Mexican Madness: 2005-2006

San Cristóbal cathedral

Comitan church

We left the beaches for a while in order to travel through the state of Chiapas, home of many indigenous people and site of more fascinating Mayan ruins. The direct bus from Puerto Escondido to San Cristóbal, our next destination, was a hated overnight run. We chose to make it in daylight by staying overnight halfway. We were glad we did as much of the trip was up and down hills. Those winding roads over the hills would have disturbed our sleep and we would have missed the views from the mountaintops. We stayed in Salina Cruz overnight. It is an oil refinery port, not a pretty colonial town, but it was friendly enough and broke up our trip.

On our arrival in San Cristóbal de las Casas (2100 M) we were greeted by a young lady singing the praises of a small hotel. Posada La Media Luna was listed in Lonely Planet but it had moved and expanded since the last edition. We were pleased to take advantage of her offer. We had a good room around an inner courtyard away from traffic noise. Around the next corner was the old Templo de Carmen with a distinctive archway bell tower built to call the sisters, who lived in the convent next door, to mass. A pedestrian mall stretched three blocks to Plaza de 31 Marzo, the main town plaza, and several blocks beyond.

San Cristóbal has more artisan shops and stalls than any other city we have visited so far. The indigenous people from surrounding villages are noted for their textiles and other crafts. Unfortunately there are not enough tourists around to buy all their goods so some of the sales tactics were more aggressive than we had come to expect. We did enjoy walking around the many stalls surrounding Santo Domingo looking at everything offered for sale. We also went to the huge Municipal Marketplace, which was patronized mainly by the local people, not tourists.

The second night we were in San Cristóbal was Valentine’s Day and there was entertainment promised in the Plaza. It was cold at night in the mountains so we put on all our warm clothes and took a seat in the Plaza to listen to a Marimba band. When it was finished an MC took over and slowly, very slowly, handed out door prizes. We kept waiting for the next event, promised to be a circus that never appeared. A green double-decker bus with a sign "Circus Bus World Tour 1997 - ?" had pulled up that afternoon and put up a sign advertising a show by the Sprockets at 6:30 PM. We concluded the long-winded MC bumped them. Instead we finally got a Latin crooner and had to wait until a few days later to catch the end of a juggling and bicycle trick performance by a young American family. It was fun watching the crowd anyway.

Harvey and Carol Thibault, friends from Vancouver we had met in Puerto Escondido, were arriving in San Cristóbal and were staying at a hotel called Don Juan. We had not been able to give them our address as we never know where we are staying until we arrive in town. No one in the tourist office had heard of hotel Don Juan . One man said it must be in the Northeast section of town and drew us a map. We walked for a few Kms in that direction without success.

We did come upon the interesting museum Na Bolom. A Danish archaeologist Frans Blum and his Swiss wife Trudy had settled in that area in 1950. Frans explored Palenque and other Mayan sites while his wife became interested in the endangered Lacondones people who lived in a remote jungle in the eastern part of Chiapas that was rapidly becoming deforested. Trudy studied and protected the people, started reforestation projects and provided medical care and cultural help. After her death in 1993, trustees have continued her work and built a museum to inform others about the Lacondones.

We finally found the address of Hacienda Don Juan on the Internet. The address was Insurgentes, the main street in town, so having nothing better to do, we started walking to find number 162. What we didn't realize was that Insurgentes continued well beyond the town limits and there was not one but three houses numbered 162. We walked about 4 Kms, asking at each #162 and finally got there. They were not at home but we left a note and a card from our place and took a colectivo (group minibus) back to town. It was quite a nice place set in lovely grounds but Carol and Harvey didn’t know it was so far out of town when they booked on the Internet. We did get together the next day when they transferred to our hotel, La Media Luna, for their last night.

The small villages in the hills near San Cristóbal make for an interesting tour. When the lowland Mayan culture imploded around 900 AD, people immigrated to the mountains and established new cultures. By the time the Spaniards arrived in the 16th C there were many different ethnic groups, each with its own language. The Spaniards imported 800 indigenous women from other areas in Mexico and encouraged polygamy to spark a population growth. They also insisted that each group adopt a distinct method of dress so that the Spaniards could distinguish one group from another. The villages still maintain their unique style of dress, especially the women. We were told that polygamy is dying out but who knows for sure!

