to pick up my brother on 2nd March.

It has been a slow day for me with a day off from seeing anything so I have done a lot of reading and thinking. It is day 90 of my journey and I have just looked at a map and I have come a long way this is almost as far south as I go. So far over 6000 miles driven and I must confess as I look at the other kind of Rv I was contemplating buying, a smaller more compact one, that I am so happy to have got Ramona. Her size is perfect, she is a pleasure to drive, has a big engine and lots of room and I am very pleased with all aspects of her.

My journey has included the odd incident of concern but on the whole a very happy and pleasant experience. I have been blessed to be in the company of some very special friends old and new and many people I have met only briefly have had an impact on my life. I have witnessed spectacular sights, imbibed in wonderful cultures and the people of this country are proud and loving. The Maya people are especially wonderful and there are so different to the people of the other regions. The little villages that I pass through are like going back in time, the colourful costumes that they wear and they always seem to be carrying something on their heads. So many stories to tell and so many happy memories.

Going for a walk down by the river now, have great evening, blessings.


It is now Friday evening and Ramona and I are parked in this little out of the way roadside restaurant where camping is allowed. It is beautifully treed and the waterfall in the photograph is maybe 50 feet away and no one else is around.. I am about 3 miles from the ruins at Bonampak, which I shall visit in the morning, again these are very remote and close to the Guatemalan border.

To set you up for today’s ruins you have to drive 85 miles from Palenque, then 12 miles down a dusty road to the river. Then take a boat ride for 45 minutes through lush jungle and rain forest and then you arrive in the absolute middle of nowhere. This time you not only hear the howler monkeys but also if you look really close you see them and you say to yourself how on earth did these people all those years ago construct these buildings. How did they transport all the materials and rocks, so many unanswered questions? These ruins are not as spectacular as the ones I have already seen but what makes them so special is their incredible remote location. Sit back and enjoy the RUINS OF YAXCHILAN.

It is now Saturday evening and I am back in Palenque staying in another paved area of a small hotel just outside the town. The facilities here are fabulous with a river and a pool. I leave here tomorrow for the long drive that will take me to the Caribbean Coast.
I had a good nights sleep last night and was put to sleep by the noise of the cascading waterfall. Up about 7.30am and it was already warm and got ready to explore the ruins. Logistically there was a problem as I was about 5 miles from the ruins and I didn’t want to drive Ramona there in case there was no where to park so I subjected myself to the fact I either take the bike or walk and try and catch a ride. I decided to walk and here we go again, not walked 50 yards when a taxi came along and he drove me the 5 miles to the entrance. I do not wish to sound irreverent here but the taxi driver looked like an overweight Jesus. He had long black hair and a goatee and moustache and wore a long flowing white robe, he was very friendly and jabbered away the whole time to me in Spanish with me replying si and no and nodding my head. At the entrance I tried to pay him but I gathered he was saying no he would wait here for me till I returned, so off I went to the ruins of Bonampak. It was about 8.30am and it was lovely nobody else here, too early for the tour buses. Although these ruins are small in area and not as magnificent in grandeur as the other what makes them special again are their remoteness and also the coloured murals to be found. After I finished seeing the ruins I came back to the parking area and there was my driver waiting for me and he drove me back to where Ramona was parked about 7 miles and the cost for his services was 50 pesos, less than 5 dollars. What another great example of the luck and good fortune I continue to have.

OK you are 75 miles from Palenque and then another 5 miles down a gravel road and in the midst of a lush green rain forest. No one is around and of course to greet you the now familiar sounds of the Howler monkeys. Another noise attracts your attention this is a loud screeching and cawing noise and you look up and catch glimpses of the colourful yellow macaws (spelling) flying from tree to tree. You have the place to yourself now sit back, relax and enjoy the RUINS OF BONAMPAK….