i forgot to mention the three state of the art and absolutely awesome suspension bridges on the highway heading north from villahermosa. sadly, there were no photo ops.

palenque was stunning, of course. we got there before the gates opened, so i was able to rush in and take pics before the hordes swarmed it. then i just wandered. on the way there from san cristobal, we stopped at the cascadas agua azul, which were magnificent, like havasupai in the jungle. what a magical place. there are two other waterfalls en route to palenque, but we didn’t have time. i imagine they are just as spectacular. the movie predator was filmed at one of them. today, we got up early to attempt the drive all the way to oaxaca. unfortunately, there was a horrendous accident on the highway, blocking traffic for miles. i behaved like a good local driver and jockeyed my way to the front of the line, but it still held us up long enough that we had to stop in tuxtepec for the night. i’m glad we did, though, because we had the best shrimp coctails either of us has ever tasted.

paz