october-2009

Four minutes later, I pull up to a sign
and a small, thatched-roof welcome hut.
I park and embark on a short, steep hike
through dense tropical dry woods. At most
ruins, the surrounding area is cleared;
here, the palace—so close to the path,
gleaming white through the forest—is a
stunning apparition. The first view is of
the three-tiered western façade, flanked by
staircases leading to watchtowers. A grand
staircase running from the base of the
plaza to a third-story platform dominates
the other side. The other buildings have
stylistic carvings and design elements, like
masks carved into walls and a serpent’s
mouth at the entry to an apartment.
Despite signs warning that the
building is structurally unsound, I decide
to climb to the upper tiers. (It’s survived
centuries of hurricanes, what are a few
more footsteps?) As if in response to my
irreverence, the wind suddenly shifts
direction. Thunder rumbles, and I feel a
drop of rain.
I race to the car, hoping to outrun the
approaching storm—but my good luck
has run out. The rain falls faster than the
windshield wipers can clear it, and the
road quickly becomes a river of pale, thin
mud. The tiny subcompact swerves in
the sludge, its bicycle-thin tires slamming
into the water-filled potholes that I so
carefully avoided on the way in. I picture
myself skidding into a ditch, standing on
top of my swamped car and watching the
water rise.
After what feels like an eternity of
white-knuckled driving, I manage to coax
my car back to the paved road, where
I pull over and wait out the storm. The
temple may not have crumbled on top of
me, but this is pretty close.
And as I sit there massaging my
cramped hands, I feel lucky to have experienced
these two ruins in such an intimate
way, despite unforgiving dirt roads,
sudden storms and being constantly lost.
As I flip through the book that inspired
my journey, the first word of the title
jumps out at me: Incidents. Stephens was
right: Discovery can be determined just as
much by the mishaps and accidents that
occur along a journey as the preparation
that goes into it—but, in any case, a sense
of adventure is absolutely necessary.