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Chiapas Adventures Day 3: Off to Zinacantan

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Magically beautiful textiles in a shop in Zinacantan It’s a cloudy cool October morning in Chiapas, and lucky for me, my compadre Lynne has been in this region several times and knows the ins and outs of travel here. I’ve heard so many stories about these highland villages I can’t wait to see them for myself.  The indigenous people in this part of Chiapas are Maya by descent and most speak Tzotzil, a Mayan language, and many speak very little or no Spanish. 3 Mayan Crosses in Zinacantan. The Mayan use a long needle pine which is symbolic to them and you see it in churches and cemeteries. It is the representative of the Tree of Life.  Each municipio (municipality) here has its own laws, rules, regulations, traditions and practices; which means go with a guide in order to prevent offense to the local folk. In some cases, annoying people like the Chamula and trespassing on their rules and laws can result in some pretty dire consequences to the tourist. More abo
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Day 2.5: Intrepid Adventurers Afoot in San Cristobal

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Life is on the streets. Food entertainment and people of all ages We knew after we checked in to our hotel, settled in and figured out everything worked, it was time to explore. I put on my back pack, popped in my phone and the battery brick I bought because I run phones flat with photographs quickly. I added my guide book, some pesos in my travel purse and a bottle of water, along with comfy shoes on my feet. The rechargeable battery was my best investment. At 30 bucks it would recharge both our phones on the go twice in a day.  Mama at the market changing a baby, yes, those are the stones the streets and walkways are made of. If you have a hotel with a safe, it is highly recommended leave your cash except the day's spending money in it, along with your passport. Leave credit cards behind except for one, maximum. Most stores don't accept credit cards so plan accordingly.  Carry the tourist visa card you were given in your wallet and don't lose it. You must s
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Day Two: Getting There, San Cristobal de las Casas

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Cathedral, under repair after earthquakes The first day in San Cristobal is dedicated to getting there. We found the bus by taking a taxi in Tuxtla to the bus station and from there hopped on a nice Mercedes style bus thing. The bus was not the wreck I envisioned full of squawking chickens, sheep and farmers in from the country. The Mexican bus stations are more civilized and better run than the ones in the USA because these folks use them and depend on them for regular transport. Most of the roads and some of the cars and all of the drivers would make me use the bus, without factoring in the lack of stop signs at four way corners. More on the way they do traffic later.... Transport of Choice: the motorbike The roads are in rough shape but being worked on constantly. I could see some earthquake damage but not nearly what I expected to see and figuring out road work from earthquake damage was confusing. Excavating cobble stones is probably not much fun, but road crews are at
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Day One: Jump off to Chiapas

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On theway, Olympia to Tuxtla, October 21st .  Confronting a long day of travel to our jumping off point to Chiapas from Tuxtla, I didn’t even bother trying to go to bed and sleep.  Going to bed at midnight and getting up and on the road by 3:00 a.m. would have turned me into an over excited zombie. One last check of suitcases, making sure I had everything for two weeks in one small rolling bag and a back pack, I congratulated myself on my feat of packing for a week of cold weather to be followed by a week of hot weather in Mexico. And as always, I never wore half the stuff and wore the heck out of the rest. I was excited and a bit apprehensive, my friend Lynne has been to this area about 8 times and loves it more than anywhere else in the world. I, on the other hand, have read too many travel books about the dangers to tourists in Southern Mexico. Zapatistas, militia and drug cartels all ran through my head and played out worst case scenarios. I was going anyway, earthquakes
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