Convinced my many Mexicans that Veracruz was worth seeing. I continued east for the coast. Veracruz was a bit disappointing and turned out to be rather expensive. So, it was then off to Chiapas would not disappoint.You´re are greeted by a military checkpoint upon crossing into the state of Chiapas from Tabasco. Every town had police roaming around with machine guns, the topes where the worst yet– both in number and in size, and the scenary was much more lush, green and mountainous. It was also extremely humid. I was expecting cooler temperature with the increased altitude, but it was one the hottest days of riding since I left Baja.

Palenque was teeming with tourists and venders selling tacky trickets along all the ruins. Not a very inspiring scene despite the impressive nature of the ruins.

The next day turned out to be the first day of rain for more than one month, but did it ever rain. Heavy down pours for over 10 hours straight. Now I understood why they have such large gutters in the streets and drainage tunnels underground.

The next day it was a short drive through the Zapatista heartland for a small town called Ocosing that was recommended by a fellow traveler. It turned out to be a pleasant town with wonderful ruins surpassing Palenque in sheer size.

I stayed in a hotel called Esmeralda Ranch. The owners of this hotel are from Iowa and invested a lot of money in a ranch next to the Tonina ruins. Unfortunately, the Zapatistas decided to target the ranch and invaded it. Today, the ranch sits idle and still held by the Zapatistas. The ranch was rated one of the top ten places to stay by Lonely Planet. Now they are starting over in a hotel in the center of town in Ocosingo. Although, I didn’t get to actually meet the owners the staff were very pleasant.

From the top of the ruins are beautiful views of the surrounding valley.

The area is also famous for its cheese, so in the heart of Chiapas, in a town where there are signs proclaiming that certain towns are governed by the Zapatistas I had some wine and cheese