San Cristóbal de las casas

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On Monday, March 5th, I arrived after 11 hours bus ride from Oaxaca at 7:45AM in San Cristóbal de las casas. From the bus terminal, I walked about 20 minutes until I arrived at my hostel, Posada de los Abuelitos where I got a warm welcome from the hostel staff. They gave me a locker where I could leave my stuff until the check-in in the afternoon and told me that breakfast was already included on my arrival day. Perfect! :-) The first person I saw in the hostel was a friendly face : Isaac from Australia that I had met in Oaxaca a few days earlier. :-) We talked for a while over breakfast and then came Clifford from London (whom I also knew from Oaxaca). They were doing different things that day and at 10AM I went to the zócalo (main square) to do the free walking tour. Since we were 30 people, the group was split in 2 and I went with Carlos, who is an amazing guide! It was his last day as a guide in San Cristóbal, because the next day he was leaving to Uruguay to see his pregnant girlfriend and spend a few months there.
Carlos showed as many interesting places and went with us to the artisanal marked. There are mainly 3 things sold there : amber, jade and (von Hand bestickte) shirts and dresses. He told us that in order to distinguish real and fake amber, we should always ask for an ultrablue light that most salesmen have. If the stone turn blue in the light, it's a real one, if you only see a blue dott on it, it's a fake. He also told us that all salesmen and -women on this market are honest people who make their products themselves and that they will try to barcain with you, offering you immediately a cheaper price, but that you should pay the original, more expensive one, because they really need that money and where for us a few cents make no difference, for them it's a lot of money. He also told us, that many men in Mexico have huge alcohol problems and treat their women poorly, letting them do all the work at home, leaving them alone to care for their children and to work and sell their stuff at the market. He assured us that these women would never spend the money they earn on drugs or alcohol, that they would use it to care for their children. Honestly, it's a shame they have to work so hard, their husbands not doing anything and wasting the little money they have!
Carlos also told us that many men start drinking very early in the morning, continuing all day, even in the middle of the week and that therefore some areas are not secure for women in the night, many of these drunk guys rapping women in the night in the streets. Even a (Mexican) friend of his had experienced that a few weeks earlier.

Carlos told us, that San Cristóbal de las casas is a very beautiful and international city with people from all over the world living peacefully together. The indigenous people in this area where Mayas, but after the colonization, the Spanish populated this area with indigenous people from all areas in Mexico. SC was a very important point for them, because it was a key area between Aztecs and Mayas and in order to keep the country together, they needed it to become big, diverse and important to every tribe. So every tribe got a different area of the city and was in charge of what they did best, for example working iron or stones, wood or clothes, etc. You can still see in the different areas of the city where what craft was most common.
Nowadays, this city is a harbor for artist and young people. You can immediately feel the city's good vibes and energy and feel happy and at home there. For my part, I like this city a lot!

What also seems to flourish there is alcohol, drugs (pot, hash, mushrooms) and pizza. They have a drink called pox that has about 40° and that is delicious! It's made of 50% corn, sugarcane and something else and it can come with chocolate, mango, mint or strawberry taste. Absolutely delicious! Also, they drink a lot of red wine and not so much beer, just the opposite of Oaxaca, maybe because it's much colder here. During the day, temperatures go to 22 to 25°C and in the night it gets quite cold, while in Oaxaca it's much warmer.

Carlos was very passionate about the zapatista movement of which he was part. This movement is quite complex and fights the corrupt and violent Mexican government and the injustices and inequalities in their country. There are many zapatista communities, gatherings and even shops in the city. I was a bit surprised to learn that they want to split up from the rest of Mexico, have nothing to do with this corruption and injustice, but that they don't consider creating a political part to revendicate their demands. I think it's a shame that they demand a better system but that they don't propose a better option to the community. Apparently, it would be of not much use, because the corrupt politicians go to the villages of the poor indigenous villages (there are many many of them), give them a bit of money and tell them what color to vote for. Since these people are really really poor, it doesn't take much to get them on their side, even if they know that things won't get better for them this way...really bad situation...

