Panatrillo

San Cristobal de las Casas: 6 Days in Chiapas

panatrillo — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:28:28 +0000

After returning from San Pedro, I spent the next couple weeks back in Pana working with Andrew and adjusting to Guatemala. After speaking to a number of travelers in San Pedro, I decided to visit San Cristobal de las Casas, capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas. Chiapas is better known as the home of the EZLN (Ejercito Zapatista Liberacion Internacional). The EZLN is a leftist movement that has protested the Mexican government’s alleged mistreatment of the rural population of Mexico, especially in the less affluent Southern states. I met an awesome couple (John and Laura) on the way from Panajachel, who I actually recognized from San Pedro Spanish School (although we never formally met there). Upon arriving in San Cristobal (8 hours and a border crossing later) John and Laura took me to a great hostel called Casa de Gladys and we hung out for the next 4 days (its the longest period of time I’ve ever spent 3rd wheeling).

*Santo Domingo Church (San Cristobal)

*John, Laura, and I with a Hilarious Pharmacy Mascot

While in San Cristobal, I had plenty of time to explore the city. San Cristobal is very similar to Antigua with many colonial style buildings in the city, all painted bright, vibrant colors. Like Antigua, the city is surrounded by mountains, however, San Cristobal is at a higher elevation and actually gets to be quite cold at night. There is a rich live music scene, revolving mostly around Reggae and Cumbia music. On my second day in the city I went for a boat tour of the Sumidero Canyon. The canyon is actually larger than the Grand Canyon but has been flooded by a large hydroelectric dam.

*Sumidero Canyon

*Ancient Waterfall (doesn’t it look like a face in profile at the top?)

On the trip I met a really cool Aussie guy named Nick, he was able to snap this photo of me on the streets of San Cristobal. Check out this dude in pajama pants playing computer games on the street. He was actually playing Mortal Kombat II to our collective surprise and delight. If you’re going to be a waste of a human life, you might as well do it sitting on a bench in public where everyone can watch you!

*The Gaming God Himself on the Streets of San Cristobal

Two days after my trip to the Sumidero Canyon, I visited the Montebello Lakes which are about 2 1/2 hours from San Cristobal, near the border with Guatemala. On the way to the lakes (which are famous for their multiple colors), we stopped at a massive waterfall which cascaded down into beautiful blue river. We had just enough time to grab some photos and go swimming.

*River Downstream from Waterfall

*Cascadas

*Went Swimming in Here

*Really Huge Waterfall

After the waterfall, we traveled to the Lagos de Montebello. The water was crystal clear and very clean. We took a makeshift raft to an island in the middle of one of the lakes and went cliff jumping. It was one of the better days I have had down here for sure.

*Paddling on the Makeshift Boat

*More Cliff Jumping, Most Xtreme

*Really Clear Water

After 6 days in San Cristobal, I returned home to Panajachel. I never realized how nice Mexico really is until I returned to Guatemala. Sorry for waiting so long to post this, but more info is on the way and hopefully I can soon catch up to the present.

Unleash the Beast: San Pedro (Part II)

panatrillo — Tue, 29 May 2007 05:32:50 +0000

I mentioned earlier the interesting folks that I met during my stay in San Pedro. San Pedro is a much smaller city than Panajachel, less hustle and bustle, and more friendly foreigners. My time there was great for that very reason. During the course of any given day, you run into everyone that you’ve met who lives there or is staying there.

*the photo to keep me from political office (Chris (UK), Me, Omer (Israel)

*More fun international folks, doesn’t the guy on the right look like Jacob Policzer?

Some other highlights of my second week included watching the Champions League Semi-Finals (go Liverpool!), playing football (soccer) on a pretty international team against a team of Guatemalans (even though we lost, fucking altitude!), and celebrating my 23rd birthday. One of my good Swiss friends Lucien helped me to celebrate and I even got a present from two Israeli girls who stayed at Zoola with me (Rotem and Tal)

*Tal, Me, and Rotem (on my birthday)

I do know that in the time before I leave Guatemala I will certainly return to San Pedro la Laguna. If I could advise my friends to visit any part of Guatemala, or of Lake Atitlan, I would have to suggest San Pedro. Below are two of my favorite photos I took there. Today, my friend Kyle Hurt left for the U.S. It was great having a friend from home visiting us in Guatemala (and I think she had a pretty good time too). Tomorrow I leave for Nebaj with Andrew, but once I get back, I can post about San Cristobal and perhaps finally catch up to the present. Thanks for reading!

*fisherman from San Pedro

*abandoned dock from San Pedro

Blog posts interrupted by visit

panatrillo — Sat, 26 May 2007 05:55:21 +0000

So my friend Kyle is in town visiting, so it might be til Monday that I post on the blog again, but stay tuned kids!