2013 March Chiapas, Mexico
Rikki and I planned a trip to the state of Chiapas so we could visit Palenque. We wanted to be here during Lent and chose mid-March. The closest major town to Palenque is San Cristobal de las Casas, and the closest airport is in Tuxtla Gutierrez. From New York, the flight times were not good; we had a 4-5 hour layover in Mexico City on the way down, and our arrival would be at dusk. We did not want to be on the roads at night, so we chose to stay in Chiapa de Corzo for one night and travel the next day.
Chiapa de Corzo is at least a 20 minute drive from the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport and there seem to be almost no habitations on this long stretch. We prepaid 260 MXN (about $20) for a taxi to drive along a curvy 2-lane road with tall reeds growing thick right up to the side of the road. On the plane we had watched Life of Pi and we expected to see a Bengal tiger leaping from the reeds.
Chiapa de Corzo has a small-town feel, with dusty one- and two-storey buildings along narrow streets. Hotel La Ceiba is an old-fashioned hotel built around a courtyard with a pool and lush plantings. Our plain and simple room had 2 beds and 3 screened windows (no glass) that opened toward the upstairs restaurant and to the gardens. At 6 the next morning we could hear the staff noisily setting up the chairs in the restaurant and we went up and had a good buffet breakfast with plenty of coffee. Perhaps because they have a restaurant they had been unable to suggest any place to eat dinner when we arrived, but we walked up to the plaza and diagonally across to find a row of hotdog/hamburger kiosks, and then exactly what we hoped to find – women selling their tamales. They offered both meat and non-meat fillings in large tamales wrapped in banana leaves, with cabbage slaw and hot sauce. We sat at a little table on the sidewalk. Bought some beer and had it beside the hotel pool. We hoped to stay at La Ceiba on our trip back to the airport, but it was not to be.
After breakfast and some confused chatter at the front desk, we were taken by taxi out to the highway and told that soon a bus would come along and take us to San Cristobal. We were a bit alarmed because the sun was very strong and the setting bleak. But even before the taxi driver finished taking our suitcases out of the trunk, along came a van headed for San Cristobal, our suitcases were tossed in the back, and we settled into our seats. Now we got to see the gorgeous Chiapas landscape, with hills and valleys so deep that you couldn’t see the bottom from the road. The van dropped us off in a very busy commercial area of San Cristobal and we got a cab to take us to our B&B at 27 Calle Tonala. There is no sign on the door, other than an image of the sun and the moon (Sol y Luna). We were greeted by Dani, the wife of the couple who run the B&B, and she showed us our room. I thought it seemed dark (for a room called ‘Sol’) but very soon came to appreciate it since the sun at this altitude (about 7000 feet) is so strong. For a dose of sun all we had to do was step out into their courtyard.
Dani and Cisco have collected crafts and art from the area and from individuals, and it is everywhere. The blankets on our beds were of hand-woven wool and there were armloads of flowers in vases in our room and in the bathroom.
The Tripadvisor reviews had given us the impression that the B&B was not close to the center of town, but this was not true; the municipal market is only 4 blocks away, a huge craft market about 6 blocks, and the zocalo about 10 blocks, with plenty of combis and taxis available. We walked into the municipal market and were surprised at the heavy dark furry wool skirts the women wear. Actually it is a length of fabric wrapped around the hips and secured with a wide cotton sash. The blouse is of satin with intricate embroidery around the neck and on the little sleeves. The color combinations are wonderful, like green satin with burgundy embroidery, or orange with dark purple – many many combinations. Even the little girls wear a miniature version of this outfit. I wish I had a photo of the women wearing this extremely attractive outfit but our guidebooks said that people here do not want their photos taken.
We wandered around the maze of the municipal market, where you can buy shoes, live turkeys, onions, pastries, batteries, etc., and down the hill to the craft market that fills the churchyard of the Templo de Santo Domingo. We decided not to try to buy anything on our first day. We had some pan dulces and walked up about a million steps to the church of Guadalupe. At some point a great deal of energy and expense went into building these stairs, but they are not maintained and have a forlorn abandoned feeling, with chickens and dogs here and there.
We finally reached the church, but it was closed. The view of the town from here, though, was terrific. With the crazy energy of first-day arrival, we followed our guidebook suggestion to find a tamale lady outside of town near the horse pastures. It had become dark and we weren’t sure we were walking in the right direction, but eventually we saw her little area by the side of the road. Her stove was 3 truck tires piled and filled with cement, with the tamale vat on top, warmed by coals. For me, wanting not to eat meat, it was worth the walk because she offered tamales made with mumo (some sort of herb) and frijoles as well as meat-filled tamales. She had just a small table, and her family handed out some chairs to us. We bought some limes and beer to take back to the B&B. Cisco and Dani introduced us to a group of people who had joined them for dinner in the courtyard, but my mind was too blitzed with sensations to be able to socialize. Later Cisco told us that tamales are sold only on Saturday evening and the women who make them have a red light outside their door (our tamale lady made them on Wednesday as well as Saturday).
