Palenque is a small but very well-known town in the heart of Chiapas. When I arrived to Palenque, I – as usual – walked with my back then travel buddy to the hostel. Before we arrived, I had heard that Chiapas was the poorest state in Mexico and, to be honest, I didn’t think much of it. Probably because everything I’d been warned about concerning Mexico (danger etc) hadn’t been true. This time, however, I could see the difference.

The houses were poorer, the people dressed more simple and plain, the means of transport were reduced to a minimum – buses and cars and so on. And in terms of food, there were only street food stalls and hardly any restaurants. To be honest, I felt almost shabby walking past people to my hostel as a white person with my backpack. People who probably only come out of Palenque for work or family. I still remember the look on a woman’s face, who looked at me more blatantly than I had ever seen before or since. That look said it all. It was an expression of the difference between us. The different financial situation, the different possibilities… simply everything. And please don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have the feeling that the woman wanted to steal something from me or try to harm or scare me or whatever. It was simply a reality check that had its effect.

The streets of Palenque are not all like this, of course. You notice it everywhere, but in some corners more and less in others. Towards the centre, for example, there are an incredible number of street food stalls with all kinds of delicacies, such as horchata de coco (a really cool coconut drink), tamales (a kind of cereal porridge with meat, potatoes or even sweets mixed in, which looks like nothing but is surprisingly tasty and filling), batido de plátano (banana milkshake) etc., which I personally fell in love with in Palenque and which are really ridiculously cheap! And so good! God! 😀 By the way, by cheap I mean less than one euro. Tamales cost less than the equivalent of 50 cents and two of them fill me up. Therefore: really cheap. Apart from really great street food, there are also souvenir shops on every corner in the centre. Here you can find these colourful braided bracelets that pretty much everyone is offering you, which are also sold on the street. In terms of price: 5 pesos for locals, 10 pesos for tourists and if it’s more than that I would just keep walking because -> these things are really everywhere! But your choice 😊 I myself bought three bracelets in Palenque, which I still wear with a lot of love today, just like my bracelet from Mérida 😊

Apart from that, the centre or tourist zone in Palenque is relatively okay, but not particularly crowded because Palenque itself doesn’t have too many sights. These are more in the area surrounding of Palenque: Misol-Ha, Agua Azul and the Zona Arqueológica de Palenque. And yes, every single one of these places is completely and one hundred per cent worth it! As most tourists don’t necessarily have the time or inclination to find out how to get to the individual places on their own – because yes, of course you can – most book a tour and do the two waterfalls (Misol-Ha & Agua Azul), as well as the ruins, in a day trip. As a result, you’re constantly being offered a tour, or “hit on”, as I like to call it, which can actually be a bit annoying. At the same time, they just want to earn their money so….

There is a large square in the city centre, where a show once took place in the evening while I was there, but more on that in another post. Otherwise, there is usually a market set up here, which invites you to take a stroll. And if it’s brewing in the sky, just stand under somewhere for half an hour or 45 minutes until it’s all over again, the sun comes out and Palenque appears in new splendour. It’s really something 😀 I sat out my first downpour in the hostel and still remember how I climbed onto the roof of my hostel afterwards. From there you had a great view of the rooftops and the surrounding area. Plus the things Mexicans leave unfinished on their houses… 😀 Also a reality check.