With an overnight bus ride under our belts (and did we dream that the driver did some off-roading around Campeche or did that actually happen?), we arrived sweaty and delirious in the town of Palenque in the state of Chiapas.
Palenque is most famous for its Mayan ruins of the same name. At the height of the local Mayan civilisation, there were ~8,000 inhabitants of a jungle city of temples (so many temples!), granaries and even a ball games ground (albeit one where the losers lost their heads rather than just their pride). Because we we took a colectivo (van bus) rather than a tour and because we arrived before 9am to avoid the heat, there were very few others while we were there and we had some temples entirely to ourselves. We spent a couple of hours clambering up and down pyramids with incredible views of the surrounding countryside - lush rolling hills, sprinklings of villages, it was all a bit like Surrey just with more jungle. The size of the ruins is awe-inspiring: temples over 50ft high nestled into towering jungle canopies, and all built more than 1200 years ago.
The rest of our time in Palenque we spent in waterfalls. A long colectivo ride out to the village of Roberto Barrios was worth it for the incredible turquoise pools and thundering cascadas that you can swim in and around. It's still not particularly touristy, despite the incredible natural beauty and cool waters, so it was mostly us and local families enjoying ourselves.
The following day, as part of our trip to San Cristobal de las Casas (where we are now), we took a tour to the waterfalls of Misol-Ha (impressively tall single fall into a very deep pool) and Agua Azul (more like Agua Marrón amirite...no? nobody?). The overall impression of Agua Azul's multiple thundering cascades was reduced a bit by the oppressive commerciality - the path up the falls was lined with vendors all selling exactly the same tat, and quite in-your-face with it.
After a bumpy and twisty-turny journey, we are now in San Cristobal which seems like a delightful city. And also a solid 10 degrees (Celsius) cooler than everywhere else we've been.