Hammock swinging in Palenque

The success of my hammock-swinging experience here is yet another way in which Palenque has surprised me. I thought that hammock-swinging on Tulum beach would be the easy practice run, in preparation for the anticipated "grand challenge" of Palenque. But actually, it's been easier and more enjoyable here than in Tulum.

I got bitten alive by mosquitoes in Tulum. I spent half the night itching and scratching, and I woke up looking like a leper. I was sure that Palenque, with its much-feared plethora of fierce, disease-bearing mosquitoes, would only be worse. But in fact, the mosquitoes hardly bothered me all night in Palenque. Maybe I just came at a good time. Or maybe there was nothing left of me for them to eat. Whatever it was, I don't know what everyone else was complaining about.

There was a lot of noise at the beach in Tulum. There was machinery nearby, there were people all around, and there was the sea and the wind all the time. In Palenque, my hammock space was perfectly serene. The jungle was quiet, the nearby machinery was quiet, and my neighbours were quiet.

But most of all, hammock-swinging in Palenque was really relaxing. I could spend hours just lying there, swinging, perfectly calm and tranquil. Listening to the sounds of high-up birds and faraway music. Watching the leaves on the trees swaying lazily. And being amazed that everyone around me was doing just as little as me, and that we were all helping each other to seriously chill.