The Colors of Mexico

After a week of a home stay, Spanish classes, and return to Xela, I found myself ready to embark on new adventures in new lands. Having never visited our neighbor to the South (which is the neighbor to the North in Guatemala), I decided to go exploring the poorest state in Mexico—Chiapas. I’ve read quite a bit on Chiapas, and earlier when planning the trip with Adam and Harvey, decided that San Cristóbal de las Casas was going to be the best bet. I booked a shuttle from Xela to San Cristóbal through a local tour company, and after a final breakfast on the street at my favorite vendor in Xela, I embarked on the journey.

The ride itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was the only American on the shuttle, and it was very nice to be able to practice my Spanish on my fellow travelmates (all of whom were from Europe). The shuttle was as comfortable as anyone could expect, and I was able to get a bit of sleep in.

The Guatemalan/Mexico border was very stress-free, as the Mexican immigration officials didn’t really seem to care a)What I was bringing into the country b) How long I was going to be in the country. During the stop on the border, I met two guys from Portland, Oregon who embarked on a journey from PDX to Argentina on a pair of bicycles back in September. For having traveled quite a bit already, they were in really good spirits (as just about everyone is when they are at a border crossing—except probably the agents at the border) about their travels, and had a lot of great things to say about many places they visited in Mexico.

Chiapas

Although Guatemala and Mexico share a border, it wasn’t very long until I began to notice a drastic change in the landscape as we drove deeper into Chiapas. Although it is the dry season down here, the still green cover of the Guatemalan mountains gave way to deep red dirt and a fairly desolate, dried out landscape in Mexico. Even the shape of the mountains seemed to look different, as the gentle slopes of the Guatemalan volcanic ranges transformed into more pronounced, pointed peaks and steeper gradients. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention to it while we were driving (or maybe I was just asleep), but the agriculture in Chiapas also seemed significantly more pronounced than in Guatemala. Looking down into the mountain valleys, there seemed to be an endless amount of fields as far as the eye could see.

Hand sewn dolls at the Market

Another difference that was instantly apparent in Chiapas was the military presence along the highway. In Guatemala, it seemed that the military was something that you only heard about, not something that I found to be very visual. This was probably due to that fact that I mainly stayed in areas where there wasn’t much of a need for a military presence. On the other hang, the Mexican military was quite visual along the drive up to San Crisóbal. After crossing the border, it only took roughly ten minutes before we were stopped at a military check point. Two men wearing camouflage and carrying AK-47s checked our passports and did a quick search for drugs on the shuttle. Since everyone in the shuttle was a tourist, the stop only took maybe 10 minutes, but for me, seeing men carrying such large guns is always intimidating. At the same time having such a strong military presence (we had two stops in total but saw three military bases) certainly adds to the feeling of safety in this area, but unlike in Guatemala, I plan on taking first class buses as opposed to those that the locals take—just for precaution.

Chicken Heads in the Market

One of the other things that I have enjoyed immensely about being in Central America is the presence of Volkswagens nearly everywhere—more so in Mexico. Driving through Chiapas, it seemed as if every fourth car was an old bug, and in San Cristóbal the shuttles around the city are all microbuses. Nearly every mechanic down here specializes in Volkswagens, and if things cool down a bit along the US border, I would absolutely love to take my VW Golf for a ride through this country. I’ve befriended a couple Germans and a nice guy from New Zealand in my hostel, and they have all spent nearly a year in Mexico. The Kiwi, Simon, has been living in Mexico City for the past six months and has spent a bit of time in Oaxaca, and he has nothing but amazing things to say about both. The bikers from Oregon that I met on the border rode down Baja California, and also had nothing but great things to say about it. When talking to them about their border crossing, they said they didn’t run into any problems, and that gives me a bit of confidence that most of the violence is concentrated in Cuidad Juarez. If only I had more time down here, I would love to get to Oaxaca, as the city sounds fantastic as it is surrounded by mountains and the beaches have a reputation on the travelers’ trail for being some of the best in the country. Oh the planning for future trips is already beginning…

But instead of thinking about the future, let’s talk about the present: San Cristóbal de las Casas. On first impression the city reminds me a lot of Antigua—minus the gringo presence. There is defiantly a feeling of this city being a touristy one, but for the most part the tourists seem to be from Mexico and the few gringo’s I have seen and met are all pretty interesting. I feel as if I’m the outsider amongst the gringos here as I don’t have a Mohawk, dreads, shave only half of my head, and I only wear normal clothes by American (and Mexican) standards. Unlike in Guatemala, San Crisóbal is very, very clean (there are actually trash cans here!), and I have yet to see a stray dog in the city. Like in Antigua, the buildings are painted in vibrant colors, and the locals are very receptive to outsiders. Having always loved the simple, almost child-like art in Latin American, San Cristóbal is amazing, as I have been able to pop into a few shops showcasing much of the local art and craftwork. And the colors are beyond fantastic…

My hostel is located right by the main pedestrian malls where there is a bustle of people both during the day and night, and unlike in Guatemala there seems to be live music just about everywhere. Last night I was able to share some mezcal and conversation with my new friends while a Latin electro-pop band blared in the corner of the café.

I chose my hostel mainly for it’s location and price but also because it seemed to have a variety of activities based out of its location. Posada Ganesha has an Indian (as in India Indian) theme to it, and upon entry I first noticed all the Indian art on the walls, the open, green communal area, incense burning, and the workers—who were dressed in traditional Indian cloth and greeted me with a pleasant, “Hare Krishna.” I chuckled inside at first, as I thought having your workers dress in Indian garb was a bit much, but when I returned to hostel after exploring the city for an hour, there was a full blown Hindu ceremony happening, with nearly fifty locals packed into the communal area, listening to their guru talk around a fire. This was certainly surprising, as the Catholic Church has such a stronghold on Latin America but I guess it isn’t just the Christians who are out on missions.

“When in Rome…” has been my motto down here in Central America, so after being invited to join the festivities, I sat in with the ceremony, chanted with the locals, tossed rice into the fire, and shared as much conversation as I could over one of the largest (and free) Indian meals I have ever had. I was given a large plate piled with rice, vegetable curry, samosas, and a chile relleno (this is Mexico after all), all topped off with a delicious mango lassi (did I mention the mangos are in harvest right now? YUM), and a couscous, brown sugar, and raisin dessert. The hostel also supposedly offers Yoga three times a day, but I didn’t see any sessions happening today—perhaps I will have better luck tomorrow. It’s funny that I came to Mexico only to experience Hindi culture, but it’s all in the adventure. I think I could get used to this life.

I’m not sure how many days I’ll be spending in San Cristóbal before heading on my tour of some Mayan ruins, but it probably wont be too many. There are a lot of travel agencies that offer tours of the many natural features throughout Chiapas, and Simon and I are taking a tour to a canyon where monkeys and crocodiles are supposed to have a good presence. Probably won’t go swimming there…

I hope everyone is enjoying home, and I’m finding myself thinking more and more about the steps after this trip as my time dwindles down. But while my time in Central America is running out, I’m looking at my calendar and I have quite a bit left to stick in. Expect these posts to become more frequent over the next few weeks. Of course whenever I say that, I typically don’t post for a week, so we’ll see.

Chickens at the market

Lunch: 12 pesos or $1.00

I enjoy photos of doors.