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Published: January 2nd 2012
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Our son, Michael, came to see us during Christmas vacation; I think he had a good time while he was here. He almost didn't make it! He had to change planes in Mexico City. First he had to go through Immigration and Customs. He said that wasn't that bad, but when he got to his gate, there was nobody there. Unbeknownst to him, they were already on the plane, so he missed his flight while he was at the gate! Since it was Christmas, all other flights were booked solid. After trying to get on standby all day, we decided Mike should take a bus (13 hours). The only available ticket was 10 pm the next evening. He was on his own, in a city of 12 million, for the next 24 hours! Needless to say, we didn't sleep well. Mike, on the other hand, had a grand time! He somehow managed to find a hotel and got a good night's sleep.
The next morning David was looking on Aeromexico's website to see how we can take care of his luggage, which made it to Tuxla. He noticed that there was one seat left on the afternoon flight, even though
the ticket agents didn't tell us about it. To be fair to the agents, perhaps it was a cancellation. Anyway, David quickly booked it, called Mike, and the Three Musketeers were reunited later on that day!
While Mike was here, we took him to Grutas de Rancho Nuevo. It is a cave about 10 miles outside the city. It is on the military base and besides the cave, they also have horseback riding, a toboggan, restaurants, and your typical souvenir shops. The cave itself goes about 700 meters into the mountains and is incredibly beautiful.
Sunday we went to San Juan Chamula, which is a village filled with Indigenous people. Sunday was supposed to be a big market day, and we went, even though it was Christmas. Chamula has a very interesting church and I think would be safe to say is not like your average church. First of all, it has no pews. It also has people kneeling in the middle of the church, lighting candles, praying, and making offerings of eggs, chickens, soda, even posh, a strong, home-made liquor made of corn.
We also went to Sumidero Canyon, which is on par with the Grand
Canyon. We went the day after Christmas, and so did everybody else! It took almost as long in the ticket line as it did to ride on the boat. The line was kind of fun, though, almost like a soccer match. Once we got our ticket, we moved quickly to the boats, and off we went! The boat was quite fast and the scenery quite stunning.
On Tuesday we took a 2 ½ hour drive north to Ocosingo to visit the Mayan ruin called La Tonina. While smaller and less developed than Palenque, La Tonina is thought to have been the demise of Palenque, so violent were its residents. While climbing on the ruins, you can almost get a sense of the past battles.
We also took Mike to the Maya Medicine museum, a couple of mercados, and a coffee shop that was partnered with the Zapatistas. In 1994 the Zapatistas were founded by Subcomadante Marcos to help and aid the Indigenous people. There was quite a revolution - several people were killed - and it all happened in San Cristobal! The movement is still alive today, although the revolutionaries live in the jungle. And even though most
people aren't revolutionaries, just about all still support them.
Mike went home Thursday to an empty apartment. All his roommates are visiting their parents, but will be coming home soon. Our apartment seems empty without him!
If you want to see more of our pics, please go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18090511@N03/sets/72157628325007161/
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