We visited two Tzotzil communities with a guide, Beni. On the way Beni pointed out a poor community on the outskirts of San Cristóbal. Evangelical churches have been busy winning converts in the area for several years and many indigenous people were lured by the promise of financial aid and a better life for their families. Men in traditional communities are expected to devote one year of their lives as "cargos", or leaders, performing services such as maintaining the churches and the masks and costumes used in ceremonies and celebrations. The problem was that the converts would no longer participate in ceremonies that involved alcohol or tobacco and they would no longer take their turn as cargos in their communities. The converts were expelled from their communities and moved to San Cristóbal where they earn a living selling crafts, candies and gum or shining shoes. It is not a happy situation.

Beni took our group first to Zinacantán where they grow flowers in greenhouses that cover the valleys. Their traditional dress is a rose coloured blouse heavily embroidered with flowers. Even the men wear a flowered tunic for special occasions, as Beni demonstrated for us. For special occasions the local authorities also wear a flat brimmed straw hat trimmed with coloured ribbons and carries a leather purse with which they collect taxes.

We were encouraged to try the potent local "medicinal" drink, Pusch, made from fermented sugar cane. We were given a shot glass each, asked to stand up and repeat, with appropriate gestures, "arriba, abajo, al centro, para dentro" (up, down, to the center and for inside) and down the drink in one gulp. We also tried two less potent versions, one flavoured with vanilla, the other with cherry.

Women were waiting for us in their kitchen, cooking tortillas over an open fire. We spooned on salsa, cheese and a powdered condiment made from ground pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and peppers. They were very tasty. Of course our visit ended with plenty of time for us to look over their selection of hand-embroidered blouses and other crafts they had for sale.

Our second visit was to San Juan Chamula, not far away. When the Spaniards arrived, Zinacantanians embraced the Spaniards and Catholicism but the Chamulans put up a strong resistance. A Spanish church built in 1530 but was burned and rebuilt in the 17th C. It is still in active use by the Chamulans but according to their own special blend of their old religions and Catholicism. A priest visits the church four times a year to baptise children. Otherwise, local religious leaders take over. Weddings are not performed in the church. Brides are purchased from their families and if a girl is not married by the age of twenty, her price drops.

We entered the church to an assault on our eyes and our noses. Everywhere we looked candles flickered and the scent of pine boughs strewn on the floor filled the air. It was magical. We had to be careful where we walked for fear of disturbing small groups of locals setting up rows of candles on the stone floor, lighting them, praying and drinking from bottles of coke which encourages burping to help expel evil spirits. Locals come at all times of the day and night to ask help with a physical illness or some other trouble. They may bring a healer with them who feels their pulse to determine the exact problem and offer a cure, perhaps by sacrificing a chicken. The candles are white for general health and red, black or yellow for other illnesses. The number of candles relates to the number of generations the penitent asks for help.

Effigies of saints, dressed in holy garments, stood in glass cases on both sides of the church. There are three main groups of Chamulans, each with their own group of sacred mountains and with their own group of saints. Each saint had a mirror positioned at their waist, which allowed direct communication between the penitent and the saint.

We missed being in Chamula for Carnival, held just before before Lent. The festival also celebrates the five "lost" days of the ancient Mayan calendar. The Mayan "long count" calendar divides the year into 18 20-day months, making 360 days. The extra five days complete the year. During the ceremony, pine needles are spread on the plaza outside the church and set alight. The local religious leaders, dressed in their ceremonial costumes, run barefoot through the burning needles five times, apparently without injury.

A market was in progress on the plaza when we visited but it wasn't a major market day and the offerings were poor. It was interesting just the same to see the locals, even some of the men, dressed in their traditional clothes.

Back in San Cristóbal, we met up with Harvey and Carol, who suggested we visit a special museum of traditional clothing run by Sergio Castro, an agronomist from Northern Mexico who has dedicated his life to the indigenous in Chiapas. He treats villagers for burns caused by the open fires and sometimes gunshot wounds. The displays are only available for viewing by appointment in the evening. Carol had tried to call but her limited Spanish had failed and she was not sure we would really be able to go. We dropped by the house at 6 PM, intending to see the displays and then go out for dinner. Sergio was just leaving. He told us if we came back at 7 PM we could visit. There was no choice but to go to a bar for a drink in the meantime.

