Friends United

San Cristobal

We left Campeche on a night bus and got to San Cristobal de las Casas 15 hours later - those flat tires and broken engines tend to slow buses down significantly. The plus side of this prolonged trip was that we actually got to see the surroundings at daylight - and the vistas were pretty spectacular as only a small mountain road leads to San Cristobal that winds along the steep slopes, over peaks and through dark, green deeps. At our destination we finally met our friend Miriam from Mexico City (it was about time, it took us almost 12 months to get here...) and were introduced to Mira, another German friend of her. Together, we set out to explore the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas.

We first took a tour to see the powerful Cascadas de El Chiflon, a waterfall with 3 steps that we, of course, had to explore in such detail that left us soaked and ready for a wet T-shirt-contest. The surroundings were beautiful and the ongoing rainy season made the thundering water-attraction even more impressive so the trip out there was quite worth it. Following down the road towards Guatemala (yes, we've been pretty close to here a couple of weeks ago when we visited Chichicastenango etc.) we entered the national park Lagos de Montebello. The peaceful pine forest in this part of Chiapas is dotted with more than 50 lakes of different colors and all with their own little stories. We stopped at 6 of them and were either impressed by the mysteries that surround the waters, amazed by the color of the lakes or quite simply a bit bored and ready to continue on with our tour. It still was great fun and nice to see this side of Mexican landscape. It's not all desert, palmy beaches or cactuses after all.

That's Guatemala back there...

Salud!

Our next tour took us to two very unique little villages that belong to the Mayan Tzotzil people. We first stopped in San Lorenzo Zinacantan where we visited a little museum that covered local culture. We learned about traditional garments, wedding ceremonies, the everyday life of men and women in the community and about their food (we got to try the local drink of choice, a strong liquor, and were invited to some great tacos). Of course we also were invited to 'take pictures' on the little handicraft market inside the museums courtyard... Afterward we went on to San Juan Chamula where we got to witness a gathering of about 100 local officials in the main square in front of the church. They all wore a certain dress made of white sheep wool, were drinking coke and a little brass band was playing music like in a German beer tent on the October Fest (it was quite a funny scene but we weren't allowed to take pictures so your imagination will have to do).

Templo de San Juan

Afterward we visited the church, the Templo de San Juan. It only looks catholic from the outside - inside it is a different world. There are no chairs, the floor is mostly covered with pine needles that give a very intense scent, and with thousands of burning candles. In front of the candles kneel the locals that brought them as offerings and they all murmur their prayers like in trance. A shaman is running around between them and helping at places - no priest has set foot in this church for a very long time. If people get sick or need some more serious help, candles are not enough of an offer and they bring coke (that resembles the dark rivers of the world that comes after death) or even chicken that they kill as part of the ritual inside the church. It was very interesting to see this place, and a little unsettling when we heard a chicken from inside one of the praying ladies handbags...

At the local market

In between our tours we took time to explore San Cristobal itself. With its altitude of over 2200m above sea level it had quite the inviting climate to go for walks (Miriam was freezing all the time) along the cobblestone streets, wander around the handicraft market and drink some hot chocolate. We climbed the Cerro de Guadalupe and waited for some rain to pass inside the beautiful church at its top. We checked out the Arco del Carmen and the adjacent cultural center that is set in a beautiful ex-convent with a peaceful garden. We marveled at the cathedral, sat in the shadow of the main plaza's big trees and went out for the best food in quite a while (with Miriam being Mexican and Mira having lived in Mexico for a while we had two pros on the field of Mexican food with us that were more than willing to share their insights with us -yummy! We'll never enjoy Tex Mex-food ever again...).

San Cristobal

Agua Azul

After a couple of great days in San Cristobal, we left the city and went on further north, to the small town of Palenque. On the way there, we stopped at two different waterfalls. The first one, the marvelous Agua Azul, was of a beautiful blue color (who would have guessed with that name...) and the different pools along its cascades down smooth rocks looked very inviting. The second one, Misol-Ha, was way less impressive and it started raining as soon as we got there, so we didn't spent much time. Instead, we continued on to the Mayan ruins in Palenque. This time, we

Misol-Ha

decided to watch the movie with audio and got a guide. He showed us around the most important sights of the archeological zone in two hours. We got to see the Templo de las Inscripciones, the tallest building in ancient Palenque, where the tomb of the most important ruler, Pakal, was found. The Palacio with its courtyards and little corridors was another highlight - it is home to the astronomy tower and the famous t-shaped windows that are aligned in a way that at the 4 solstices the sun can shine through them for a brief moment. At the end, we got to catch a hurried glimpse of the Grupo de las Cruces, a group of four temples around a square a little further up the mountain - and then it was time to go as the park was closing down. Miriam had to go back to San Cristobal that same night to catch a flight back home the next day so we had to say goodbye to her already. We had an awesome time with her - her huge smile, her funny stories and her big heart made this week with her an absolute joy! We will definitely have to come back and visit her in Mexico City one day!

El Palacio with the famous tower

On top of the Templo del Sol

Together with Mira we stayed in the modern Palenque town. It is without much appeal - but we decided to stay here nonetheless to get the chance to go back to the ruins the next morning. We strongly felt that there was much more to explore for us out there. And we were right. Prepared with Mira's informative guidebook we spent the whole next morning well into the afternoon walking around the acropolises, housing quarters, the dreamy 'princess

The sarcophagus

pool' waterfall, climbed up and down all the temples that we missed the day before, peered behind all the giant jungle trees (in cases to find the most unlikely animals...yikes) and checked out the on-site museum to see the original, unbelievably beautiful sarcophagus of Pakal. We had a great time and saw mystical ancient ruins in an astonishing natural setting that were different again from all the other archeological sites we have been to so far.

Visiting the lesser known ruins

After our second visit to the ruins, Mira's and our ways parted. Even though we didn't know her a week before, we had a brilliant time together and found a great new friend in her. She went on to Villahermosa and our way led us back onto a night bus and up north-west to the Yucatan. A week from our flight back to Germany we were finally ready for some real vacation time. We were ready to hit Cozumel.