The site was something pure… devoid of tourists… spider-monkeys leapt through the trees. We entered the main plaza and took in the labyrinth, the ballcourt, stelae and dilapidated buildings. The plaza forms the ground level of the three tiered site… it is large and backs with some paths into the rainforest. Bats fluttered about the more darkened structures… brilliant toucans soared overhead. We moved across the main plaza to edificio 33… a large temple with a nearly entact roof comb… that is, a concrete criss-cross grid of square enclosure… edificio 33 (along with the little acropolis) form the middle level of the site. Then the howler monkeys started up… guttoral screams and groans… truly unsettling… the trees were shaking with roars. I headed through it and up to the top level… along an uphill path fully strangled with roots. At the top stood three temples; 39, 40, 41… fairly large and on pyramidal bases. When I made it back down… floods of idiotic tourists had arrived. They came and went with their stupid camcorders… khaki shorts, pulled up socks (white), baseball caps… oh tourists, tourists… After two and half hours we caught the boat back to Corozal. The Aussies, the Frenchman and we caught a collectivo to Palenque. The old man jabbered on… between checkpoints. We got out into the heat, exhaust and dirt… back in Palenque once again…
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