San Christobal de las Casas
Trip Start
Sep 25, 2007
1
25
29
Trip End
Ongoing
San christobal,
Mexico
Saturday, March 1, 2008
We arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas late afternoon and found the Bonampak Hotel campsite quite easily. We had the good fortune of having a large Chedraui supermarket within walking distance so a quick shop was done and it was dark when we walked home. In the morning we took a $2 taxi into Centro and booked a tour to Chamula while Bev had her shoes shined for $1.50.
At 10.30 we boarded the van and headed for Chamula, the main village in a region that has retained some autonomy as we will explain.
Here is Philips and James' interpretation of the visit.
A trip to Chamula and Zinacantan
As we went on a guided tour with Terry, Margo, Vern and a English tour guide. The first thing we went to see was little clay huts. The material was sticks to make the frame then they get some, I mean a lot of mud and a palm frond roof or a straw roof or a steel roof which is donated by the Mexican government.
Its amazing how the mayans stay warm up in the mountains but suprisingly enough They smoke their house out for warmth. The houses have no chimneys and they place three big rocks in a circle and light a fire in it
Can I do your feet while you're here
. The reason they place three rocks is because there are three mayan gods.I think that day was a great one and I will surely remember it.
Phillip McGregor
A Day at Chamula and Zinacantan
Today we went to the small Indian towns outside San Cristobal with Terry, Margo and Vern in a small tour.
The tour guide who spoke English told us how the Mexican Indians lived. He explained about their homes and what they were made of, their religion and education.
The best part of the trip was when we entered what looked like a catholic church, but is the only Mayan church in the region. It was filled with people praying in front of candles and special ceremonies unlike catholic churches that have pews or seats. When the candles burnt down some people would kill or sacrifice a chicken by twisting or sometimes breaking the head of completely! It would have been a hard religion to learn partly because they had to learn 16 different languages and there were over 280 gods!
I had a great time listening and learning about the ancient Mayans. They are very interesting and not much has changed with these Mayans today.
James McGregor
It was a very unique place where ancient Mayan beliefs and gods are still worshiped, intertwined with the Catholic church. From the outside the church looks like another Catholic church but behind the façade it has no pews and the walls are lined with wooden carved saints inside glass boxes.
Phil and adobe house at Chamula
These saints were rescued from the original church which burned down a hundred years or so ago and have been punished by being put on display and not used in the different ceremonies because they weren't able to protect the church from the fire. Shamans or healers are prominent inside the church helping parishioners expel evil spirits along with thousands of candles, spruce leaves, Pox, pronounced posh (local firewater) Chickens to sacrifice and strangely coca cola to induce burping which helps release the spirits. To enter the church you have to have permission from the religious leaders, our tour guide Edwardo had a deal going with them and even got Larry inside "half in the bag". No hats allowed and if you try to take photos inside the church the officials will smash your camera. The locals believe the children's souls will be stolen if photos are taken of them so will always cover their faces when cameras are around. The priest from San Christobal visits rarely, mainly for mass christenings with up to 100 children at a time. The local elders run the show the rest of the time. As much as Mexico has freedom of religion there has been gunfights and deaths over other denominations trying to set up camp in the area. The local cemetery was something else too, surrounding the ruins of the original church that burned all of the graves bar a few looked as though they had been freshly dug. Apparently the relatives weed them to keep the sheep from grazing on their loved ones
Pick a style off the wall
. The plural applies here because some plots have multiple crosses, I saw 5 on one, as they enter the next life, these guys believe they are reincarnated into the same family again and just keep, in Edwardos words, digging up the same plot shoving the bones to one side and planting the next one. They bury them with food and some money in their pocket for the journey and a needle and thread? In case a button needs sowing back on I guess. As we were viewing the gravesite a couple of rouge sheep trailing their tethers came stampeding through the cemetery with their ropes snagging and knocking over a few crosses. Potential roast dinners I hear you say? Not likely, don't tell the Kiwi sheep for fear of a mass exodus, but here they are sacred, not eaten or abused but revered for their wool only, which the locals use to make all their traditional skirts for the Senoritas and ponchos for the Hombres.We finished the day tour with a visit to some local traditional weavers. They tell me that hooking up with a good weaver here is akin to marrying the publican's daughter at home. I am sure Alberto had hit pay dirt and was helping his missus by drumming up a bit of business. Jokes aside the work they put out and the time it takes to weave an intricate wedding dress by hand is mind boggling, up to 1 month to weave and embroider 1 garment.
After having such an interesting day we decided to stay an extra night here and explore the city proper the next day.
We taxied back into the town square again in the morning, my turn for a shoeshine today after seeing Bev's job the day before, after directions from Halexandro our favourite shoe shiner upperer, we headed of towards the Market area and one of the local barber shops
Chamula Church square
. Phil, Vern and myself all picked a style off the wall and for $2 had arguably one of the best jobs we ever had. The local Mercado was amazing everything you could dream of from fresh fruit and veg to anything you could think of made from recycled soup cans and reo bar. The best Pollo (chicken) in the world as far as I'm concerned. I am told that they mix marigold with their feed which gives them the gold coloring. The meat section was incredible I reckon over an acre of butchers, fish and Pollo merchants with not one refrigerator in sight. Piles and piles of "fresh" and dried fish, mostly sardines and yellowtail tuna split and dried with flies all over it. Huge piles of tripe, pigs trotters and heads all proudly on display. I am only sorry I didn't have the camera with me, the girls refused to come inside as the smell sends them a bit queasy.
After most of the day shopping, I had a cob of corn and the crew came back with a hammock, hat, purses, necklaces, bracelets and to top it off a nice Mexican throw. Oh! I forgot we also had a well deserved Cervesa Frios ( cold beer) after all the exertion.
A good night's sleep was had by all ready for a quick shop and a short haul to the next destination, an orphanage a couple of hours up the road.
'til the next episode,
Hasta Luega Amigos,
The McGregors-6
Ps. No responsibility or liability accepted for any inaccuracies in this posting. It is all "fair dinkum" though because Edwardo told me so!
