Canyons and crocodiles

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Today’s tour is just half a day and does not start till 9am so we get a bit of a lie in. Being British, we are sitting at reception by 8.45am. We meet two other tourists waiting for a van...but it’s not the same one as they booked the canyon and the mirador for a full day. It’s a pity as we were not given the option. For only 50 pesos extra each, they will see the canyon from several viewpoints above as well as from a boat below. Apparently there is no way to change our tickets as they don’t sell that tour from this hotel. A van pulls up and the couple leave.

It’s 9.45am and still no sign of our van. It looks like we must be last pick up so we’ll be on the bumpy back seat.

It’s now 10am and still no sign of transport - have they forgotten us, I ask at the tour desk? Gestures of shock and horror - no, of course not! Well they forgot two people yesterday, I type into my translator. Further exclamations of disbelief - followed by frantic calls on their mobile phones.

It’s 10.15am and a private car has arrived to take us on the tour. There were only two people booked today, we are told. So obviously they did forget us then! We try to negotiate a mirador extension with the driver but he is asking stupid money because there are only two of us. We’re not convinced it will be worth it as we have fabulous views of the valley from the toll road in any case. We decline his offer.

We are whisked down the expressway at a rate of knots. It’s truly terrifying. This is a steep mountain road with blind bends everywhere and double yellow (no overtaking) bands...which are totally ignored by everyone. I make a big thing of putting my seatbelt on in the hope that he will take the hint. Hint is not taken.

We arrive at Tuxtla Gutierrez, passing through the toll booths where there are queues of vans being stopped by the police...not to mention a huge group of armed police with riot shields. Delinquent students, mutters our driver. We are allowed to pass through without inspection.

We arrive at the river near Tuxtla ready for our boat trip through the Sumidero Canyon. I am praying that their description of ‘boat trip’ will not mean ‘raft trip’ or, still worse, ‘canoe trip’ as Ian will definitely have a hissy fit and refuse to step onboard. I am relieved to see large boats with twin engines on the back and solid fibreglass seats.

We stand in a queue for life vests. These turn out to be better quality than yesterday’s in that they actually clip in place and, bonus, they are not soaking wet! We are slotted in with two large tour groups and told to wait, despite being at the front of the queue, while they grab the best seats at the front. Never mind, at least we have two seats together.

The journey through the canyon takes just over an hour. It’s very beautiful. It’s sheer sides display a variety of different colours and patterns, or else they are clothed in flora.

Our boat stops at various points of interest along the way. As usual it’s a Spanish commentary so we just sit back and enjoy the views. We see many varieties of birds including pelicans and herons. We also see some crocodiles which are either babies or a very small variety of the species. One of them plops into the water from a rock as we approach. The other remains stock-still on a stone. If I hadn’t seen the other one move I might have thought it was a concrete replica placed there for gullible tourists. :-)

Some of the rocks have stalactites growing from them and the boats come closer to show the water dripping through. We also enter a cave which has been made into some kind of religious shrine.

We end the trip upriver at a hydro electric dam. There is a large statue and a couple of boats selling snacks. They have no luck as we were all hi-jacked by the snack sellers at the pontoon. I bought a very overpriced bag of ‘banana crisps’ - yes they are deep fried slices of banana which, interestingly, do not taste sweet at all.

Now we return to the start point at full speed, water splashing wildly on the exhilarating downriver return journey. We are back at the dock almost two hours to the minute - these guys run a well oiled machine. The clouds overhead are thickening and it looks like rain. Maybe a good thing that we didn’t pay extra for the miradors after all?

Our driver collects us and attempts to whiz us back to St Cristobal but the police have closed off the entrances to the toll. We head for the alternative toll-free road...this is also sealed off! There is no other way back to St C so we sit in our car beside the bollards whilst our driver attempts to negotiate with the police. Forty minutes and they will let us through, we are told. Is that a Mexican forty minutes, we wonder?

It’s probably less than twenty minutes when we see traffic on the bridge above us start to move. Our driver, who is now chatting with a van driver at the side of the dual carriageway, sprints back to the car and practically mows down the bollards in his attempt to reach the toll. The policewoman removing the bollards doesn’t seem to be at all bothered.

We reach the toll booths to see several long lines of riot police, like lines of marching ants, returning to rows of open back trucks. There is no sign of the students. The police are walking right past our car window. Ian is hissing at me to put my camera away. He might have a point, I don’t want to end up banged up abroad...that said, we can see lots of others holdng their smart phones in the air for clutter-free videos.

Our driver speeds up the highway, pointing to a battered bus as he swiftly overtakes. There are several other smarter buses, all are being escorted along the toll by a police car. Our driver explains these are the students. Are they going to prison? No, that would mean giving them food...the police called the bus company to take them away from the toll road. I’m not convinced - they have taken up huge amounts of police resources today, not to mention the road chaos they have caused.

We arrive back at our hotel around three. Just time to eat the yoghurts we didn’t eat for breakfast and have a coffee before returning to the steep set of steps for some views of the city. The sun is finally shining here today! Ian goes for take away coffee at the bakery up the road. He returns complaining that the machine is out of order and he had to go to the centre. I placate him with my overwhelming thanks for his kind services. :-)

It’s 4pm and we are just contemplating our walk, but we can hear a lot of shouting and chanting in the, not far off, distance. We are wondering if the police kicked the protesting students out in St Cristóbal? Oh well, we’ll just have to chance it as the light fades quickly here.

We approach the city steps close to sunset. Unfortunately the sun is setting behind the steps so it’s obviously better at sunrise - absolutely no chance that we will be here then! We climb up to get some views of the city anyway. The chanting has stopped and there is no sign of any demonstrators. There is a seriously bad band playing in the square though - the noise is awful!

I’m just on my way down to reception for some WiFi as we have lost connection in our room. I suspect that it’s because the hotel has filled up (the weekenders have arrived) and everyone is logged on - the reception area has a better connection. The couple we met earlier are just returning from their trip. They tell me there was absolutely no visibility at all at the miradors today due to the low cloud...so we missed nothing at all. They also explain about the student blockades. It’s due to the fact that the government have taken peoples homes, with no compensation, to build the toll roads. That’s harsh. Now to our journey tomorrow. They tell me that the night bus is dangerous but fine in daylight hours. Our tickets were changed, so that’s another relief then! Alternatively the shorter route would have been OK in a collectivo during the day, but it would have meant taking one collectivo to the blockade, walking to the other side with our luggage, then taking a second collectivo at the other side. They don’t mention whether we would also have had to pay a bribe. Anyway...although it will take several hours longer, I think our first class bus choice was definately the better option!

Tonight the centre is literally buzzing with all the weekenders. There is live music coming from the bandstand in the main zocalo - and quite good it is too. There are people milling everywhere. We squeeze through the pedestrianised area right up to the far end, which is a little less popular but more to our taste as it’s a tad quieter. We return to a little cafe where we ate on our first evening. The waiter remembers that I didn’t eat the salad last time and offers me guacamole with my choice of beef instead. It’s all very tasty! As usual, the size of the portion beats me, so I wrap half my beef portion in two tortillas to take to the old lady who sits on the pavement selling things near our hotel. She is delighted...Ian comments that he just hopes she still has a set of teeth!

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