Date of Entry: February 4th 2017

Date of Writing: June 3rd 2018

I arrive in Palenque very early after a surprisingly peaceful night bus journey through the mexican countryside.  It’s around 6:30 am when I arrive and head out of the bus station with my bag on my shoulder.  there I’m surprised to find a small tourist agency already open, and since my time here is so brief I go ahead and book a tour to one of the two main places I want to go:  Aguas Azul, a place I’ve dreamed of seeing since I was a little boy.

At any rate I’ve got a few hours to kill so I head to my hostel Yaxkin hostel (10 CAD for 8 bed mixed dorm)  and they kindly let me drop off my stuff there.  My tour doesn’t start until 9:30 so before long I head back out and explore the streets of Palenque a bit, or at least the area around the hostel which is lush, green and very beautiful.  The best moment comes when a group of like 10 macaws fly overhead, sadly the birds fly out of sight before I can get my camera out of my bag.  Either way, I find a small restaurant opening near the bus station and eat a just okay breakfast of meat, eggs, tortillas and orange juice before heading back to my hostel and waiting for the van to pick me up for my tour.

Soon enough were on our way out of town and into the hills, the tour includes two stops: misolha waterfall and my reason for going, agua azul.  Both turn out to be very much worth the time, and after about an hour in an only somewhat crowded mini bus we arrive at our first stop.

The group sort of separates into smaller groups and we make our way down a fairly short but mildly steep trail towards the waterfall finding some interesting bird life on the way down.

After a brief jaunt down through the jungle we uncover a very beautiful waterfall, though sadly we’re not given enough time to both swim and explore the cave behind the falls, and know in they’ll be time to swim at Aguas Azul I decide to go the cave route, following a path right behind the main waterfall and up into the cliff side pausing to take lots of pictures on the way.

I head in behind the falls and up the cliffside further, protecting my camera from the stay droplets of water from the various falling streams which surround me.   The path up is crowded but worth it as we pass right behind the falls and then climb up towards a small opening in the cliff face.  The cave looks quite interesting and for a small extra fee they give you a hard hat and flash light and let you go and explore.

Sadly the cave is not as deep as I had hoped but going in there is a small dark waterfall crashing to the cave floor with a big family of bats huddled and sleeping on the uneven rock ceiling above us.  Coming out of the cave also provides a really cool angle for some photos playing with the light and the waterfall in the background.

The cave now explored I’m let with very little time so I hurry up the somewhat steep path just in time to get back to the bus before leaving and then we’re back on the road, driving through the rolling hills of south-western Mexico.  Just the scenery is beautiful but life is about to get a whole lot better.

Arriving at Agua Azul I buy an absurd amount of delicious mini bananas from a family for about 50 cents Canadian. before hopping out of the bus, negotiating for the maximum amount of time possible (about 2.5hours)and hurrying up towards the falls which my dad has told me about my whole life.  I’m expecting to be let down, anticipating that he exaggerated, but as I stumble up to the river and the first set of falls I see instantly that he hasn’t.  The colour of the water is insane and the falls surround you making you forget the outside world exists.  Undoubtedly one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited.

Now when my mother and father stayed here together there was nothing, just a place to pitch a tent and a fruit stand or two.  Now, things have changed, as they have in much of Mexico.  All the way up the path that goes for almost an hour alongside the river there are hundred’s of tourist shops selling all types of things, luckily the vendors and restaurants are friendly, not pushy at all, and mostly tucked back from the falls.  Still I can’t imagine what it would have been like for them, camping here for days and days, going to sleep and waking up to the crashing turquoise water,  but this is how travel works in my opinion.  Backpackers find the best places then everyone else follows.  I’m sure places like Chachapoyas Peru will be overrun with tourists in 10 years or so.

At any rate before going swimming I decide to walk up and explore the river.  You’re not technically supposed to swim in the main basins down at the bottom anyway so I head up with the plan to look for a better swimming hole.

While the main falls are definitely the most impressive, smaller ones seem to continue upwards forever and the further I go the less crowded it gets.  Supposedly the trail goes all the way up to where the river emerges from underground but sadly I just don’t have the time, and apparently the trail get’s rough and you need to have a guide to be allowed.  Either way it’s a solid 2 hour walk each way according to the locals so it’s just not possible for me today.

Eventually I turn back, stopping to buy some mayan calendar necklace pendants for the whole family and then head back down to the main viewing areas.  There I see maybe two people ignoring the signs and fully swimming and don’t see anyone patrolling (there were guards when I arrived.)   I can’t resist the urge to get under these incredible cascades so I leave my bag behind on a small patch of earth and wade into the water towards the falls.  Photos from this are another casualty of my go pro sd card explosion which is super frustrating.  But for the next hour I explore the falls, climbing around on the rocks, burying myself under the powerful torrents of water and loving every second I have in this paradise.  Oh how I wish I could have been here 30 years or so ago, camping out beside the falls and exploring them all day long.  Oh well, at least I get to see this beautiful place and maybe one day I’ll be back, cut my way through the jungle and find an isolated place to sleep.

Finally I leave the incredible waters and cascades behind, pull on my clothes and hurry down to the bus, regretting every step I take away from this beautiful place.  Next time I come to Mexico I already want to spend a lot more time in Chiapas.  It seems amazing.

After a 2 hour winding drive back to town I get one more happy discovery to cap off a truly incredible day.  I book my tour for tomorrow with the same agency to see the Palenque ruins and then go to Roberto Barrios (which is marketed as a less touristic slightly smaller Agua Azul) and then stumble onto probably my second favourite eating experience in all of Mexico, a tiny taco stand beside the bus station.  The old man making them is super friendly and all the locals eating there enjoy making conversation with me.  But the tacos are incredible, fresh, very spicy and hearty and filling.  I could eat them for a life time.

I go to sleep early, tired from a long day and a less than excellent sleep on the night bus in, tomorrow will be another full and very exciting day.