Carlos also showed us the street art, most of it political and related to the zapatista movement. Like this one painting showing 2 older ladies with arms. He told us that 2 years ago or so he was in a village where the zapatistas were manifesting against the government. The police shot most of them even though it was a completely peaceful manifestation. People retreated to the village where other zapatistas were waiting for them. They knew something like that would happen and so they had organised a fake wedding at the entrance of the village to block the police while the wounded were brought into the church and helped as best as possible in 10 minutes time and brought through the back entrance back to their own villages. The police pointed their guns at the others of the fake wedding and tried to get through to kill all the wounded, but they wouldn't let them through. At some point, when he was really scared they were going to shoot everyone, an old lady took the end of one police officer's gun and pointed it at er in head, saying : " either you shoot us now or you get the hell out of here!". Carlos said this was the scariest moment of his life, but that he understood then that these women fighting there were willing to go as far as necessary to save their own and fight for people's rights. Incredibly impressive!!!

Another painting showed a coca cola publicity and the brand's name was replaced by "con consciencia" (with conscience). He told us that coca cola is destroying much of their culture, because for their products they are draining a mountain that is very important for SC. They sell a coca cola bottle for half of the price of water and then say people have a choice to drink what they want, but if you are very poor, what choice do you really have? So, definitely never again coca cola products!

Carlos went with us also o a cacao museum. There we could try roasted cacao beans, fermented cacao beens and chocolate bars (natural, with cinnamon or with pox). Sooo good! :-D Fortunately, they are located just 10m away from our hostel!Carlos told us, that you can get completely high from cacao beans and that, if you look someone a lot in the eyes while doing it, you can completely fall in love with this person, but that this feeling leaves when the effect of beans goes away. ^^

He also showed us a nice rooftop bar. This bar is mostly for artists and all walls are covered by beautiful paintings. There, he showed us one plant that is used in cleansing rituals. He told us, that as a young guy, he was very violent, always furious and in fights, hurting others and himself. Some day somewhere in the desert, he met this guy who said his soul was very sick and who did 1 week of those rituals with him and that since then, he has been an utterly different person, happy, nice and open minded. So, he had experienced himself the power of this plant and we believed him.
He also told us about the beliefs of the Maya and other civilizations, there gods and stories about how one of the Maya kings is said I have been an alien. In truth, they were just very very smart people back then with a huge knowledge who bound the heads in a way that they would later be longer and more oval, looking more like the universe (in their opinion). That sounds better than aliens ^^
One of the Aztec's gods back then was supposed to have gone away for some time to become more mature (Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcán I believe) while his evil twin brother reigned over the Aztecs. When the Spanish ships arrived, the Aztecs first believed they were a reincarnation of this long lost god and, supposedly, that's why the Spanish could surprise them and invade them so easily...

Finally, we had Mexican coffee at a wonderful small bakery (Kukulpan) and then some pox at a shop a few doors away.
Our tour ended with all of us having lunch together. It had been a very very good tour, Carlos was amazing!!! :-D

On this tour, I had also met Nischa from the States. She is in Mexico because she wants to go to the international women gathering organised by the zapatistas in a village a few hours from SC. She was very nice an we made plans to go see a village the next day together.

After this tour, I went back to the hostel where Isaac and Cliffton were hanging out with some other people. That's how I met Jay from England, Falk from Germany, Tiffany from California and Jessica from California. They were super nice people and we spent the afternoon in the little oasis of our hostel. Suddenly, someone wanted to go get some cacao beens and I went with some other people to the cacao museum next door. We all ate many many cacao beans and had some red wine and so we got completely high and a bit drunk. I have never been high before in my life, but this was awesome! I was happy all the time, even more than usually, jumping and dancing around like a child. We all had so much fun! :-D Jay, Falk, Isaac and me went out to a wine bar where we ate a bit and had a few glasses of wine, but we were not really hungry and so we went back to the hostel, buying some more wine on the way. Back there, we had a fantastic night, people from other hostels, like Chris and Felix from Germany (met in our hostel in Oaxaca) and Pauline from France joined us. Apparently we were very loud, because the neighbors started complaining and so the hostel stopped our party... But it had been an amazing night! :-D

