One of the great stories of the written word is centered around Mayan texts...the writing system that has been a mystery up until quite recently. I'm watching a riveting documentary about breaking the Mayan code or writing system, which I love because it presents the writing system in the context of a living culture, not some glorified ancient and dead past. The remarkable gathering of Mayan scholars in Palenque sounds like an amazing gathering, and I love that everyone was welcomed - both the Ivy League professors and amateur Mayanists. A reminder that a diversity of minds around a table is far richer than having homogeneous group-think.I've had the very good fortune to widely travel on la ruta Maya and see nearly all the significant sites (and some not so significant ones): Palenque, Tikal, Copan, Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum, Uxmal....I never tire of seeing these magnificant cities buried deep in lush jungles. I've also visited the town where one of the most infamous book burnings took place...in the Yucatecan town of Mani Fray Landa ordered Mayan codices burnt because he discovered Mayans were continuing to worship their traditional Gods.
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