Chiapas Round One

My dad was able to get three weeks off of work, so we took advantage of the extra time and added Chiapas onto the list after our fantastic time in Oaxaca. We got off the overnight bus at 5:30 AM in Tuxtla Gutierrez and proceeded to attempt a quick get away. This turned out to be difficult because rental car companies didn´t open until 9AM and we had to go to four separate places in different areas of the city because most of their prices were very ridiculous and some were even "out of cars for mother´s day". But after many phone calls and frustrating conversations in Spanish, I somehow managed to get us an upgraded car with automatic transmission for about 150 pesos/day less than what was listed and at the same price that we had in Oaxaca! The fact that my dad and I did not completely deteriorate into blubbering tears after dealing with the challenging rental car dealers on only a few hours of sleep on the bus the night before is evidence of our solid relationship. It was also much better that he didn´t understand all the lies they were telling us in spanish, otherwise a lot more yelling would have occurred! But after killing hours walking around the city and eating at their gigantic market, then walking between rental car agencies while the heat rose into the 90s by mid-morning, we had a clumsy Dodge "Attitude" in our possession by 10AM. That was truly a life accomplishment!

We made it through Tuxtla Gutierrez together!! And we got to see Parque de la Marimba along the way, however no one was playing the marimba at 7AM!

Our first objective after getting out of smoking hot Tuxtla was to climb about 5,000 ft. to the crisp air of San Cristobal de las Casas. Rivaling Oaxaca City in mellow colonial vibes and interesting pedestrian walkways, and also surrounded by wooded hills, I immediately felt at home. And this was great because in addition to spending three nights in town with my dad, I'm also planning to return for two weeks of WWOOFing (volunteering on an organic farm) with Jay in June. This was confirmed on the first day that my dad and I were in town when I went by the restaurant/movie theater/language school/NGO that the farm is affiliated with and met Kippy, the farm manager. Apparently the farm is located about 40 minutes walking distance from where we'll be staying near the center of town. I was overjoyed to finally meet Kippy in person and confirm our plans, as I'd been emailing her since January!

View of San Cristobal de las Casas from east to west

 Main cathedral in San Cristobal (they have another church around the corner that was originally built for only Indigenous people)

We did some other exploring of the center of town that afternoon and discovered lots of places that sold local chocolate! Yes! Our second day in San Cristobal was spent on a sweet half day mountain bike trip to the surrounding hills, including Arcotete church and caves and a cloud forest. During the ride we met two Canadian women from the Yukon territory who even joined us for refreshments afterwards in a cantina. There were plenty of people there celebrating Mothers' Day, which is a three day party weekend in Mexico, with a lot of exuberance!

Canadian friends and our biking guide Joel

Arcotete cave

The following day was spent touring around the outlying areas of interest in our rental car. We went hiking in two different forest reserves, visited the town of San Juan Chamula to see their unusual candlelit church and indigenous rituals and took a trip though the Grutas El Mamut (Mammoth Caves) just as the afternoon rain started. I was very pleased the San Cris lived up to all the good things I'd heard about it, and it definitely got me excited to come back.

The walkway up the hill on the west side of town that has good sunset views on top.

Chocolate and cafe!!