29/09 - 01/10 - San Cristóbal de las Casas

Friday: Bus ride and arrival in San Cristóbal

After a pretty exhausting week with four exams (three of them on Thursday), it was time for the next trip! On Tuesday, while studying, I spontaneously booked the hostel, on Wednesday I bought the bus ticket, on Thursday I finished my last exam at 9:00 pm, got home at 9:45 pm, finished packing at 10:15 pm, uploaded my last assignment at 10:30 pm, had a quick moment to eat and pack a lunch for a 17-hour bus ride, at 11:00 pm my Uber arrived at the bus station, and at 11:30 pm I got on the bus to San Cristóbal de las Casas. Ahead of me were 17 hours of bus journey to recover from the exhausting week - luckily, I have the gift of being able to sleep deeply and soundly everywhere ;-). So I didn't notice anything of the first 8 hours of the trip and only woke up when we made a stop at a rest area.

I didn't want to eat (the fruit in my bag seemed like a much healthier alternative to tacos for breakfast ;-)), but I found it quite exciting to take a look around in the middle of nowhere and stretch my legs for 20 minutes. Here are some snapshots that were taken during that time...

Once I arrived in San Cristóbal, it became clear to me after the first 5 minutes of walking that the long journey was worth it. The city is beautiful and has a very special atmosphere.

Colorful streets and alleys in San Cristóbal

The hostel was also a hit: clean rooms and bathrooms, a beautiful courtyard, lots of cool backpackers, and - as I found out the next morning - a delicious breakfast with fresh fruit, freshly squeezed fruit juice, fresh whole grain bread (!!!), homemade jam, scrambled eggs, muesli, and good coffee.

Since it was already quite late when I arrived, on Friday evening we just went to the city together to eat and warm up with a delicious hot chocolate (I actually felt cold at 20 degrees - I'm just not used to the 'cold' anymore ;-)). I also booked a guided tour to two indigenous villages in the area for Saturday.

Saturday: San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán

After the already mentioned delicious breakfast, I set off with two Indians from my hostel, two Dutch girls, and Cesar (the guide from our hostel) to the 'mountains' around San Cristóbal to visit two indigenous Maya villages.

San Juan Chamula

First stop: San Juan Chamula cemetery. There, Cesar gave us an introduction to Maya culture and prepared us to visit the village of San Juan Chamula and its inhabitants, who generally have nothing against visitors and tourists as long as they respect their culture and rules. That's why I unfortunately couldn't photograph everything that was worth seeing and impressive.

After the most important things were explained and we already got a glimpse into the culture and history, we set off on foot to the village.

The heart of the village and the village culture is the centrally located church and the square right in front of the church.

As I said before, the church was built by the Catholic Spaniards in their attempt to convert the Maya, but they were only moderately successful in their endeavor. The Maya fortunately held on to their culture and only incorporated a few Catholic influences (such as Catholic saints) into their religion and ceremonies. They have been upholding these ceremonies in daily rituals to this day, which made the visit to the church an absolutely impressive experience.

No photos were allowed in the church, so I can only write about my impressions.

The church doesn't have a traditional altar, nor are there benches. Instead, the entire floor is covered with pine needles, and along the walls, there are many statues of saints and small altars in front of them. The villagers sit on the floor in front of the respective saints and individually or in small groups perform their own ceremonies. This includes many candles (the whole floor is practically covered with burning candles, so caution is required when walking), different colored drinks (including cola and a traditional Maya schnapps), and chanting. To heal mental illnesses (to bring the soul back into the body), shamans also sacrifice chickens or turkeys in the church. There is a lively coming and going, and yet a very devotional atmosphere. The visit to the church of San Juan Chamula has been one of my most moving and impressive experiences here in Mexico. Unfortunately, not everything can be put into words.

After the church, we visited a home altar of a religious leader (also no photos allowed there) and learned many more very impressive things about Maya culture and religion (meaning of candles, drinks, different offerings, symbolic instruments during ceremonies, the role of men and women) - explaining all of this here would probably bore most people and go beyond the scope.

At the end of our visit to San Juan Chamula, it was time to visit the market and have direct contact with the culture and the residents.

Zinacantán

The village of Zinacantán is only about 15 minutes away by car from San Juan Chamula and there are also Mayas living there - but the cultures are noticeably different: they speak a different language, wear different clothing, in one village men marry multiple women, in the other only one woman - just to mention a few of the differences. The residents of Zinacantán were also much more open-minded towards visitors.

After visiting the village church (also without benches, but with many candles and flowers) and the festivities that took place in front of the church, we were able to end the tour by visiting an indigenous family in their home. There, we not only saw firsthand how the Mayas live, but also how the girls and women weave the beautiful textiles (typical handicrafts from Chiapas).

Back in San Cristóbal, the three of us (the two Dutch girls and myself) ended the tour with a cozy and, above all, very delicious coffee (I haven't had such good coffee in a long time in Chiapas, and you won't find it anywhere else in Mexico) and a visit to the market.

In the evening, I met up with some people from the hostel for the Free Walking Tour to have San Cristóbal shown to us by local young people and to discover some less known spots in the city - also a successful tour (although not as deep and informative as the morning tour ;-))

After this eventful day, back at the hostel, I met Olivia from London in our room. We immediately hit it off and went out into the city again. There, over a few glasses of wine, she told me about her project. It's a long story, but to cut it short for you: she is in the process of opening a boutique for fair trade handicrafts from Central America in London and was on a buying trip. The evening was really nice and ended up being longer than expected, and Olivia is definitely one of the most impressive people I have met so far on my travels!

Sunday: Cañon del Sumidero

After everyone I met at the hostel strongly recommended me to take a tour to Cañon del Sumidero, I decided that the few hours in the afternoon that I would have left in San Cristóbal afterwards would have to suffice.

We set off early in the morning, and after a winding drive in a colectivo, we took a boat ride through the canyon. And indeed, the sights that nature offered us were definitely worth it! Among other things, we admired the original motif of the coat of arms of Chiapas and also saw lots of crocodiles in the wild (some from up close).

Back in San Cristóbal, I had 5 hours left to enjoy the atmosphere of the city, buy my first souvenirs (handicrafts from Chiapas) at the market, get enough food for the 17-hour return journey, pick up my luggage at the hostel, and walk to the bus station. In the hostel, I met Olivia again, who was taking photos of her purchases, and despite all the hurry, I looked at all her acquisitions (I wanted to go shopping again right away) and somehow I found myself on the bus at 7:00 pm with all my belongings and plenty of provisions. Overwhelmed by the many different impressions and simply overjoyed that despite the long bus ride, I decided to go to San Cristóbal. It was definitely worth it! (And if I hadn't had an exam on Tuesday, I probably would have stayed one more night...)