The next morning, I couldn't walk anymore... During the night, when I was jumping all the time, I had made a wrong move and spread my ankle and probably gotten a tendonitis in my left foot. So I decided to spend the day in the hostel, recovering. I only went out in the morning to getting the farmacy to get some medicine. I had talked to my friend Caroline in Belgium who is a reflex therapist and she had told me to bath my foot with the white of eggs, to take vitamin B and Magnesium and to get some cream and pills against inflammation. On the way, I found out that I had left my glasses in the bus the day before and so I took a taxi to the bus station where they told me there is no way to recover them... :-( I bought a new charger for my IPad (lost my adapter and couldn't find a new one) and went back to the hostel. Tiffany, Falk and me went for lunch to Kukulpan and to the artisanal marked where I bought an very bracelet and then I went back to the hostel to rest my foot, while they went to a coffee museum (which apparently wasn't good). Later, they came back with Isaac and Jay and we spent the afternoon together at the hostel. Isaac had had to move to another hostel because he hadn't prolonged his stay early enough and all rooms were taken. So, now, he was in a different hostel but spending his time with us at our hostel. :-) That afternoon, we also got a visit from Chase who had arrived to SC in the morning, but was staying in a different hostel.
Jay and Jessica went to buy more cacao beans and we all ate many of them. Later, at 6:30PM, Aline, a girl from JCI whom I had met 2 years earlier in Uruguay, came to pick me up and we went for dinner. She took me to this amazing place called "esquina San Agustín". This place has different restaurants and it is really beautiful! After having a pizza, we walked a bit around the zócalo and then I went home. On our way back, we picked up her father, who was very nice and who invited me to visit them in their village on my next visit to SC. I wasn't feeling well, having cramps in my stomach and feeling sick. A bit later, Jay, Tiffany and Jessica came back from their dinner and told me they were feeling sick and having cramps as well. Apparently the cacao beans Jay had bought from this organic shop had been bad... :-( We had some tea and went to bed very early, but it would take me days to start feeling better...

The next morning, we were feeling a bit better, but still not completely good. Stupid cacao beans that's what you get from buying in an organic shop ! :-(
That day, Jay left to work a few weeks on a farm, we were sad to have to say goodbye to him...
At 9AM that day, my tour to the Canyón Sumidero started. Unfortunately, there was no other solo traveler in this tour,but only couples and the only people really talking to me was a couple from Ensenada in the North of Mexico. They seemed quite nice (at first). It was about 1 hour to the canyon and there 1h in the boat through the canyon. It was really beautiful there and we saw many animals : 5 or 6 crocodiles, 2 monkeys and countless birds. I liked it, but it's not the most amazing thing I've ever done, maybe because I was missing company.
Afterwards, we went to a magic village where we could either walk around (not a good choice with my foot) or have lunch in a nice little restaurant. I chose the second option, just as the couple from Ensenada. There this women suddenly started talking to me about how she found Jesus who is our God an that all those who don't believe in him will go to hell. She started trying to convert me and I just kept telling her that her efforts were in vain. She was really starting to annoy me, completely fanatic and crazy this woman!!! o_o
They paid for my lunch, telling me Jesus had sent them to me and that he offered me lunch, them just being his instruments. WTF!?!? I was happy when I could get away from them! Well, at least from her, he was quite ok and talked to me about other things. I could see that even he was annoyed by his wife's behavior!
I learned from him that only in the North of Mexico they make wine, white, red, rosé, and that only in the South they have coffee, cacao and banana plantations.
That day was the day if Saint Thomas and there was a little procession in the village of the people whose saint he is. Funny, but just as crazy...

