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It’s been a while since my last blog because the last couple of weeks have been busier than ever (I know I always say that, but it’s true!). The main adventure since the last blog was going to Chiapas for a week with our group, minus our anthropology professor who is still extremely ill (I’ll get to that later). Chiapas is the southernmost and poorest state in Mexico. Though it borders Oaxaca, the climate and terrain are very different. It has a very large indigenous population, mostly Mayan, which is mainly what we studied while we were there. Chiapas is also known for its political problems. Since 1994 the Zapatista rebels have been fighting for land reform and other rights for the indigenous people.
Despite being sick with food poisoning, I began the trip began Thursday night with an 11 hour bus ride to the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, a cute touristy town in the highlands of Chiapas with a perfect climate: cool and sunny. Friday morning after resting and exploring the town a bit, we took a bus to the indigenous community of Zinacantán, about a half hour away in the mountains. The Tzotzil Maya
there are known for maintaining their traditions and way of life. We visited an interesting church their where we saw syncretism between prehispanic beliefs and Cathlocism, as well as a tiny community museum in a hut (literally). Unfortunately I have no pictures as they prohibit tourists from taking photos in certain without permission.
Saturday we visited the museum in San Cristóbal, a coffee museum (where we of course sampled and purchased delicious Chiapaneco coffee), and the Na Bolom house, which used to be the home (more like a mansion) of an archaeologist and his wife, a photographer. Both studied the Maya culture in Chiapas for many years, and their beautiful house is now more of a museum which displays their work. We also had time to explore the many markets around town. Saturday night we all got dolled up to go out and explore the town’s nightlife, but since everything was expensive and some of us weren’t in the mood, several of us walked around and ended up climbing up a ton of stairs to a cool church on a hill. It was completely random, but we had fun and we got to see a beautiful view of the
San Cristobal
Random street city at night.
Sunday we had a tour to another nearby indigenous community called Chamula. We saw a local cemetery, a typical home where they make textiles, the huge Sunday market, and the most interesting church we’ve ever seen. The church looked like a fairly typical Mexican Catholic church from the outside, but inside was very different. It was a mix of traditional Mayan rituals and Catholocism. There were thousands of candles and pine needles covering the floor, with Catholic saints and symbols around the walls. It was very overwhelming because it was crowded with locals praying and performing rituals, and tons of tourists watching. It is sad how tourism is disrupting their traditions, but on the other hand it is obvious that the tourism supports their economy.
Monday we had a morning class and the spent the afternoon on a 5 hour bus ride to the city of Palenque, which is much different than San Cristóbal because it is in the rainforest. Reeeally hot and humid. Fortunately we had a/c in our hotel room, though at times it could barely keep up with the heat. Tuesday we took a tour of the famous Mayan ruins of Palenque,
which were very impressive and perhaps my favorite archaeological site that we’ve visited. During its time the city was enormous. It is very beautiful with the jungle as a backdrop. Unfortunately there were lots of tourists so it was difficult to get good pictures. After the long tour we were hot and exhausted, but we were happy to realize that the next stops were both waterfalls. The first waterfall, called Misol-Ha, reminded us of Silver Falls in Oregon. It is very pretty and you can walk behind the waterfall and hike up some rocks to a cave. We relaxed there a little before heading to the last stop of the day, the Cascadas de Agua Azul (Waterfalls of Blue Water). These waterfalls are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. They aren’t tall, but some are huge and there are tons of smaller falls downstream for probably half a mile. The water is the perfect temperature for a hot day, and there are lots of nice shallow pools, so there were hundreds of tourists swimming. Our group found a relaxing swimming area away from the craziness by the main falls and spent the rest of the afternoon there….
Wednesday we
San Cristobal
View of cathedral from the museum had to get up bright and early to leave at 6am to take a bus to the ruins of Yaxchilán and Bonampak. To get to Yaxchilán we had to take a cool wooden boat down a peaceful river for about an hour. It was amazing. The rainforest was so beautiful; I half expected to see dinosaurs. We did see a crocodile, a monkey, and several lizards. The river is the border between Mexico and Guatemala, so I can almost say I’ve been to Guatemala. Anyway, after the incredible boat ride we made it the ruins where I sweated more than I ever have in my entire life. Eew. One building we went inside was pitch black and full of bats and gigantic spiders. When we started inside the guide shined his flashlight on a bat that was about a foot from out heads. I freaked a little but kept going. The further we went inside the more bats I saw and heard, but that wasn’t the worst part. All of a sudden I saw the light shine on a spider the size of a tarantula, though not as fat and hairy (in case you didn’t know I’m deathly afraid of
spiders). I saw several of them and latched onto my friend trying not to get close to the walls. My heart was racing and I was nearly in tears by the time we went back outside. It was my worst nightmare, but I guess you can’t come back from the jungle without a good giant bug story. Anyway, after visiting the ruins we were happy to get back on the boat to cool off and eat. After lunch we took the bus to quickly visit the ruins at Bonampak, which are much smaller but known for their impressive paintings that have been well preserved.
Thursday part of the group headed back to spend another day in San Cristóbal, while the rest of us spent the day in Palenque before getting on the bus to return to Oaxaca. It was a 14 ½ hour bus ride…ugh. Luckily I am getting used to the bus rides, and have learned that dramamine plus ipod equals sleep. It was nice to come back to Oaxaca, which now feels like home. I am sad that I have so much homework to do because I just want to enjoy my two weeks in Oaxaca. Right
San Cristobal
Another random street now the two other sisters, Marita and Daniela are visiting to attend their cousin’s wedding on Saturday. I met Daniela and her American boyfriend Chris for the first time and they are very nice. She’s studying to be a veterinarian in Veracruz and speaks English really well. Saturday was also Diego’s (the grandson’s) 4th birthday, but he didn’t really get a party because of the wedding.
In sad news, our professor is still in the hospital and in critical condition. He is fighting pneumonia on top of the fungal infection, and can’t breathe without a respirator. However, I heard today that he is doing a little better and responding to treatment. Some other archaelogists are going to teach a couple lectures to finish up the class and give us an exam so that we receive a grade and credit for the class.
Anyway, just two weeks to go. Que loco! I’m finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel despite my enormous pile of homework.
See you all soon!
Besitos,
Janna
P.S. More pics of Chiapas to come...I didn't have time to upload them all this time so I'll include them
San Cristobal
A huge pretty tree thing at the Na Bolom house in my next blog.
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