San Cristobal de las Casas
Trip Start
Aug 16, 2003
1
65
92
Trip End
Apr 21, 2004
San Cristobal de las Casas,
Mexico
Friday, February 13, 2004
We didn't emerge until midday, feeling refreshed and raring to go again. We had a quick wander around the town before stopping at the 'Cafe Museo Cafe' which was a combined cafe and museum of coffee. A venture of 'Coopcafe' (a group of small-scale, Chiapas coffee growers) the little museum covered the history of coffee and its cultivation in the state. After a wander around the exhibits, Dan had an extremely strong espresso and I tried the mocha which was full of rich, thick chocolate - delicious
Downing 'El Yarda'!
!Next stop was at the large and incredibly colourful market where all sorts of tourist-enticing goods, mainly hand-made by local villagers, were on sale. Having restrained from buying too much memorabilia up until now, I'm afraid I weakened considerably and am now carrying around even more excess baggage! Enjoying the chance to have a go at bartering, I bought a skirt, a belt and a table cloth and napkin set (perhaps a somewhat frivolous purchase considering that we don't even have a dining room table!)
Once Dan had dragged me away from the market, we decided to blow away the cobwebs completely and climb up the Cerro de San Cristobal - the hill which overlooks the town. Unfortunately our effort wasn't rewarded with a great view - there were lots of trees obscuring our vision and the town isn't particularly picturesque anyway.
Later that evening we had a great meal at 'Emilio's Moustache' - finally we had a dish of taco's which really did live up to our expectations of what Mexican food would be like!
Dan and I were both slightly disappointed with San Cristobal which we felt lacked the charm and character of many of the other towns and cities we've visited. We also began to get tired of the children who kept pestering us for money at every turn - it's very difficult to get used to seeing really young kids begging.
Andrea and Dan