At 3PM I was finally back in San Cristóbal de las casas and happy to get back to my hostel! I had to change dorms because mine (4 bed deluxe female dormitory) was full and I had to move to the 10 bed mixed dorm. It was ok though, Jessica had been moving between both dormitories for days ^_^
After a nice shower to wash away all the craziness, I relaxed, rested my foot and spent some time with Tiffany, Jessica and the 2 Rikke from Dänemark. At 5:30, we all went to the rooftop bar a few blocks away where we met Isaac and his friend Katharina. It's this really artistic bar where we went on our free walking tour and that evening, there was an artist making a naked portrait of 3 women. Nice, but a bit strange to sit there next to them posing. We only stayed like one hour, then we split up. Katharina went back to her hostel, the 2 Rikke and 2 Dutch girls we had just met went for dinner to an Argentinian steak house and Jessica, Tiffany, Isaac and I went to Frontera, a restaurant in a ice backyard just a few blocks from our hostel. There, Tiffany and I had very delicious burgers with mushrooms and avacado. :-)
We went all back to the hostel where Chase joined us and we had some more wine. Chase was supposed to come with a French guy called Pedro (half Spanish) who Isaac should have seen in their hostel in Puebla, but Pedro didn't come. It wasn't the first time this happened and we were making fun of Chase, saying that Pedro probably was his imaginary friend ^_^
Except for Lynn (one of the Dutch girls), Isaac, Chase and me, everyone went to bed quite early but we had a good time, taking many crazy selfies and drinking a lot of wine (probably not the best idea^^). At some point they all left and I went to bed as well. It was hard for me to say goodbye to Chase and Isaac. We had spend so many wonderful, crazy and funny moments together and they have become really good friends of mine. Well, we'll meet again some day, I'm pretty sure. :-)

I had the same sad feeling about leaving San Cristóbal de las casas. I loved this city very much, such a wonderful atmosphere, nice weather but not too hot. I really hope I’ll go back some day. It just felt like a home. :-)

At 3:30AM the next day, Tiffany and I had to get up for our tour to Palenque. This was much too early and I was regretting having had so much wine and going to bed so late... We had some coffee and, at 4:20AM, our bus arrived.
It was rather a van than a bus and there was no way we could sleep in it since the road was really bad ...
At 6:30, we stopped for breakfast and that's when I saw that Ajla was on out bus! She and Maddy, an Australian girl she had met on her way from Puerto Escondido to SC, were on our tour and that was very nice. After breakfast, we had 90 more minutes until we arrived at the Centro ecoturístico de Água Azul national park. There we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the other girls went into the water for a little photoshoot and to enjoy the sun. With my hurt foot I was too afraid to get into the water and to slip, so I just watched them and when they came back up I went a little further to find a wonderful place. I really liked this place, most of all because there were almost no other tourists (yet)!
Then we continued to another waterfall (Cascadas Musol Ha) 1 hour away. It was very nice and we spent 1 hour there, enjoying the fresh air, because in this area of Chiapas, it's very hot and humid, absolutely different from San Cristóbal de las casas! That's also the reason why here it's green everywhere and there are countless banana plantations.
Our final destination was then the ruins of Palenque where we had 2 hours to discover it. While Ajla and Maddy just went on their own, Tiffany, me and a couple from Argentina took a guide. He explained us all about the ruins and the Maya culture. So far, only a small part of this has been uncovered in the forest. The peek of it is supposed to have been between 630 and 740 AD and about 25.000 people are supposed to have lived there. So far, you can see the Royal palace, the temple of the red queen, the temple of Pakal. The red queen might have been his wife, but science is not sure. This city is considered to have been completely red, all stones covered with this color, probably taken from these little insects that live on the nopal cactus. Other colors used there are black, yellow and blue. You can still see residues of this color here and here, like in the tomb of the red queen. There is also the temple of the sun, where the sun shines through every 21st if April. Mayas were amazing architects and astrologists. All their buildings are constructed in a way that earthquakes can't destroy them. The biggest treasure in this city was jade, they had a lot of it.

Everything is quite well preserved and you can still see some mural paintings. They also found an important manuscript of Maya knowledge in one of the temples that explains facts from +/- 3000 B.C. until 3000 A.D. Our guide explained to us the Maya calendar and how it’s based on a number our counting system. He also told us that the Mayan cosmovision is tripartite : there is the underworld, the earth and the upperworld. Maya culture and civilisation is really interesting and definitely worth spending more time with !





After our tour, our bus driver left Ajla, Maddy and me on the bus terminal in Palenque and I said goodbye to Tiffany who went back to San Cristóbal de las casas while we were continuing to Bacalar.

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