Chiapas - A Place Like No Other

Chiapas is a unique place to visit.  It is the most indigenously occupied state in Mexico.  More like Guatemala to me then Mexico.  If I'm not mistaken our guide said over 60% of the inhabitants are
indigenous peoples - Mayan in great numbers.  They are a proud, fierce and beautiful people.

For me, being among the indigenous was the purpose of my moving to Mexico.  That is probably
why Michoacan, Chiapas, Oaxaca and the area around Creel where the Tarahumara live are my
favorite places.

Chiapas is pristinely beautiful.  Posted today are eight photos out of 223. These are my favorites.

My first trip eight years ago, we flew into Tuxtla Guiterrez and headed directly for San Cristobal de las Casas thereby using that as the spoke for side trips.  This trip began by flying into Villahermosa, Tabasco and then driving to Palenque the next day for the spectacular beginning of a very different trip then previously.
Above is one photo of Palenque.  Humid and hot and at an altitude of 60 meters, we were lucky that
it was a slightly overcast day and our group was just about the only people at the site!

I'll write a post, just on Palenque next, but wanted to share the above photo as one of my favorites.

The next morning we headed off for a LONG day of driving to San Cristobal de las Casas.  It was a ten hour traveling day.  But, we did stop along the way to see exquisite sites such as above which is Misol-Ha waterfall.  

 Then on to Casacadas de Aqua Azul to wander the area and to enjoy the most spectacularly colored waters which are caused, they say, by the limestone that the falls wash over.  If you look closely at this photo, camouflaged, is a green hummingbird!  It let me get this close without fear.  Amazing.

 And, here are the falls.  The sound, the color, the surroundings elicited sighs from all.  A few even
swam for a while before we had lunch in one of the many palapa restaurants on the grounds.

 The drive was winding and slow.  At many points, as I was sitting next to the window, it was possible for me to look down at the edge of the road and the canyon or whatever was at the edge of the road.  It was a good thing that we had a trusty driver who our tour guide knew and praised.  Whew.

The above photo was taken at an overlook just outside Ocosingo.  We were climbing by this time out of the jungles of the Lancondon peoples and had passed Tonina, another archaeological site.  We were leaving behind the humidity and heat. 

 San Cristobal is in the highlands.  It is 2,140 meters or about 7100 ft above sea level.  I mentioned above that we had passed through part of the Lacondon jungle.  This pirogue or boat was used by the Lancondon
and is on display at NaBalom which I will write about in another post.  The people who lived at Na Balom, Trudy and Frans, are responsible for the discovery of the Lacondon peoples and saving them from extinction.  Their story and lives are very intertwined with Palenque and the peoples of the jungle. 

 We spent several days in San Cristobal along with visiting the villages of Chamula and Zinacantan along with some going to the village of Amantenango del Valle, which I visited many years ago.  The photo above
was taken in Chiapa de Corzo, altitude 420 meters, which was our last stop before heading home.  This was the view outside the room.  The gardens at the hotel were extraordinary.  A post about our adventures there will be forthcoming.

The final photo is of the  Sumidero Canyon.  It is hard to explain to someone that they are going to get in a boat and eventually come to this spectacular canyon.  Some did not go.  It was sad that they missed one
of the most spectacular sights of nature in Mexico.  When I tell you about our adventure on this river, you
will have a chuckle.

For me it was an arduous trip this time.  The various elevations along with lots of walking caused me to
realize that my days of being an intrepid traveler may be slowing down.  It certainly was a beautiful way
to end this chapter of travel, to put it mildly.

IF you ever get a chance to go to Chiapas, GO!  As I tell you some of the intimate details of our adventures, you'll get more of the flavor of this area.  A place like no other.