Mexico Part Cuatro

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San Cristobal de las Casas

I tell you what these long bus trips are becoming a bit old. We thought we had it all worked out choosing the first row so we wouldnt have to spend the whole trip with our shirts over our noses because the toilet reeeeeeeked so bad. Not so. There is nothing worse when you have to listen to 10hrs of LOUD traditonal mexican mariachai and freezing to death by AC. I would not wish it upon my worst enemy.

When we finally made it to San Cristobal we thought we were still frozen from the AC, but it was just cold and foggy. Seeing we were only going to be there for 2 nights we wanted to make the most of it, so we thought it would be a good idea to hire mountain bikes and go check out the town. Before i start, San Cristobal is a small town but has a very European feel to it, lots of cool little cafes and cobble stone roads that are super narrow and all one way. Its about 2,500 ft above sea level and was the trendiest town we have been to. All the different stores are painted brighter than the one before it.

After talking to the bike hire guy, he recommended a place called Chamula. The guy tells us to head straight out of town and keep going until we hit it, but he didn´t quite tell us it was all up hill and the main road was a narrow highway for massive trucks. After 1hr of riding up hill and getting sprayed with thick black smoke from the trucks exhust ( i swear they were doing it on purpose, changing gears right next to us)and before we contracted some sort of lung cancer we thought we would pull over and revaulate our options. Our decision was to turn the bikes around and head back, its not something we would usually do being the sporty types that we are, but we thought enough was enough and headed back for town. The ride back down was super fun.

That night we checked out Lonley planets restaurant guide and thought we would go for theír number one choice which was only two blocks from where we were staying. We crusied down to where it said it was on the map to find nothing, so we walked back up a bit and still nothing so we asked for some directions and they told us it was back the way we came from, so we walked back and still could not find it. So after doing a few laps of the street we finally found someone who spoke a bit of english and he told us that they had relocated down the street and around the corner and he was correct and after all that walking it was worth it, probabaly some of the best food we have had in Mexico, and none of it was Mexican.

On the way home from the restaurant we got mobbed by the little local kids wanting one peso and to pose for photos and then check themselves out. After brushing them aside we cruised through the markets where the local Maya indgenious people were selling traditional clothing they had made. I bartered the lady down to $3 for a beanie which i thought was a good idea at the time until we left san cristobal and it got super hot again. We did get a bargin though. We woke up the next morning and got on the bus to Palenque, where they have Mayan ruins.

Palenque

Our longer than expected bus ride sent us a bit mental after having to watch 3 back to back episodes of Hannah Montana in Spanish. We arrived in Palenque and were back to super thick humid air. Palenque is a pretty stinky little town, but it is the stop over point to get to the ruins.

We woke up the next morning and got to the ruins about 10am. Before entering the park you get hassled by guides offering their servcies. Once we got into the park, we just joined on to listen in on bits and pieces of guides´ explanations about the ruins. That´s budget traveling if I´ve ever heard of it. Palenque covers 15 sq kilometres. When Palenque was built, they painted it all blood red with blue and yellow accents, which would have been pretty amazing back in the day. We were also trying to work out how the Mayans, being so little, would have gotten up and down all the super steep and high steps every day. Even Michael had a problem with his short little legs, but his massive calf muscles got him through it. Just.

There were two bigger temples and lots of smaller, shorter buildings. Inside of them, it was super hot and sweaty and damp, but the walls would be cool to the touch. Im not sure what they would have done in there, I cant imagine living in them. When they made them, they did not use the wheel or any metal tools. They would use wooden logs to roll the stones around. All the ruins are made out of limestone. We spent about three hours walking around and dehydration was starting to set in, so we thought we would head back to our hotel. All around Palenque, there are people selling stuff Everywhere, mostly artwork, bags, jewelry, umbrellas and clothes. Mom, I finally found you some artwork, and it was the Only one I didnt see at any other stand, so I think you have a winner. (Dont know how I will get it to you yet....)

We had lunch that arvo at a cafe and I thought my Spanish was improving, but I ordered tamalitos and they were beef. Luckily Michael pulled the ham off his quesadillas and I ate those instead.

We´ve tried to upload more photos twice, but the battery has died both times, will get to those soon. Next stop Guatemala...Pat I still dont know how to do the map....if you can find some time in between painting windows, could you let us know OR update? Muchas gracias.

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