October 29, 2002

“Touring Mexico”

Our trip began on Sunday with a visit to Campeche, a colonial city at the base of the Yucatan Peninsula. Campeche was the first city founded on the Yucatan Peninsula and much of its colonial charm still remains.

We piled back on the bus for a long ride to the town of Palenque, located in the state of Chiapas. Monday, we toured the Late Classic Maya site of Palenque, which was quite different from the other sites that we had seen in the Yucatan. This difference was mostly due to the difference in

location (the highlands as opposed to the lowlands in Yucatan) and the different period of development (Late Classic as opposed to Early and Late Postclassic).

That evening, in Palenque, I and a few other students, had the distinct pleasure of dining with a grandmother and her three grandchildren who were street vendors. Maria, 75, sold handmade bracelets and necklaces; after she had sold a few things to us, she sat down at our table, reorganizing her