San Cristobal de las Casas

Thu, 6th - Tue, 11th

I arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas in the late afternoon, a beautiful colonial city and the cultural center of the state of Chiapas. The next day, I took a free walking tour and then explored the city on my own. I could already feel the 2,200 meters of altitude at the stairs to the San Cristobal Church.

On Saturday, I took a tour to the waterfalls of Chiflon and the Montebello Lakes on the border with Guatemala. After about 2 hours by bus, we reached the waterfalls. On the way to the highest viewpoint, I met Andrea from Mexico and Jack from Canada. On the way back, I took a quick cool-down in the river and then continued to the approximately 50 lakes of Montebello. At the first stop, Laguna Pojoj, we took a boat tour to a smaller lake and an island with an orchid garden. At the second stop, we took a little bit of Guatemalan air and I accidentally met Jessica, whom I knew from Tuxtla. At the third stop, there were 5 lakes at once. In the evening, I met Andrea and Jack again for Pox (typical liquor from Chiapas), Tequila, and Mezcal (typical liquor from Oaxaca with about 50%).

Sunday is known as a day to go to church, so I drove to San Juan Chamula with Harry from England from the hostel, an indigenous village known for its church rituals. I have never seen a church like this before - there were no benches, but the floor was covered with fir tree needles and hundreds of candles were burning. Every family found a place on the floor and had a different ritual, which included many candles, Coca Cola / Fanta, and eggs / chickens (chickens are sometimes sacrificed). We spent about an hour in the church, there was a lot to observe. After that, we took a walk in the surrounding forest and drove back to San Cristobal.

On Monday, Harry and I drove to the Arcotete Cave, where there was a cool path up to the cave. With a lot of imagination, we saw 2 aliens and Spiderman. After that, we walked to the Mammoth Cave, which was enormous, and here too, with a lot of imagination, there was a mammoth to see. In the hostel, we cooked a Mexican dinner for dinner: Nopal (part of the cactus) with guacamole and tortillas

On my last day in San Cristobal de las Casas, I visited the Cocoa Museum, met Andrea again, and took part in a cooking class in the evening. We cooked Tamales (corn dough with chicken), Salsa (spicy sauce), and Ponche (a bit like punch). After that, I went for a beer with the other participants in a bar with live music. On Wednesday morning, the journey continues to Palenque.