We returned to be greeted and invited in by Sergio. We were to join a group from Loyalist College in Belleville Ontario. Several leaders of the group had joined Sergio in his efforts to help the villagers. They were leading a group of ten teachers and students on a tour of the Chiapas, concentrating on social and environmental issues. It proved to be a very enlightening experience. Villagers provided Sergio with beautiful examples of their clothing in appreciation of his medical efforts. Sergio identified each costume with their village and told us a little about their lives. He also had other artifacts that were given to him and displays of his works. Following his talk, we stayed to listen to a question and answer period with the Loyalist group. Even though the Zapatista terrorist problem is over, there remain many problems with the communities divided among religious and economic lines. We stayed until after 9 PM when hunger drove us to a one of the good restaurant for a very late, for us, meal.

Jackie MacDonald, a fellow bicycle club member in Ottawa, taught English for several months a few years ago in Comitán, about 1 1/2 hours from San Cristóbal. When she heard we were planning a trip to Mexico she recommended we include Comitán in our itinerary. She also contacted David Castaneda, a student she had befriended while there. We had tried to contact David by email as soon as we arrived in San Cristóbal but had not had a reply. We decided to go anyway and phoned him after checking into a hotel. We reached his sister who said that David was scheduled to drive to San Cristóbal in a few hours but she would reach him and he would meet us in the town plaza in a short while. He came to meet us and was the perfect host. I fear that his meeting in San Cristóbal was delayed because of the time he spent with us. David treated us to lunch at a local restaurant, ordering special Chiapas favourites for us to sample. After lunch he introduced us to his friend, José Rodas, who works with the Municipal Tourist office. José was very helpful, recommending all the best places to visit in and around Comitán.

After saying goodbye to David, Ray and I visited two interesting museums in town. The small but well done archaeology museum in the local cultural center had displays and artefacts of the origins of the area. We also visited the Museum and home of Dr Belisario Dominguez. Comitán was renamed Comitán de Dominguez after this revered citizen. Born in 1863, he was trained in Paris as a medical doctor. He served as Mayor of Comitán before becoming a senator under the corrupt President Victoriano Huerta. In 1913 Dr Dominguez made a speech in the senate decrying Huerta's reputation of murdering his opponents. Soon after, Dr Dominguez was himself murdered. The rooms in his home in Comitán are displays of period furniture and include a pharmacy and a collection of medical instruments of his day. There are also displays of his political life and the text from his fateful speech.

Not far from Comitán are the Lagos Montebello, a series of lakes in a pine forest reserve. They are a popular and peaceful spot to visit. When we arrived at one of the largest lakes, Lago Busque Verde. A man who wanted 300 pesos to drive us around to the various lakes approached us there. That was far too expensive for us besides, we wanted to find a walking path and explore on our own. Swimming is not permitted but pedal boats are available, but they did not appeal. We turned down a horse riding option and set off on a path down to the lake.

We walked part way around the lake they headed up to a road that led to cabins to rent for a vacation. We decided to explore a path with a large sign "Sendero Grutas", (cave trail). About 15 minutes down the trail we heard running water and descended to small waterfalls rushing through a high archway carved out of the limestone cliffs. We found another trail to the other side of the arch, where the stream disappeared underground near the opening of a cave. We could see a candle burning in the cave, so we went to investigate. A short distance inside was a small altar with lit candles. We could see the light from two altars farther into the cave but not having flashlights with us, we didn't go any further.

Down yet another path we passed a father taking care of two children, he motioned to us to go ahead into yet another cave from which we could hear voices. This one wasn't quite as dark. Daylight streamed from a number of openings farther inside. The voices came from the rest of the family who were arranging flowers and candles in front of several altars. Caves have been considered sacred places for generations. We had a good look around at the many stalactites and stalagmites, being careful not to disturb their prayers.

We found the path back to our starting point and rather than return to town on the next colectivo, we walked the 3 km down the road, stopping several times to admire the lakes. It reminded us of the Gatineaus, with small lakes set between wooded hills, except the colour of the lakes was green, or shades of azure depending on the mineral content of the lake bottoms.

