San Cristobal

North America » Mexico
July 15th 2010

Published: July 15th 2010

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Kuros

My Hostel

Pretty cool place, and it was quiet at night.

All right, another update! I decided to leave Xela some days ago, and have been traveling since. Which is why I haven't been able to do regular updates.

I decided to leave Xela because, frankly, I was getting bored. My new teacher and school were much better than my old one, but it was still just 5 hours of conversation per day. I decided I'd rather save some money and come home early.

So, I decided I would take a bus trip across Mexico and fly out of Mexico City. I did 3 stops, San Cristobal, Oaxaca, and Mexico City. I'm sitting in Mexico City right now, waiting for my room to be ready. But first, San Cristobal!

San Cristobal is 8 hours from Xela. I took a shuttle, which wasn't all that comfortable. I met a judge and her son, and we spent some time in SC together, which was interesting.

The border crossing was scary. Not the crossing itself, but the town. There were prostitutes, heaping piles of garbage, and all sorts of people coming up trying to sell you something useless trinket. The bathrooms were....horrific...and all I can say is that sometimes I'm really

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glad I'm a guy. I felt horrible for the women in the group.

When we crossed into Mexico, the difference in terms of cleanliness was night and day. The Mexican side of the border had nice lawns, was free of garbage, and was in general much cleaner. People who say Mexico is a 3rd world country haven't visited Guatemala....

The Mexican countryside was really pretty. Very mountainous. It reminds me a little of Oregon, but not as green.

I spent a day in San Cristobal, in a hostel called Pasado del Abuelito. It was quite nice, and only $11 or so for a private room. The next day, I bought my ticket, and in the morning I did a boat tour of Canyon Sumeron. It was really impressive (see pics).

I got on the bus that night for Oaxaca. Let me say something about the Mexican bus system...

It is WAY better than Greyhound. The best Greyhound has to offer barely matches the one step above coach that ADO has, and doesn't even begin to compare with the Platino level. You get seats with footrests that recline into beds. You get a sleep mask. You

Some streets in San Cristobal

get a TV with music and movies. Separate male/female bathrooms. A/C that would make a polar bear happy. The chairs were more comfortable to sleep on than any bed in Guatemala or Mexico so far.

San Cristobal's Zocalo (central market/gathering area type thing) was neat. They block off traffic around it, so the streets are all available for walking. The architecture was really charming too, very colonial.

Shortly before I left, I happened upon a clown performing, and took a picture. In retaliation, he decided to make me a part of his act. He kept hugging me...I'm not sure why...

Anyway, I'll update about Oaxaca soon!

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