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.

More Teco Pictures

Here are some more pictures from our visit to Tecolotlan!

I took some pictures of the convent where Sergio had his first communion, and of Sergio standing on the steps of his old school.

There are also some pictures from our hike to Sergio's grandfather's ranch: some along the way, one of a little boy with a bird that we stopped to talk to (the conversation went like this: Sergio asked if he could take a picture of him, and the boy said yes but looked awkward, so I tried to engage him in conversation. I asked, "What is your bird's name?" and I thought he replied, "Jose," so I said, "Oh, that's a nice name," etc, etc. When we walked away, Sergio told me that he thought the boy had replied, "No se," which means "I don't know." If this is the case, he probably thought I was totally nutty), one of Sergio with a donkey, one of Sergio dancing to the rap music that was blasting from somewhere (although we didn't see anyone around!). There's also a picture of the church in Teco.

More Cuernavaca Pictures

Here are some more pics from Cuernavaca! When we arrived in Cuernavaca, we immediately got lost. My guidebook notes that Cuernavaca is a notoriously difficult city to navigate, with streets that change names, stop in one place and start up again somewhere else. I thought I knew where we had to go to get to our hostel, but sure enough, we got onto a street that I thought was on my map which then abruptly changed names into something I didn't recognize and I wasn't sure where we were. After driving for awhile, we decided to stop and ask for directions, and we saw a small group of men and women wearing matching shirts and thought they would be a good group to ask. One of the men came over to the car, showed me where we were on the map, and gave us good directions. We thanked him and drove on. Local elections are taking place in Mexico on July 5, so there are political posters everywhere. A few blocks after we received directions, we saw a poster for the man we had just spoken to! He is running with the conservative "PAN" party, so Sergio made a joke about that, and I took a picture of his poster. Below that are pictures of the beautiful lunch we ate on the plaza, across from the Palacio Cortes; the gazebo designed by Gustave Eiffel, and Sergio at the Museo Robert Brady.