A very important and protected animal in Palenque is the howler monkey (or mono aullador in Spanish, Alouatta pigri). This cute mammal swings from the vines and branches of the jungle and howls so loud you think something must be chasing you. It is also unfortunately endangered. Luckily, all throughout the city and parks are signs advising tourists and locals to be aware of the monkeys so they can live in their natural habitat without disruption.
In Palenque, there are many waterfalls that flow all throughout the jungle, some sneakily hidden in the trees and others that roar so loud they would be impossible to miss. One of my favorite things about waterfalls is how they can change the environment around them over time. They accomplish this through a process called erosion, where water constantly falling on or washing over the same spot can take away pieces of the surface over time. In Palenque, I found a small trickling waterfall on a cliff that had been there for so long that it had sliced the rock up and down. Even though we can touch a rock and feel that it is much harder and thicker than water, with time, bit by bit, the water manages mold the rock like putty!
On this trip we were able to take a tour through the jungle to see forgotten temples, Mayan ruins, and along the way, tons of new and interesting plants. We saw the liana, or vines that you could climb like Tarzan, the dangerously pokey chapaya tree, and the chelagoé, which is a plant with stems that smell like spearmint!
