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Published: March 15th 2009
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Misol-Ha water falls
Sorry this photo is not very pretty. For some reason none came out well. We would have just discarded them all but we want you the see the next one. Thursday, March 12th. Monday we climbed the Chiapian mountains from Palenque at 200 feet above sea level to nearly 10,000 feet before dropping into the valley containing the city of San Christobal de Las Casas at 6900 feet. The drive was only 130 miles but took about seven hours. The road was good but steep, windy and with lots of topes. We never made over 40 mph. Fortunately for me, most of the long drops were on the other side of the road. Palm trees have given way to pines and daytime temperatures have dropped from the upper 80s to the low 70s. We added a blanket and I've taken to sleeping in sweats. Our neighbor told Ray that it was 35 degrees at 7:00 a.m. this morning.
Just out of Palenque, we stopped at the Misol Ha water fall. Two trails lead to the falls. The front trail allows for great photo ops, whereas from the other side, one can walk into a shallow cave and view the water falls from the back side. The rio (river) Yax-ha at Misol Ha falls about 100 feet into a pool below. The area is surrounded by lush vegetation. Another nearby cave
Misol-Ha from the back side
This is only the second time we've ever been at a place where one can walk behind a water fall. can be explored with a flashlight. We skipped that as we knew we had a long days drive ahead.
Next stop, Agua Azul (Blue Water) falls. The water color here, again from the Rio Yax-Ha, is just amazing. We had been warned that it is a good idea to pay one of the urchins to “watch your car” otherwise one is likely to return to find some small damage. We gave some small amigo twenty pesos and sure enough Rambo and LunaSea suffered no damage and hopefully our “payment” helped his family out.
Up to these falls, and probably beyond for about 20 kilometers, several times village kids strung twine across the road to stop motorists and then practically forced us to buy their fruit, pastries, etc. At one stop, they jumped on Rambo’s side steps and pressed their faces against the windows insisting that we buy something. We would have gladly done so just to get rid of them but we simply had no small currency left. We had used it all buying stuff from the kids at Agua Azul. This was a really scary situation, the kids were hanging on both sides and big trucks were
coming at us from the opposite direction. We kept moving slowly but we were terrified that one of these kids would be killed. They finally jumped off when they saw a tour bus coming. Safety, better prospects, who knows.
The agriculture was pretty boring, mostly bananas and corn and in a few cases the banana trees were surrounded by the corn. A few farmers were growing their corn on very steep hill sides. The real treats were the people and the animals. The pigs here have burly brown hair and look more like dogs. The sheep come in a variety of colors, their wool looking more like long fur.
These hills are populated by indigenous Indians known for their crafts. In one village the ladies were working at sewing machines beside the road. We passed several road side tiendas (stores) selling embroidered dresses and blouses one of which was identical to one I had bought in Playa del Carmen. Can’t help wondering how much I would’ve saved by eliminating the middle men.
Women in traditional dress of peasant blouse, black skirt bounded by a colorful outer girdle were ubiquitous as were children walking to and from school.
One mother and daughter were packing baskets on their backs with tall grasses which probably will be used for basket weaving. We saw other people including children carrying heavy loads of sticks for firewood on their backs. Women often carry small burdens on their heads and have their babies tied to their bodies while they go about their daily business. One little mom had a job hoeing weeds along the road. She had her baby tied to her back. Even most children going home from school seem to place their book bag strap on their heads leaving their hands free.
Nowhere in Mexico have we seen such poverty. Chiapas is one of Mexico’s poorest states. Many homes are mere hovels. They look like wooden boxes constructed of only wood planks and a door. Most often, there are no windows. The only ventilation seems to be that the top plank is not installed so there is air space below the roof. Some homes do have window openings but few have glass. Even fewer have ever been painted.
Some of this area is controlled by a guerilla organization which calls themselves the Zapatista National Liberation Army, named in honor of
an earlier Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata. In 1994, the group occupied San Christobal and several other mountain towns to demand a more equitable share of Mexico’s prosperity and more opportunity for self rule. Their activities have been pretty quiet for the last few years but we did pass two signs stating that the area was Zapatista territory.
Given the poverty and lack of modern conveniences, it is amazing how clean Mexican people keep themselves and their children. We have only seen a couple kids with dirty and ragged clothes.
We are at Bonampak Trailer Park behind the hotel of the same name. Camping is in a large open grassy field. We are within walking distance of the city. We have WiFi, utilities and the showers are hot. What more can you ask for!
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