The next morning Cisco and Dani served us a hot cereal concoction with stewed pieces of fruit and a rich pat of butter.
A passion flower decorated each of our plates. Cisco was ready to tell us what town would be the best to visit, and he put us in a taxi towards Chamula. 
The town was hopping (Sunday). We paid 40 MXN (about $3) each to enter the church. The pews were piled up and out of the way, and the floor was covered with pine needles. In one corner babies were being baptized by a man wearing a thick white wool or possibly sheepskin poncho, and after each family passed around the baptismal font, they went to the front of the church to chant quietly. Other people were lighting candles and sticking them onto the floor, so there were candles burning everywhere. People had brought offerings, like a bag of eggs, or a live chicken, and praying over them. The chicken was looking around calmly, and when we looked at it again, it was dead. No sound, no blood. People brought bottles of Coke to drink (it was explained to us that they believe that belching gets rid of bad spirits). We stayed for a long time, watching, and later we even went back in to experience it a bit more.
In the large plaza in front of the church, families were settling at tables (more Coke). We sat for awhile watching the activity, and then set out to walk to the ruins of St. Sebastian Church. This is surrounded by a graveyard with raised earthen graves so close to each other you can’t help stepping on them. As in most of the graveyards we visited, the graves are marked with simple wooden crosses, on which the name and dates of the deceased are written in white paint. Sheep keep the grass down.
From Chamula we had a wild mountain ride to Chenalho. These mountain roads are narrow with one switchback after another, but our driver (and all other drivers we encountered) was excellent and anticipated every obstacle. Chenalho looked quite deserted. We entered the church to see a couple crawling on their knees toward the altar. Their young daughter spotted us and told her parents we were there. They looked at us and the mother began laughing. It was a strange combination of serious worship and hilarity. The daughter hopped from pew to pew, the mother laughed, and when they reached the altar, they lit about a dozen candles on the floor, some white and striped with red, yellow, and green. The father began to chant. He stood and raised arms, making specific shapes with his hands, bowing, rising, his wife chanting along with him. The figures of saints along the side of the church had been dressed with hand-woven capes, knit dresses, or gauzy robes, and given accessories and jewelry that are probably indigenous to the town.
Back in San Cristobal we found a vegetarian restaurant, La Casa del Pan, at 55 Real de Guadalupe, the pedestrian-only street running off the zocalo. We ordered a la carte (the hour of the lunch buffet was over) and we were in the mood for a beer. I had a tostada with mescal greens, refried beans, tomatoes, avocados on a large tortilla.
Monday Dani and Cisco served us each a half cantaloupe filled with homemade granola. We visited Cisco’s garden behind the house, where he has cacti and epiphytes rescued from construction sites. This was just a hint of what we were to see later at his botanic garden outside of town, Orquideas Moxviquil. We took a taxi toward Tenejapa, with instructions from Cisco to have the cab stop in Romerillo so we could visit the graveyard there. The driver agreed to include a 10-minute stop in the price of the ride. The graveyard is on the slope of a hill, the crest of which bears a line of huge green wooden crosses, decorated with pine boughs. Each grave has a flat board balanced on it, and sheep graze here and there.
Tenejapa is in a deep valley. We entered the church (again, the only tourist visitors) to see a ceremony that seemed to honor three saints and Jesus. The three saints stood on the right at the front of the church, attended by two people who kept a hand on the saints at all times. The saints were getting a little touch-up of paint by an artist holding a palette, and a little orchestra of fiddles and guitars played in the front row. A few women sat on the floor facing the three saints, and on the left another group sat beside Jesus, who had been taken out of his glass case and was resting on a woven reed mat and pine needles. About six men sat along the wall on the far left side of the church. The men’s outfits included a dark wool poncho, short red wide-legged pants, a necklace of coins, a small funnel, a plastic bottle, what seemed to be an antler or horn, and a wide hat covered with ribbons, hanging down their backs. We were approached by a woman who we finally understood wanted us to make a donation, and once we had done so, she put a plastic bottle of liquor up to our mouths. I really did not want to drink it, but we could not refuse. All the attendants lit up cigarettes and smoked. After about an hour, the painting was done, Jesus’ robes were tucked and folded, and he was placed back in his glass case.
We climbed a steep hill to their cemetery, perched vertiginously at the top. Here many graves had a tiny mausoleum, all different and brightly painted. The feeling of spring upon the valley was very strong. We sat there for a while, looking out at the jagged peaked mountains that surround the town.
We ate dinner at a stall in the municipal market. Here the tacos are tiny, so we ordered four each of the chicken tacos (no vegetarian option). 
