Palenque

From the cool, fresh mountains of San Cristobal, we descended into the jungle today to visit Palenque. The town of Palenque doesn't have much to offer itself, but it is the site of some incredible Mayan ruins. We drove on curvy mountain roads the entire way, through indigenous villages, and we saw people walking along the roads in traditional dress. Some of the towns we passed through are autonomous villages governed by the Zapatistas, and they had big signs and paintings along the sides of the road. Very cool.

The ruins of Palenque were once a Mayan town, complete with a palace and many temples. They were mysteriously abandoned in the 10th century, along with other Mayan towns, for reasons that are still unknown. (Sergio's theory: there were too many stairs!!) We got to the ruins at about 2, and were proceeding with the guidebook I bought and were climbing each building until it suddenly began to rain. We hid in a nook in the palace for awhile, but when it seemed like it wasn't going to let up any time soon, we decided that we had seen enough and headed back to the car. Luckily, we did get to see almost everything before it rained. As Sergio said, we had a true rainforest experience!

Here are a few pictures - we took loads, as you can imagine. We are planning to have a low-key night in our hostel, which also has a restaurant, where we are sitting now, and will take off very very early for the long drive to Puebla tomorrow. Puebla is one of the most European towns in Mexico - held by first the Spanish, then the French. It will be interesting to go there after Chiapas and all of the Mayan culture we have been seeing here.

San Cristobal

We are having a great time in San Cristobal! Two days is just not enough time. We are leaving to see the Mayan ruins at Palenque tomorrow.

Chiapas

We only have two days in San Cristobal de las Casas, but there is so much to do that we have agreed that we will have to come back someday. Yesterday, we spent the evening wandering around the plaza, reading the paper, and enjoying a leisurely dinner after our long drive. San Cristobal is a beautiful colonial town, surrounded by villages still inhabited by native tribes, and it was the flashpoint of the Zapatista rebellion in 1994. In fact, it takes its name from Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish priest who was known as being a "Defender of the Indians" and sending information about the mistreatment of indigenous peoples to the Spanish monarchs. As we sat at a European-style sidewalk cafe, we were continually approached by native children trying (and often succeeding, as I am a giant softie) to sell us souvenirs and handicrafts.

This morning, we went to visit their villages. I had read about a tour group that has a great reputation in the region for being culturally sensitive, so Sergio and I called from Teco to reserve spaces. We met them at the cross in front of the cathedral at 9:15, and set out for San Juan Chamula. (All of the towns in this region have two names - a Spanish name and a native name.) Our guide, Cesar, is half Tzotzil (the ethnic group that most of the people around San Cristobal belong to), was raised on the outskirts of San Cristobal, and speaks some of the language. (He also speaks great English and even threw out a Dutch word to translate for some Europeans on our tour - very impressive!) Although the tour group was bigger than I had hoped, Sergio and I scored seats in Cesar's car since we were the first to arrive, so we got to hear his commentary on the drive.

Although the people in this region are all Tzotzil and all speak the same language, each village has its own distinct dress. In Chamula, the women wear black wool skirts and embroidered blouses, and the men wear black wool tunics. (Many of the women were also wearing cardigans, as it was a little chilly today - I told Sergio that I felt right at home!) In Zinacantan, the second village we visited, the women wear skirts and shawls and the men wear tunics all with the same embroidered blue floral print.

It would take much more time than I have this evening to write about everything we saw and learned on our tour, but it was a wonderful experience! It was great that we got to go on a Sunday, because that's market day, so there was lots of activity (and lots to buy!).

San Cristobal de las Casas

We made it to San Cristobal! It was a very long drive, and we are happy to have arrived. Now, we're going to eat!

Last night in Puerto Escondido

We had another relaxing day today, wandering around town, swimming in the pool, and reading the newspapers over lemonade and nachos in the palapa. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we head to San Cristobal de las Casas! Our hostel there allegedly has internet, so I hope to post in the next day or two.