In the Maya World Tree, the Ceiba, Palenque
I spent two months living in Flores, Guatemala, getting to know people in Uaxactún and San Jose and learning more about the ancient Maya sites. Three weeks ago, I left Flores in a minivan and then took a boat across the river that divindes Guatemala from Mexico. A taxi and another minivan later, I landed in Palenque, Mexico, home to another famous Maya site.
I have been visiting the archeological sties of the pre-Christian people of Mexico for many years, from Chichen-Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula to Teotihucan near Mexico City. Until I came to Guatemala, Monte Alban, near the city of Oaxaca, was my favorite site. It's temples and pyramids mirror the rise and fall of the surrounding mountains, conveying such respect for the natural world and such harmony with it that I was moved anew every time I visited. I did not know that the ancient sites of the Maya in Guatemala would be equally powerful to me. In Petén and in Palenque, the spectacular jungle setting of the ruins emphasizes the mystic qualities of the Maya structures.
I have been visiting the archeological sties of the pre-Christian people of Mexico for many years, from Chichen-Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula to Teotihucan near Mexico City. Until I came to Guatemala, Monte Alban, near the city of Oaxaca, was my favorite site. It's temples and pyramids mirror the rise and fall of the surrounding mountains, conveying such respect for the natural world and such harmony with it that I was moved anew every time I visited. I did not know that the ancient sites of the Maya in Guatemala would be equally powerful to me. In Petén and in Palenque, the spectacular jungle setting of the ruins emphasizes the mystic qualities of the Maya structures.
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