Onwards to San Cristobal...

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We spent only one night in San Cristobal due to the miserable weather and a bad choice of hostel. If we had stayed there much longer we might have started to grow mould on our lungs!

We did however, manage to venture out into the indigenous villages (one being San Juan Chamula) on a WOODEN saddled horse. The journey on the horse was 3 hours and very uncomfortable! With only a thin piece of rope to hold onto and no riding hats, with hesitation we even attempted some cantering! (not really out of choice). We suffered for a couple of days after...

The village has its own religion and is home to the Tzotzil people, descendants of the ancient Mayans, and some of Mexico's most traditional indigenous communities. We were lucky enough to go into the church and experience some of their home-grown rituals.
Around the sanctuary stood wooden statues of saints in full costume, many wearing mirrors to deflect away evil. There were no pews in the church, and the floor area was completely covered in green pine boughs. We saw a poor chicken being dangled over hot candles and sacrificed. We later learned this is a ritual thought to´cleanse´and purify. There is also a strange blessing that involves fizzy pop! The people believe the follow-up burps are your bodies way of expelling bad spirits hence they bless the pop before they drink. It is thought on one specific religious day of the year the entire village consumes up to 3 bottles of cola each and burps in unison! Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos here since the people believe cameras ´steal´the soul of those being photographed.

Some of our photos depict the vibrancy of San Cristobal, a colonial town but more so, the indigenous villagers that visit from neighbouring communities give the streets their personality.

We hope to return here with Gemma to visit the Sumerido Canyon in a few weeks.

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