Sunday, August 16, 2009

Palenque's Greatest Story Teller

My sweetheart David came to Palenque to take me home after the accident, but before we left, we spent some time reminiscing with Don Moises Morales. In case you don't know him, I should give you some background. David and Linda Schele met Moises Morales 39 years ago during their very first visit to Palenque. Gillette Griffin (1991) writes that Moises was “that very special man who had shared the magic of Palenque with thousands of pilgrims over the years. Moises took the Scheles and their party for a walk deep into the jungle. He showed them the beautiful cascades that splash down into stone basins under the dense jungle canopy, and revealed to them the presence of ruined walls and buildings everywhere.” Another well-known Palenque scholar, Merle Green Robertson identifies Don Moises Morales as "the greatest 'storyteller' in all Palenque.

The picture above was taken just after David and I finished having lunch at El Panchan http://elpanchan.com/alojamiento_eng.htm. It's a very fine restaurant that sits adjacent to the ancient site of Palenque, but is within the Morales family compound. You can see that my cast is gone and is replaced by a brace, since the broken wrist isn't healed yet.

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