Tuesday breakfast was pancakes, mamey fruit (sweet, looks like an avocado with orange flesh). We took a combi to Teopisca where the retablo (the main altarpiece) is one of the largest and most lavishly ornamented colonial works of art in Chiapas. On we went by taxi to Amatenango de Valle, famous for pottery. Indeed along the highway as you enter town, there are many stalls selling pottery doves, jaguars, etc. Cisco had drawn us a map to visit his friend, Martina. She invited us to sit in her yard while she made a dove. She fires about once a month by putting the pots in a fire built on the ground. We walked back to the stalls on the highway and I bought a little jaguar. We ate elote (roasted corn on the cob with chili sauce). Rikki thought it was tasteless but maybe I got a better ear. Along came a combi to take us back to San Cristobal. We had more tiny tacos in the municipal market.
Next to the Templo de Santo Domingo is a museum featuring weavings. The building used to be a convent. In the upstairs rooms they have a million weavings, some displayed upright, and many others in pull-out drawers. They had a special exhibit of weavings from Oaxaca, which is the next state north, hanging airily from the ceiling throughout the room. These were not colorful, but if you looked closely at the subtle patterns, they were spectacular.
Rikki was trying to find a couple of placemats for a gift, but the ones she liked in the craft market had been sun damaged. I bought a wool rabbit holding a carrot, a couple of little Zapatista dolls, and a metal bracelet.
At about 6 we walked to the Amber Museum. It stays open until 8 and I think visiting after dark is the best time. The building, two stories around a courtyard, had fallen into disuse, and although most of the building is restored, the back walls of the courtyard are a semi-ruin. They are illuminated, and when you walk back there toward the restrooms, it is wonderfully eerie. I've never been a fan of amber, but the story of how it is formed and mined and polished and carved is told in an excellent video by the curator. In the gift shop, there he was, chatting with us. I almost wanted to buy one of the tiny amber bracelets people give to babies to ward off evil spirits. In this area of town are shops selling religious items. We could have bought candles like the ones we saw in Chenalho, but we decided just to remember them. We bought a couple of milagros, the little metal pendants that are supposed to heal parts of your body.
After the Amber Museum we were dead. We caught a combi back to our B and B.
Wednesday breakfast was scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes, salsa, and hot tortillas. Today we were scheduled to pick up our rental car to head to Palenque. Cisco urged us to leave as much as possible at his place and take only what we’d need in the much warmer climate of Palenque. We took a taxi to the Optima car rental, right across from the Amber Museum, and Rodolfo set us up with a car (MXN 550/$44 per day for rental and basic insurance, if paying with cash). After about 2 hours driving, we stopped to take a short walk in a small town. We parked the car in front of a couple of shops, and when we returned, the 2 signal lights below the headlights were gone.
Continuing for about 3 more hours on rainy narrow winding roads, through what seemed to be a high altitude rain forest, with spots of heavy fog, children, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, men with machetes, trucks full of livestock on the road, and countless speed bumps. It was quite chilly and for part of way the women along the road had only little satin-like short capes over the head and shoulders. Finally we sloped down into the lowlands and into the town of Palenque.
Finding the place we were to stay, which we had booked on airbnb.com, was a bit difficult. It was a long house with a deep verandah in front, on a little road that ended in a path. Our host had 6 young cats, a very active dog named Murcielago (which means ‘bat’), and there were plenty of birds in the trees. A large rodent-like creature, a sereque, ran by on the path. Our room was basic basic, with screen-only windows, and it was perfectly adequate. We found a little restaurant around the corner, Lagos de Montebello. I was able to get a cheese quesadilla and they had micheladas for MXN 2.50 (beer with chili sauce, lime, salt on the rim of the glass). In fact we came back here for breakfast and dinner the next day.
We drove a bit in a section of Palenque called La Canada, where the tropical trees and plants grow among the hotels. Probably the whole town could have looked like this, lush and shady, but the commercial part of town looks stripped.
Thursday. After eggs Mexicana at Lagos de Montebello, we drove the short distance to the Palenque national park. Cisco had told us to park at the museum walk up hill a short way on the road, and enter the site by a path on our left. Here there were only a few people selling crafts and bottles of water. We walked up many steps along a cascade waterfall, coming upon small ruins here and there.
We were supposed to stay a third night at the airbnb, but we wanted to get on to the Tonina archeological site about 2 hours south. We planned to make two stops along the way, at Misol Ha and at Agua Azul. Misol Ha is a high narrow waterfall that falls straight off a cliff into a green pool. We followed the path under the cliff and behind the waterfall. You are allowed to swim there, but it was too cool to consider it.
