Casa Mexicana San Cristobal de las Casas

... take place the night before. Judging by the number of flags you see and the obvious pride in indigenous culture, Mexicans seem to be far more patriotic than us British. We were told everyone would be waving flags and cheering "Viva Mexico", but ultimately the night just seemed like a big excuse to get ******. Unlike Mexico City, we were free to drink on the streets of San Cristobal, so we began proceedings with a few beers and copious amounts of rum and ...

... called the bus driver and located her missing wallet which he was going to drop off in a town 30 minutes away. There was no other way to retrieve it but pile into a collectivo. It was a miracle that we picked up the wallet let alone with all the money still in it. By 5:30 p.m. we were back to Ciudad Cuahtemoc and happily tipped the attendant for being so generous on our behalf.

Across the street from the OCC terminal was the Mexican border control and ...

... but we would arrive there at about 11pm at night, so we decided to can the idea and stay another night in San Cristobal. We went down to Alice´s hotel and left a message that we were getting the bus tomorrow morning, and that we would meet her in the lobby for tea at 7:30, before heading back to write in our journals and have a shower. We meet up and walked around until we found a nice place to eat. Alot nicer than the places we had been eating when we ...

... it. I don´t. Maybe I won´t come back tomorrow to rent a bike from THAT guy, come to think of it... He finally leads me to the door at the end of our "conversation" and says, as a final straw: "Somos en México, no somos en los Estados Unidos.", that is: "This is Mexico, not the United States." What a wonderful conclusion from his part! I love this enlightening remarks! Great, man! If that´s how your little brains work, I don´t think we´ll be in business together. As a conclusion ...

... that made for a very smart appearance.

It was now time for the highlight of our trip – after paying our minimal admission fee to Raul – the entry into the white church located on the village square.

Before going inside, Raul solemnly had us gather around him to go over the rules of behavior to be followed in the church. Most important of all was to put away all evidence of photography and under no circumstances to show evidence of any camera or even think ...

... on the visual domain. One can only imagine how this effect would have been surpassed by a sunny day.

As I look at my photos it would seem that another fascination was the indigenous people so numerous here in San Cristobal. I had the impression that apart from the tourists the rest of the population was indigenous. The ethnic composition here is Tzotziles, Mestizos and Tzeltales.

The last time I was this captivated by the local population was in La ...

... ja vain yhdellä "hittoakos tänne tulette" -kysymyksellä. Tuntui myös, että työn vaatimuksiin kuului ainakin yhden vieraan kielen osaaminen, sen verran multikulttuurisen näköisiä olivat tullimiehet. New Yorkiin oli juuri ennen joulua satanut lumi aivan kuten elokuvissa on ennustettu. Tosin jo päivässä muuttui tuo lumi rännäksi, joka tiesi huonoja uutisia vastahankkimilleni kengille, jotka eivät olleet aivan goretexiä. Nykin välipysähdys aiheutti myäs jonkinasteisia ...

... i cannot take a photo as they think you are stealing their spirit. gutted. we are meant to ask the locals if we can take any photos, even of a building. so pics may be in short supply. the ride back down is so much fun, and far too short. but i realise this is what i need to do in most villages, as riding around on a bus isnt what i have come for! the evening is short due to us all being exhausted.

... so therefore a lot cooler - much to Callum´s liking! Yesterday we went to the awe-inspiring 1km high canyon, El Cañon del Sumidero. The natural landscape is spectacular and the wealth of wildlife amazing, including five rather menacing crocodiles! Then today we were lucky enough to visit two indigenous villages, getting an insight into to the ways of life of these communities who have successfully preserved their ancient Mayan traditions in an ever-evolving world.

... above which the audio control, storeroom and office sits, over the femme and male toilets. private booth seating and tables, and bar stools with high benches around the pillars lined the opposite wall. the kitchen stands in the corner just beyond the doors, with servery windows, cramped but functional, and a steep ladder staircase rising to the office. the office is furnished with couches, a desk, computer and chair, and littered with artwork by locals. a window opens up too ...