Indian Villages of Chiapas

This area near San Cristobal de Las Cases truly was 'another world' kind of place...it felt separate from the rest of Mexico.  The tribes of the Tzeltal and Tzotzil Indians are descendants of the ancient Mayans.  The people still dress in their native clothes, speak their own language, practice their own religion and shun influence from the outside world.  They seem to thrive on tourism, yet don't like having photos taken so we had to be discreet.  Our first stop in each village was the market.

  

 I wonder what's for dinner - chicken or snails?

Their clothing was fascinating.  Many women wore black wool skirts - really just a rectangle of what looked like 'fun fir' tied with a bright sash.  Other women wore black skirts with intricate embroidery.  Men also wore fur, either black or white.  Purple was the obvious predominant colour and we're sure it must have had some religious or traditional significance, but nobody could confirm for sure.  Many women wore elegant shawls over one shoulder.    

Even the children wore the traditional clothing.

The countryside was green and productive, dotted with small houses and quaint churches.

 

  

The religion practiced in the region is a mixture of Catholicism and ancient Mayan traditions.  We ventured inside one dark church where hundreds of people were either chanting and singing in front of ancient relics, or sitting on the floor with their families having picnic lunches and drinking alcohol or Coke.  There are no pews in their churches.  The floor was covered with pine boughs and hundreds of lit candles (a slight fire hazard) stuck to the floor with melted wax.  Sacrifices are made for healing and we watched a man break the neck of a live chicken to make his offering.  Photos are strictly forbidden so I didn't risk losing my camera.  

Local gas stations didn't bear the logos nor standards we're accustomed to.

We only saw women working the land or herding the animals.

Women were also the ones carrying heavy loads of wood (used for cooking & heating fuel) along the roadside.

Woman carried their babies or toddlers in slings, typically on their backs.  Notice the lady below is carrying a child on her front and a load of wood on her back!

 

In one village Brian met a young girl who took us to her home (really a shack covered with tarps) where the women of her family worked as backstrap weavers.  We admired the many beautiful pieces for sale.  I bought a couple of shawls there, and a woven table runner at the market.  

In leaving the area we came upon a field of wild calla lilies right beside the road.

Trip to Chiapas

The official name of Mexico is The United States of Mexico.  There are 31 states, plus Mexico City, which is a federal district (like Washington DC).  We live in the state of Jalisco (pronounced 'Ha-lee-sko) which borders the Pacific coast.  Brian is presently working half time in Ciudad del Carmen, which is located on an island at the base of the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Campeche.  I joined him there for his birthday to see where he is working and living, and then on our anniversary two days later we crossed the state of Tabasco to begin a road trip around the state of Chiapas.

I'm typically not a fan of photos taken from airplane windows, but as I was flying between Mexico City and Ciudad del Carmen I happened to glance out the window and this is what I saw.  Notice that one of the volcanoes is blowing smoke.  On the trip home I was watching for the volcanoes and took the second photo.

The first thing that impressed me on our trip was the bright colours of the houses with their tidy yards.  

We had arranged to meet a friend in Villahermosa whom Brian had worked with 17 years ago in Dallas and Caracas.  She is Venezuelan, but like all geologists, had to leave there many years ago (thanks to Chavez), and has been working in Mexico.  We met at a Venezuelan restaurant and enjoyed the visit and the food.  

The first evening (our 33rd wedding anniversary) we spent at the town of Palenque, where we lucked into front row seats of a free folkloric show in the main plaza.  Before the show started, Brian reviewed our trip plans in the Lonely Planet Guidebook, while I mingled with the performers to take photos.  

 

Muchisimo starts young

This part of Mexico, along with the Yucatan, is known for its extensive Mayan ruins.  We visited three archaeological sites.  The first two were Palenque and Bonampak.

 

My favourite site was called Yaxchilan.  Early in the morning we hired a small boat to take us for an hour  ride on a river bordering Guatemala.  Because we were the first ones there and the dew was rising from the ruins in the jungle setting, it felt like 'the real thing'.  

Before heading out on this trip, Brian had questioned the wisdom of driving the Frontier Highway along the Guatemalan border.  We wanted to see this part of Chiapas, and although we thrive on adventure and seeing  'the road less traveled', Brian also does the research and asks questions in the right places to confirm our safety.  We never felt unsafe or at risk, but Brian did have an interesting conversation with the boat driver as we returned from Yaxchilan.   He told him that drugs frequently crossed this river like sacks of corn between Guatemala and Mexico, headed north to the US from Colombia.  The section of river we were on is controlled by the Zeta cartel and just down the river is controlled by El Chapo.  Fortunately the traffickers don't bother local citizens or tourists.  

The scenery throughout the trip was varied and beautiful.  We started at sea level and reached an elevation of 7000 feet at San Cristobal de Las Casas.  Many lakes, rivers and waterfalls made up a big part of the beauty.   

Auga Azul (although the water colour was more green than blue)

 

Murciélagos Waterfalls

El Chiflon 

El Chiflon - Bridal Veil

One morning we did stroll past this lake and to the small buildings beyond to cross over into Guatemala.  There was no formal customs or immigration - just this marker and line across the lake to define the boundary.  I bought a woven bag while Brian visited with a farmer.   

No trip with Brian would be complete (nor as interesting) without some geology lessons.  Lagos de Montebello is an area of 5 lakes formed by sink holes.  This was particularly interesting as the news highlight at this time was the sink hole that swallowed the man sleeping in his bed in Florida.  We hired a raft with oarsman to take us across the lakes, but Brian enjoys to row too.  

Because these lakes have no runoff flowing into them, the water is crystal clear.  We were shown some underwater stalactites.  In the dry season, the water level falls to expose the stalactites which grow from  dripping water.  

Cañon Sumidero was formed roughly the same time as the Grand Canyon.  The 13km boat ride passes by walls 1000 meters high.  The large 'Christmas tree' rock formation (note the scale by the 40 passenger boat in the river) was also made by limestone coming out of the water.  In addition to interesting geology, we saw some local wildlife.  

 

 

Vultures

Some of the best sites of a road trip are the things you see from the car as you drive along the road. Brian is a great to stop whenever I see a photo op, but many are taken while we're driving.  

In different locations, much of the stretch of highway was bordered by trees blooming in beautiful pink blossoms, but upon closer inspection, we noticed that these trees serve as fence posts.  

 

I wonder why the turkey crossed the road?  

The best meal we had on the whole trip was quite by accident.  It was a long drive between towns and we had passed up tortillas at our morning stop.  

Brian then read in the Lonely Planet about a 5-star hacienda in that area.  As we drove for miles along a remote, country road, we were sure it was a wild goose chase.  But we were incredibly surprised.  The setting was gorgeous and the food excellent.  

 

 

Typically we avoid driving at night at any time - it's possible to encounter cows or other animals on the road and probable to encounter vehicles with one or no headlights.  However, sometimes the best views are at night.  We enjoyed one of the best sunsets we've ever seen.  These photos aren't touched up at all.  

Another amazing part of this trip were the days we spent visiting the Indian villages.  This was such a world apart that I am going to dedicate a separate blog post to this part of our journey.  (Besides, this is already long enough).