We left early the next morning on a tourist bus heading to Palenque in Chiapas. On this map where I indicate "approximate route" it is because there wasn't really a road. It was more like a dusty rut for the first several hours until we arrived a the Usumacinta River which marks the border between Mexico and Guatemala. There is no bridge.
At the bottom of a muddy bank, this lovely little boat was waiting for us to cross into Mexico. We were a happy group of travelers for the 20 minute crossing to
Frontera Corozal.
From the landing in Mexico we piled into taxis which took us to a Mexican immigration building and then to the bus station in the village were we piled into a "collectivo," the local means of travel. This 12 person van picks up anyone along the 2 hour ride who flags it down. Believe me when I say it could hold more than 12 passengers. This was my favorite part of this leg of the trip just for the entertainment of people watching. One farmer got on with his extremely long machete and, with an apologetic smile, carefully slid it under his seat.
We arrived in Palenque and, since we had visited this place last year, we knew exactly where we wanted to go: Cheto's Cabanas just outside the gate of the archaeological site. They had a room for us and we slept, wakened occasionally by the ferocious sound of howler monkeys in the trees above us.
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