Palenque

Well, the worst part of the Bad Time came to a conclusion just in time because it was time to visit Palenque. Palenque is an ancient Mayan city that was active between 100 b.c. and 800 a.d. Palenque disappeared into the jungle after that but is now being excavated, although, to date, archaeologists estimate that only about five percent of the site has been unearthed.

We hired a local guide at the gate to give us some insight to the site and he was pretty helpful. When you first enter the site, you come upon the Palace and the Temple of the Inscriptions. The buildings sit in a complex with other temples that are in greater states of disrepair. The Palace and Temple of Inscriptions, however, are breathtaking. Palenque is perhaps most notable in that it was the first Mayan site in which archaeologists were able to locate the remains of Mayan rulers. In 1952, Alberto Ruz Lhuillier found a passageway to the sarcophagus of Pakal the Great, who ruled Palenque for 68 years during the seventh century. The sarcophagus was found in the Temple of the Inscriptions and is currently housed in the Palenque museum, which is on-site.

We climbed up to the top of the Palace and continued on our way through the site, past the aqueduct. The other impressive area at Palenque is the Temple of the Cross complex, which includes the Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Foliated Cross. We climbed to the top of each one. I’m not sure exactly why. Nice views, I guess. There were remnants of art in each of the buildings but not enough to justify climbing to the top of a temple in a rainforest in order to see them. Nevertheless, the Bad Time was over and I was enjoying myself.

After visiting a few other structures at Palenque, we made our way over to the museum. It’s not a large museum and there aren’t a lot of pieces in it. The prize piece has to be the sarcophagus of Pakal the Great, which is housed in its own air-conditioned room. There are also various pieces of jewelry, masks, pottery and other items that have been recovered from the site. The museum as a whole is nothing spectacular in its own right, but it’s worth a visit if you’re already there.

After Mayan ruins, it was time for some fútbol. It was Tuesday and the Champions League was in action so a Canadian Chelsea supporter and I went looking for a television on which to watch the match. First, we stopped for the best tacos I’ve ever eaten. Then, I got to use my mad Spanish skills to find a restaurant that had a television and would allow us to watch whatever match was on. It turned out to be Real Madrid and Lyon, which finished 1-1.

That evening, we boarded another overnight bus, this time from Palenque to Merida. Unlike the overnight bus a few nights before, I took my sleeping tablets before the ride. I also took another sleeping tablet that my French Canadian roommate had given me. He is my new hero. I have to say that even though the seats barely reclined on this overnight bus, I had the best sleep I’ve had the entire time I’ve been in Mexico. Thank you, modern science!!!

The Bad Time - Mexican Edition

The Bad Time always comes. It’s cyclical and I never know when it’s going to hit, but I can usually sense it coming within a few days of its arrival. When it first hits me, generally, I can fight it off if I try hard enough and if I can find people with whom I can ride the waves. Eventually, though, the Bad Time becomes too overwhelming to ignore. Usually, it waits until I am having a good time and then it is triggered by something, often something meaningless, and I become debilitatingly depressed.

This time, the Bad Time hit me in San Cristobal. After going to a wine bar and having probably a bottle or so of wine, we went to a club for some dancing and additional drinks. I didn’t drink at this club, but I was still having a good time. Then, the Bad Time came on like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. I was by myself, outside of the club, for about ten minutes and couldn’t overcome the feelings of sadness and loneliness that for some reason choose random moments to appear. This happens to me with less frequency than it used to, and I have a lot of experience with it, but it frightens me when it happens because I know that I’m not functioning with a fully rational mind when it happens. It often hits me while I’m drinking. (I know, right? Alcohol-induced depression. Who would have thought such a thing possible?) As I’ve always done in these situations, I went “Darkman” as a friend of mine used to call it. I just left. Went home. No good-byes. No nothing. I just bolted.

It wasn’t easy to get to sleep but eventually I did. The next day was a free day in San Cristobal, so that made the Bad Time easier. The last thing I want to do during the Bad Time is to be around anybody. I just want to be alone. I walked around San Cristobal and stopped in a couple of shops and restaurants, but I couldn’t eat because there is no appetite during the Bad Time. I took some pictures but eventually went back to the hotel because, for the first time during the entire trip, we had a thunderstorm. Even the weather was going through the Bad Time. (I did get to happen through this random parade, though, going through the Zocalo. I thought that was pretty cool.)

That evening people went out to a Thai restaurant to get some dinner. I blew that off, grabbed a bottle of wine and hung out by myself for a change. I can’t say for sure that it helped at all but it didn’t seem to make anything worse.

The next day we headed to Palenque. On the way, we were going to stop at a couple of waterfalls for some swimming. This was a horrible thing to do during the Bad Time. There was just no way to get away from people and the Bad Time was at its worst. I just listened to my iPod for about four hours until we got to Agua Azul, which was the only waterfall we ended up visiting. I walked with the group until it got to the place where everybody was going to swim. Then, I walked away and avoided the group for the next three-and-a-half hours. The Bad Time was ruining the day and there was no way for me to avoid it.

At night, I tried to come out to dinner with the group. I hadn’t eaten in a few days, and I still wasn’t hungry, but I thought I’d give company a shot. Once again, I had no dinner, but I did have some beer and ended up drinking myself into a better mood. The night didn’t end well, but I felt like I was recovering at least. Anyway, I think the worst part of this episode of the Bad Time has passed.