We flagged down a passing colectivo and asked to be let off at the turnoff for Museo and Hotel Posada Santa Maria, one of our recommended stops. It was more than 1 km in from the road but we managed to hitch a ride with a local part way. The Posada was built in the 1800s as the home of wealthy landowners. It has been renovated and turned into a small luxury inn with eight rooms furnished with antiques. A small chapel on the property houses a collection of religious art from the 16th to the 18th C. After admiring the collection we had lunch at their outdoor restaurant in the garden with views of the surrounding countryside. This would be a great place to treat yourself and recuperate from long bus rides.

Our next stop was to be Palenque, to see the Mayan ruins, but we didn't want to retrace our steps to San Cristóbal to get there. José had said we could take a shorter route directly there if we were willing to take one colectivo to Altamirano and another one from there to Ocosingo where we could pick up the first class bus coming from San Cristóbal. It worked very well and was quite a scenic route through the hills that became increasingly more jungle-like.

Palenque is not a pretty Colonial town but it served our needs. It is really just a series of shops and tourist offices offering trips to the Palenque ruins 7.5 km away. After our dinner, we walked to the main plaza where we watched a Marimba band entertain the Sunday night crowd. Marimba is a popular entertainment in Mexico as we have discovered to our pleasure. The bigger towns may have entertainment every night and the smaller ones, like Palenque, play Sunday and Thursday evenings. We managed to be there for two performances.

The next morning we took a colective to the Palenque ruins, arriving to the chorus of a tree full of Howler monkeys calling to each other. They really do hoot and howl. We managed to collect five other people who wanted to hire a guide to see the ruins. Ignacio was excellent and filled our heads with all sorts of interesting information about the site and the Mayans. Palenque was occupied from 100 BC and reached its height between 600 - 700 AD under the rulers Pakal and his son Cham Bahlum II. The rival Mayan city of Toniná attacked Palenque after Cham Bahlum's death in 1702 and Palenque never recovered. Like most of the Mayan cities, Palenque was abandoned by the 10th C.

The city stretched over 15 sq km but only a relatively small number of buildings have been uncovered. The jungle still covers the rest and new discoveries continue to be made. A new tomb was uncovered in 1999 that eclipses the importance of the tomb of Pakal's wife, most of which is displayed in the Archaeology museum in Mexico City.

Ignacio told us that their numbering system was from zero to 19, unlike our decimal system with 10 numbers. He said that villages still use variations of this numbering system in the market place. One clenched fist is five, two fists are ten and a body is 20, sort of like a personal abacus.

The rulers had accurate enough calculations to predict the solstices and even eclipses but they carefully kept this knowledge from the general populace. Several of the buildings had roof combs with windows positioned so that at each solstice, the sun would shine through a particular opening striking an altar in another temple across a plaza. One temple had carvings depicting a ceremony when the baby Cham Bahlum was presented to the populace with the sun shining on the baby's face, indicating the gods determined his accession.

Another group of temples included the Templo de la Conde, named for an eccentric Austrian, Count de Waldeck, who lived on top of the temple for two years between 1831 to 1833. Ignacio didn't think much of the Count as he plundered the nearby temples and sent the artefacts back to Austria where they still remain.

One section of the site was a series of small waterfalls and pools perfect for swimming, if it were permitted. The city builders took advantage of the abundance of water to create a sophisticated aqueduct system that brought water to the buildings and flushed out the latrines.

Palenque is not the only Mayan ruin in the area. Several more have been discovered over the years. We took a tour to Yaxcilán and Bonampak, a two-hour drive away from Palenque. We drove in a minivan to Frontera Corozal, on the Rio Usumacinta, which forms the border with Guatemala. A few people in our van were continuing on to Flores, Guatemala, from where they could visit Tikal. The rest of us got in a long wooden motor boat for a 40 minute down the river to Yaxchilán.

Yaxchilán reached its height under three Jaguar rulers between 681 - 800, later than Palenque. The site itself is spectacular set in the jungle above a loop in the Usumacinta River. The nearly 2 1/2 hours we had to visit the site were just enough. Lonely Planet told us to look at the underside of the stone lintels in the doorways of the buildings. There we discovered carvings depicting scenes of conquests and ceremonies. Leading up to the main plaza was one building with curious labyrinthine passages leading between two levels. We needed the light of our small flashlight to make our way through the corridors and avoid the spiders and bats.

