Del Mar a la Montaña

With the boat brought to a condition that is nearly ready for passage making, we wanted to see some more of the State of Chiapas. A circle-trip by car up into the mountains was planned. 

Long lost in the deep jungle terrain during the millennia between 900 - 1900, Chiapas has many Maya ruins. The vast majority of these ruins remain buried and overgrown. There is a “Raiders of the Lost Arc” vibe when visiting such ruins and who does not want some of that spirit in their lives? Minus the dinghy drops from airplanes, of course. There is such a thing as too much adventure.

We thought we planned as well as we could, but right off the hop leaving Tapachula we got caught up in a massive police blockade. Hundreds of police with riot shields and batons were trying to stop a crowd of migrants from marching north out of the city. As we arrived on the traffic-jammed scene, the police blockade had just been overrun by the crowd of 2,000 migrants and the overwhelmed police were in foot retreat past our car.

Advancing through the retreating  lines of shielded police we were never exposed to any worrisome action, but the road delay was more than 2 hours. As we finally made our way through on the highway we passed rag-tag crowds of impoverished migrants, walking on foot with a 2500 mile journey ahead of them. In the days since we have read news articles as they continue their slow, arduous journey. The crowd has now swelled to 4,000 as word has gotten out and other migrants also stuck in the area have found a way to join the movement.  In our air-conditioned car and our secure financial condition of retirement we marvel at the sight of these intrepid traveling refugees; all the while feeling the guilt of our own ease.

 

With some help from our friend Rob, Alice mapped out an aggressive itinerary for the Chiapas road trip to catch absolutely ALL the key sights.

Thousands of migrants road blocked by riot police and the National Guard. Unlike journalist photographers we we were too chicken to take photographs of the action. 

Lush scenic countryside appreciated all the more when traveling the well kept toll roads.

Chiapa de Corzo was our first destination and we managed to arrive just before nightfall. Canyon tours by boat are the main tourist offering there, through vertical cuts of mountain rising 3,000 feet above. 

We stayed 2 nights in the small town of Chiapa de Corzo.

The key attraction is the Canon del Sumidero river trip. 

A spider monkey.

A favorite tourist stop for Mexicans, Europeans, Central and South-Americans of means is San Christobal de las Casas.   The road from Chiapa de Corzo climbs on a steady grade upward and patience is required following the heavy trucks grinding slowly up the hill and pulling over to take frequent cooling stops. The area around San Christobal is populated by indigenous Maya peoples and the funky street scene is a mix of tourist shops and restaurants, with many Maya people hawking their wares and begging. The town has a bohemian reputation and a subclass of the townspeople appear to be visitors who initially came to bliss out with their own hippyish kind and then chose to try to find a way to stay, joining the Maya as street side hawkers of decorative wares.

In San Cristobal, the food, coffee, and mezcal are delicious.

Monthly government cheques issued and bank lineups of the local Indigenous people.

The traditional dress from a local village included heavy wool skirts.

Preparation for Dia de Los Muertos

An afternoon walk up to Cerro de Guadalupe.

We signed up for a tour of 2 Maya villages of the Tzotzil group - San Juan Chamula and San Lorenzo Zinacantan.   The very best pictures to be taken of San Juan Chamula were prohibited. The inside of the village Church (Templo de San Juan Bautista) was a truly fantastic scene. A packed hall of Maya people kneeled on a floor strewn with pine needles and thousands of burning candles and the heavy smoke of incense clouded the air. As the devout inside honoured their Christian and Maya Gods and communed with their dead, shared among all were shots of strong white sugarcane liquor, served with Coca Cola chaser. Apparently the burping induced by this ritual mixed drink somehow helps in the release of human badness. The vivid imagination of religion in all its forms never ceases to amaze.

Templo de San Juan

Sale of pine needles for the church and graves.

 In Zinacanton we learnt about weaving and then were invited into a Maya home for coffee, fresh tortillas, and pox - the local moonshine.

The cross of the Maya always connected to the earth and adorned with pine branches.

The cemetery in Chamula was busy with families preparing for Dia de Los Muertos by tending to the graves with pine needles and flowers.  On November 2nd, families visit with their deceased for a grave-side picnic.

Three nights in San Christobal (accompanied by a couple of days of “traveler’s gut”) were followed by our arriving to a flat tire on our parked car. Our hotel bellhop called for a mechanico and they in turn brought us to a “taller pneumatico” to repair the tire. Our bellhop kissed the 100 peso tip he received for his efforts; the mechanico insisted he was owed nada but we insisted he was also owed 100; the pneumatico in his grim little shop asked for 50 and we paid 100, producing another smile. A grand total of $15 USD the poorer we were happy to be off at last on a long detour route towards Palenque, the site of famous Mayan jungle ruins.

The shorter route from San Christobal to Palenque is straight north on a curvy road through the mountains, but it has a reputation for frequent protest road-blocks and there were also stories about road-side robbers. Our efforts to confirm or deny the present currency of these hazards came to no conclusion, so we reluctantly set off on a much longer but apparently safer drive through the State of Tabasco. Having gotten away late with our flat tire and following a rule to not drive country roads at night, we overnighted in the forgettable city of Villahermosa.

Palenque is a World Heritage site and pictures do a better job of describing Maya ruins than words. Archaeological digs and restorations are expensive, so while the visible ruins are impressive indeed, only 2% of the area has been exposed. The rest remains covered in jungle. Walking on paths through the forested terrain there are ancient overgrown stones and structures everywhere. 

The well preserved glyphs of the Palenque ruins provide what is known of this settlement that existed from 100 BC to 900 AD.

Replica of the Red Queen. 

We walked in the jungle on top of huge temples still to be unearthed.

The ball court.   The captain of the winning team had the honour of being sacrificed.

 There are lots of magic mushrooms here.   Don’t eat this one unless you want your last trip.

Two nights at the Maya Bell Eco-Lodge.  We can hear the howler monkeys from our cabana.

Dia de Los Muertos displays.

Where there are mountains there are also waterfalls.

Next up, the second half of our circle trip.