Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes and Chiapas

Disclaimer: The following entry should be considered a brief summary with generous omissions and forgotten pieces. Unfortunately, there's a lot to share and NOT MUCH TIME.

I've decided that the best way to sum up the last week is to tell it in superhero comic book style.

Our hero's (this is my blog so, yes, I can make myself the hero) adventure begins at the Puebla bus station, surrounded by her comrades, the last Pueblans she would see in a while, and some suitcases. The reader should see some and read monstrous pile. It turns out that the "we'll just bring our semester's worth of luggage on a crosscountry adventure" was much easier said than done. But that is said and done. Once the said luggage was safely stashed in the underbelly of the bus, it was time to go to Chiapas. SHAZAM!!

We woke up the next morning as the bus pulled into the station in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. This superhero story is now going to take a brief intermission in favor of some background & history.
Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico that shares the border with Guatemala. The state is important because of its various products: coffee, hydroelectric power, and Zapatistas. The Zapatista movement is based on the original Revolution movement led by Emilio Zapata, who demanded political and land rights for indigenous groups. While it was not originally a violent movement, the conflict between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas has led to some (see definition above) tension in the area. To protect their identity, Zapatista rebels often wear black ski masks, ninja style. Ever resourceful, local vendors have taken advantage of this imagine and sell dolls, keychains, earrings, and postcards portraying Zapatistas.

BAM! Back to the batcave. We soon got on another bus and faster than a speeding bullet, headed towards Sumidero Canyon. We hired a great guide to take us on a boat tour through the national park, where we saw iguanas, turtles and cormorants. We were pretty thrilled with this in and of itself. Then the guide said, "Mira, un cocodrilo! Ya lo vieron?" WOWZA! Our heroes came face-to-face (well not quite) with a hugeass crocodile just chillin' on the beach. As if this wasn't exciting enough, the boat guide knew about our favorite Tule Tree guide! Small world? After narrowly avoiding a crocodile-induced death and fighting off a couple of bad guys (not really), we dashed back to San Cristobal to browse the markets and make plans for the next day.

If I had to choose one sound effect to describe the next day it would be clipclop clipclop. Yep, you guessed it: horseback riding. I have never ridden a horse for so long and my sitbones have never been so sore. Under the skeptical guidance of a local horseman we rode through backroads and forest trails to the small town of San Juan Chamula. We left our loyal steeds to enjoy a break in the shade while we wandered through the local market, ate some mandarin oranges, and took in the pueblo. Then WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP we trotted back to the homestead. I patted Flash, my newest equine friend good-bye and hopped on yet another bus, back to San Cristobal, the luggage, and the prospect of yet another long busride. Next stop: Palenque.

I cannot say that Palenque, Chiapas is on my list of favorite cities in Mexico. Although it is surrounded by beautiful forested mountains and is home to some of Mexico's most breath-taking Mayan ruins, it is not a pretty place. The town is dramatically divided between the fake-jungle hotel district and the slightly sketchy main part of town. Luckily, we had enough on the agenda to avoid spending much time in this less-than-lovely town. We were finally able to cross a very important and long-awaited item off the community To Do in Mexico list while in Palenque: WATERFALLS. The Agua Azul and Misol Ha cascadas had been sneaking into conversations, guidebook articles and travel suggestions all semester. After visiting, I can see why these waterfalls are the talk of the town. Not only were the waterfalls beautiful and refreshing, but the drive through the jungly mountains offered ample scenery and TeamPuebla bonding time.

No day is perfect, however, and we ended ours with a visit to Mexico's 2^nd worst restaurant (we had already found the worst one, it's in Guanajuato). KATHOOM Palenque:1 TeamPuebla:0… We'll just say that we made a Dinner Round Two trip to the grocery store to make up for the disappointing chicken salad and stale bread. To be fair, we should have known to call it quits when there weren't any other customers, the kitchen was nowhere to be found and there appeared to be 2 employees in the whole joint. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.




The next morning, after a slow start, we reluctantly hopped on a bus towards the Palenque ruins. By this time, we were more than a little travel weary and not terribly enthusiastic about seeing yet another pyramid. Nevertheless, we felt obligated to go and I'm glad that we gave into our tourists' guilt because these ruins turned out to be my favorite in Mexico. Nestled in the rain forest, the Palenque complex looks like the set of an Indiana Jones movie and the view from the top of the pyramid is stunning.
After subir-ing this Mayan marvel and purchasing our obligatory Mayan calendar souvenirs, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for our last epic Mexican busride of the semester: next stop, Playa del Carmen. KATHOOOOM! But that's another story.