On our return motor trip to Frontera Corozel, our boatman stopped to watch a lazy crocodile sun itself on the muddy riverbanks. We had lunch in a restaurant in Frontera Corozel, set up specially to feed the tour groups coming to see the ruins.

After lunch we drove a short distance to the smaller but still interesting ruins of Bonampak. Deep in the Lacandón jungle, it wasn't discovered until 1946. The site covers over 2.4 sq km but we visited only the main plaza. The major buildings were built under Cham Muan II, who ascended the throne in 776 AD, when Bonampak was aligned with Yazchilán. The most fascinating features in Bonampak are the frescoes painted over the walls of three small rooms at the top of the Templo de las Pinturas. The rooms depicted, sequentially, the consecration of Chan Muan's infant son, scenes of battles and finally ceremonies and celebratory dances. They were the most colourful and best preserved of any murals we have seen in Mexico.

Most of the tourists take a one day trip to see the ruins but we wanted to visit the Lacandón jungle. The jungle has been under siege by loggers and corporations interested in the minerals and possible oil reserves and is quickly being deforested. The Lacondones people once lived in scattered groups within the jungle but in 1979 the area was declared a protected reserve and the surviving 600 people were gathered up and settled in three communities. The largest, Lacanjá Chansayab, has built small cabañas and provided meals and guiding services for people like us who want to learn more about the people and the area. The Lacondones men traditionally wear a simple white tunic and wear their hair long and blunt cut with bangs. The young children in Lacanjá Chansayab still wore the tunic but most of the other people we saw have adopted western wear, except in their own homes in the evening. Apparently there is one community of 10 families who still adhere strictly to the traditional ways.

Our thatched roof cabin contained four rooms with curtained doors on the main floor and another three rooms on a second level. The bathrooms, with flush toilets and cold water showers, were in a separate building a short distance away. There was a choice to pay extra and have our own bathroom, but we preferred to rough it for our jungle experience. The Lacanjá river ran in a series of small rapids behind our cabin. The water was clear and cool and good for bathing if you didn't mind a muddy bottom.

That evening while we were waiting for our evening meal, we saw a small hot air balloon, lit by a candle, rise high in the air, catch an air steam and sail away. After our meal we walked to another campsite thinking some tourists had released the balloon. A Belgian fellow told us it was the locals. He had been in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala where he had taken a workshop to construct a balloon from Chinese rice paper and a wire basket to hold a candle. It is a favourite of Guatemalans, and I guess, Lacondones, to make during various festivities.

The next morning we were introduced to our guide, Rosea, the daughter of the cabaña owner Kin Bor. Rosea led Ray and I and Dennis, an American from Oregon through jungle paths. The machete Rosea carried was used to cut various plants to show us, not kill snakes as we speculated. We stopped at a small Mayan temple ruin, one of several hidden in the jungle. The highlight of our walk was a beautiful set of waterfalls with deep pools for swimming. I didn't bring my bathing suit but I wished I had.

On the way back to our cabaña, we passed another hiking group led by a guide with a pet coati, a raccoon-like animal with a long nose. After lunch back at our cabaña, we had the rest of the afternoon to just relax in the peaceful jungle setting.

Most of the 1st class buses from Palenque travel overnight, which is not our choice. To avoid an overnight trip to Chetumal, on the Caribbean coast next to Belize, we took a colectivo from Palenque to the main highway between Villahermosa and Chetumal. From there we got a 2nd class bus to the town of Emiliano Zapata and another 2nd class bus from there to Chetumal. It was a long day, but much better than losing a night's sleep.

We saw several people on the street dressed in elaborate costumes as we rode in a taxi to our hotel. We realized they were gathering for a Carnival parade down the main street of town. We joined crowds of locals to watch an hour-long parade that evening. There were no marching bands so loud speakers blaring out music lined the street while floats sponsored by school and community groups passed by. The costumes were beautiful and all the participants, both young and old, had a great time dancing along to Caribbean style tunes. The children watching enjoyed it too, catching candies and trinkets thrown from the floats.

Chetumal's claim to fame is its Mayan Cultural museum, which we visited the next morning. It was especially meaningful to us after we had visited many of the sites highlighted in the exhibits. We learned more about the rich Mayan culture and how it related to what we had seen.