Lacanja II - with the Lacandon and Las Ruinas de Yaxchilan

Yesterday, we visited Yaxchilan on the Usumacinta River on the border with Guatamala. Yaxchilan is one of the great Mayan cities, along with Bonampak to the east a few miles and Palenque, two hours to the north via car. All these cities (really city-states, technically) rose to greatest power, prominence, sophistication, and size during the Classic Mayan period - roughly 300-900 AD.

Theories for the reasons for the collapse vary, but most scholars consider the cause a combination of factors: overpopulation, environmental destruction that led to the interconnected issues of decreasing capacity to produce food, increased warfare, and destabilized political structures. Perhaps exacerbated by a series of droughts. Our guide in Palenque told us of recent soil core sample studies outside of the city center indicated high toxin levels that would have occurred about the same time as the fall of Palenque. The toxins (likely caused by excessive burning of green wood to make their stuccos and mortars for their monuments - they were deforesting large areas at this time) were at levels that would have severely diminished agriculture production.

A cautionary tale for the current generation, to be sure.

Back to Yakchilan - it was a 30-minute car ride from our cabana to Frontera Corozal and the Usumacinta River, which flows from the mountains of Guatamala north through the Yucatan lowlands into the Gulf of Mexico. It has played a huge role in the region historically as a thoroughfare for commerce, communications, and cultural exchange. Control of the river provided a tremendous hegemonic advantage in the Mayan heartland, and Yaxchilan was perfectly positioned for this.

The road to the river was like many side roads in Mexico - curvaceous, no shoulders, with no shortage of ruts and holes and occasional slides (debris onto or road collapsing away from). We caused a little traffic jam once as we stopped to help a migrating turtle off the road to safety. The Mexicans behind us were patient and friendly (though they probably thought we were slightly crazy).

We hired our boatman in town and then followed him on bike to our launch site on the river's edge.

Our launch to Yaxchilan, only accessible by river. The trip downstream took 35 minutes. The return, upstream, took an hour. Given the strategic importance of the river, it was an appropriate way to enter the site, and is good economic development for the community as well,

Near the river, Juan approached us and we hired him as our guide. We generally sought out guides at these types of sites and were always glad we did. They were almost always great - well-informed on historical and current events, articulate, friendly. Their personal stories, when we had a chance to get them, were also fascinating.

L and J in our long, narrow, motorized boat on the Usumacinta River.

Liesl welcoming us to Yaxchilan.

We started at one of the largest, most important structures for religion, ceremony, and meditation. Much of this area was intact when rediscovered.

This is the eastern face of the building above - the doors and hallways inside were carefully constructed in orientation to the solstices, when sunlight would illuminate the doorways, down stairways, and into the lower levels.

Inside the pitch-black corridors, with spiders and bats. This room was apparently used for meditation by the priests and elites.

A view of what was once the main plaza.

A Yaxchilan stele recounting some historic accomplishments or occurrences during its reign.

Looking through a stone doorway.

On our way up to the palace.

This beautiful palace was situated atop a low mountain, and probably had a 360 degree view of the landscape. While here, we saw several howler monkeys in the trees and a pair of Tucanes Reales - gorgeous Royal Toucans.

It is hard to imagine how these cities would have appeared in their heyday - all these buildings were completely covered with stucco, painted white or with bright colors, often with powerful images telling stories, honoring gods, issuing warnings, etc. No or few trees would have been growing in the area - having been cut down for construction, agriculture, mortar production, etc.

Jeremiah and Liesl talking with Juan. Afterward he commented that "they speak pretty good spanish, don't they?"

L and J in the embrace of the sacred Ceiba- the tree of life - on the former Grand Plaza of Yaxchilan.

After our visit to Yaxchilan, the four of us hopped on a trail through the forest near our cabana back in Lacanja to visit a clear spring that flows into a nearby river. It was pouring rain, flashing lightning and crashing thunder the entire time; we wore as little as possible, and swam in the spring - cool, clear (rare in this season), water. A rich, rain forest experience.
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The following morning, Amy and I will took an early walk in the selva, had a nice conversation with Miguel, a local Lacandon who is also a guard/vigilante for the forest in this area (we talked national and international politics, we thanked him for protecting the forest, and paid him 60 pesos for use of the trail), and then returned to our cabana to gather up the kids and head off to Palenque - the region's crown jewel of Mayan ruins, in the northern part of the state.

Amy and the Ceiba.

Scientists have called the tropical rain forests the lungs of our planet. There are some similarities in appearance, as well as function.

Las Cascadas de Las Golodrinas (Swallows). During certain times of the year, when the water is a little lower, swallows next behind the waterfall.

Another Ceiba.

Amy and Miguel. We got an early start on the trail, and Miguel walked up behind Amy. He scared the bejesus out of her when we started talking suddenly, and loudly. He was a very energetic man, more of a screamer than talker, had lots of questions and ideas. So, it was Miguel's ancestors who were living on Caribbean coast 500 years ago when Spanish landed, and it was then that they began this long journey south and west into what is now eastern Mexico.

This is an example of a "milpa" a traditional indigenous farming system in the rainforest that uses scores of different plants, often at the same time or in sequence. This style of farming is far more sustainable than "modern agriculture" which generally burns out the soil in 3-4 years, and often leads to massive erosion and soil loss. Here and below, you can see corn, beans, squash, and banana trees. There was probably more here, but we couldn't recognize it.

 It had rained the night before, and the forest was pulsing with water. you can see how it is flowing right around and through the vegetation, swollen. At times, the water literally seemed to be flowing in all directions at once. it could be a rather confusing landscape.