Today we left The Maya Riviera hoping to find good camping at Bacalar, but the winds were too strong along this beautiful lake to pitch a tent so we took the long haul all the way to Palenque. We passed again through the state of Yucatan, Campeche, Tobasco and into the state of Chiapas. The land was very arid along the way with some low hills and some flatlands, but when we arrived at Palenque it was more mountainous and jungle like. The lake at Bacalar is fresh water and is very blue.
We saw many pyramids (ziggurats or temples) along the way such as this one that were unmarked, as well as many others that are set up as tourist attractions. On the following map I have marked all the major ruin sites in the Yukatan Peninsula that we are aware of. For every major ruin site there are probably a dozen more that are either not excavated or not noted as a major site.
Major ruin sites in the Yucatan Peninsula.
There are many beautiful flowers that we have never seen before.
Some of the leaves are huge.
See!
There are also huge frogs. This one is for you Nanny.
The land in this region is very green and fertile. Alot of the pictures seem hazy, that is because of the humidity.
Jesus said, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. ¶ And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Luke 12:15-31).
The campground we found was called the Mayabel. It had a pool which was very refreshing during the hot and humid days. We tried to witness to the folks camping beside us for they spoke English, but as we discovered, the area is primarily populated with hippies and new agers. The man said he believed in evolution and that he was god. This new age religion is nothing new at all, for it is the serpents lie that he decieved Eve with. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5).
From our campsite, Daniel and I went for a hike in the jungle and found what appeared to be an ancient ruin that was overgrown with large trees and vegetation.
While we were in Palenque, Daniel and I checked out the ruins there. You want to check these out very early in the morning because the afternoon heat is quite intense. It is good exercise checking these out after long days of travel, sitting in the van. We climbed about 1000 steps at this ruin. Again, there is an altar before every temple found here.
Altar
Manassah followed this same religion, "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them" (2Kings 21:2-3).
