November 24th - Palenque to Campeche

According to the information in the Road Book we navigate by, we are now officially in Central America, with most of Mexico designated as being part of North America.

We had to wait till 7.45 am to leave the hotel as the park gates to the Mayan ruins open at 8am. It was only a short drive of 4 kms to the ruins and what a spectacular sight they are.

Deep in the tropical rain forest they rise above the trees. The Mayans built their temples between 300 AD and 400 AD. They are truly magnificent strutures and once again I hope the photos I took with my mobile phone do justice to them.

The Mayan ruins at Palenque

We spent about an hour there and then drove north through the wetlands area known as the Pantanos de Centla. It is a fantastic place to see. Mile after mile of wetland area with wildlife everywhere.

At the end of the wetlands we had our first sight of the Gulf of Mexico. We had now driven right across from the Pacific to the Gulf. Our drive up the Gulf coast included the crossing of two long bridges to Ciudad del Carmen, a bustling town. We had a great fish lunch in a waterside cafe and many of the group enjoyed the excellent food.

Three more hours of coastal driving brought us to our overnight halt of Campeche. We are now in the Yucatan peninsular and tomorrow we will be seeing more of the Mayan cultural heritage