JAN 5, 2016 – I left Palenque in a van that I found by asking around, and that took me to Crucero Chancalá along the border road (Ruta Maya). My goal was to get to the village of Nahá, which I knew had a nice lake and an eco-lodge where I wanted to spend two nights. My host family had given me directions on where to change, but I didn’t have any detailed map of the area. After a while a man in a regular car offered to take me to Crucero Piñal. There I found a van that took me all the way to Nahá, some 60 kilometers mostly on dirt roads. At first there were no seats available, so I had to ride in the luggage compartment on the roof, together with another passenger. I was surprised how the vehicle made it up some pretty steep hills despite its overload.
Nahá was indeed a nice little village, mostly inhabited by Lacandón people, some of which were dressed in their traditional gowns. The eco-lodge provided me with a campsite and sanitary infrastructure, and the local restaurant had good food, although it was not very different from the usual Mexican cuisine. I booked a wilderness walk with a guide for the next morning. Botanically it was very interesting, as he knew many plants used in traditional Maya medicine. We didn’t see any animals, though, not even birds. Apparently the burning and agricultural use of areas nearby has taken its toll, even though the jungle around Nahá itself is protected – and for birdwatching we had gotten up too late. At least I saw some crocodiles on a boat trip that I took later that day, with a group of other travelers.