The pathway along the falls and the terraces with benches for viewing are well shaded by trees. We stopped at several levels to sit and stare at the water. To our left as we ascended were plenty of craft stalls and eateries, but the falls create a white noise that allowed for few distractions. We climbed until we could go no further without paying an additional fee. We were disappointed in the bathing area near the parking lot. We had seen a photo of a woman swimming just below the actual falls, but in fact the area that is strictly marked off for bathing is murky, still, and only thigh deep. If you are not a child or a hippopotamus, you would probably not want to swim here. Rikki bought a small meteorite.
Saturday we visited the “peasant’s market”, an enclosure within a larger market, where only women are permitted to sell. They sat quietly in rows with their farm products for sale. We had breakfast at Las Delicias on the plaza. The ‘American’ breakfast was very Mexican and included frijoles, fresh fruit, and cappuccino. We bought a round of Ocosingo cheese to eat later and share with Cisco’s family.
The road to Tonina is about 10 miles or so through beautiful pastureland. At the Tonina parking log we met a Mexican tourist who popped out of his VW bug with his feisty small mutt. For one reason or another, the entrance fee was waived for all of us. The little dog was not allowed to go into the ruins, so our pal had to hurry off so the dog wouldn’t be left alone too long. There were a few guys with horses offering to take us to the actual entrance of the site; it's about a half mile walk.
Back in San Cristobal before dark, we returned the car, minus the directional signals, and I had to pay 1200 MXN/$96) for replacements. We returned to Sol y Luna (luckily no one had booked our room so we could have it again).
Sunday, we were served oatmeal with stewed fruit. Cisco took us by taxi to his botanic garden, Orquideas Moxviquil. The garden is fenced with bent twig fencing.
A path winds up to a greenhouse and continues among trees hanging with epiphytes. We went into the greenhouse with Cisco and he encouraged us to touch the orchids and ferns, enjoy the powerful fragrance of some of the flowers, and stay as long as we liked. He founded the gardens by rescuing thousands of plants from construction sites, so they are all native to Chiapas. With the help of influential people, he was able to get the Mexican government to take ownership of the gardens and hire him back as the administrator. Cisco discovered an orchid and named it after his daughter Kaila. I liked the dry toilets that are in a little mud hut. 
We got a taxi back into town and returned to the craft market. Rikki was able to find her placemats and I bought another Zapatista doll. For our last day in San Cristobal we went back to La Casa del Pan, where the buffet lunch was available. That day there was a bean soup with toasted strips of tortillas, various cold salads, including mesclun greens, fettuccini, homemade bread with some sort of a tapenade, and a vanilla flan. There was a roaming guitar player who roamed out after singing, followed by an in-house guitar player who we chatted with – he was from Atlantic City NJ, but he sang Mexican songs. We went back to Sol y Luna to rest for awhile, and then it was time to leave.
We had bought bus tickets for Tuxtla Gutierrez the day before on the pedestrian street, and we took a cab to the bus station. I suppose the bus was comfortable for people who took it all the time, but it was maddening for us. You could not see out of the window because of paintings on the glass. They showed a concert video on the TV monitors: Cuban singer Antonio Orozco.
I had wanted to return to La Ceiba in Chiapa de Corzo, but I could not cancel the hotels.com booking I had made at Holiday Express Inn in Tuxtla Gutierrez. When we arrived at this hotel, they said my credit card had never gone through, so we could have stayed at La Ceiba after all. Tuxtla Gutierrez is terrifically spread out; the bus drove for miles and miles through the city before arriving at the bus terminal. While I was discussing the problem at the hotel desk, a tremendous blast of music began. I asked if they could turn the music down, but it turned out to be a live band in the next room. We stuck our heads into the room, and it seemed that the people were celebrating the birthday of an older gent. He was wearing a paper crown and dancing with his partner. In my booking I had specified that we had to have a window that opens, but their windows were fixed. No way were we going to try to find another hotel. We took a walk to find some beer (we had our Ocosingo cheese, some bolsillo rolls, fresh tomatoes, and limes) and right near the hotel was a plaza with lots of families and some craft tents. The hotel room was like an American hotel room; large, two double beds, little toiletries, lots of towels, a big TV, coffee maker. But we had a hard time sleeping because no fresh air could come into the room and it was a fine spring night. Early the next morning they called a taxi for us to drive us to the Tuxtla airport.
If flight times allowed for it, we could have taken a shuttle van straight from San Cristobal to the Tuxtla airport.
What did I leave out? Cisco and Dani’s daughter Kaira, age two and seven months, who entertained us and played in our room, and their twin one-year-old boys. The ripe slices of papaya with chili sauce and lime juice we bought from a street vendor. The cool interior of Templo of San Clemente when the sun got too hot.
We flew on Aeromexico. On the way down, they had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. On the way home for lunch they gave us a cold roll with a piece of tough cold cut and packaged cookies. That’s not lunch, it’s a snack. Luckily we had bought salads in the Mexico City airport.
