On Saturday morning, we left San Cristobal de las Casas (I was sad because I have fallen in love with the city). We headed up a mountain, fog surrounding the van, to 2 smaller towns. The first stop was San Juan Chamula. It had a population of about 40,000 people, but it truly felt smaller than Pella. The downtown area was packed full because it was Sunday market time, which is the biggest market of the week. We had a little problem getting through the crowds because everyone seemed to know what they were doing, and where they were going- except us!
We wanted to check out the church, which was amazing. It was a colonial era Catholic cathedral. However, because the people are Mayan, they mix ancient Mayan beliefs and traditions with the Catholic faith. We walked inside the church to find the floor covered in pine needles- it made it slippery so I had to be careful! People were seated all over the floor (there were no pews). They were lighting small candles and setting them in rows all over the floor, then letting them burn down into piles of wax. They also had bottles of coke or other pop alongside them. Part of their belief involves burping, so they drink pop to make themselves burp a lot. I would fit in quite well here! :)
We wandered slowly and quietly to the front of the church, where more people were little candles. Apparently they were sacrificing chickens, or preparing too, but I didn't see this- thankfully.
On our way out of the church, near the back, several women with babies were gathered. They were dressing their babies in white clothes. They were preparing to baptize their children, we think. A priest or someone was wandering around, watching the children, so we assume that the baptism was happening soon. We left quickly because another large tourist group was coming in.
We weren't allowed to take pictures in the town of San Juan Chamula. In previous years, people's cameras have been taken away, not to be given back, if they took pictures anywhere in town. So we didn't risk it. However, other tourists were, but the townfolks didn't look too happy about it.
We had about an hour to explore the town, so Caleb and I set off to find some nice souvenirs for people. I found some nice souvenirs for a good price, which always makes me happy! Then we headed back up the big hill to get to the van. There were lots of little kids hanging around the van, ready to sell us stuff. That nearly breaks my heart to see young kids selling goods on the street. But man they are good sellers! It's pretty hard to refuse them.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Palenque Pictures
The waterfall inside the site of Palenque. It was pretty small compared to some of the waterfalls we saw, but still peaceful and pretty!
A view of the main city of Palenque from atop the huge Temple of the Crosses. Awesome view!
Great scenery from the Temple of the Crosses.
A saw this dark stairway leading into the dark unknown in a small, forgotten temple at the top of a hill. So I decided I would go inside. Luckily there were no body snatchers or jaguars inside! there were no lights either...creepy...
The enormous Temple of the Inscriptions, where Pakal's tomb is located...and the even more enormous mountain behind!
San Cristobal de Las Casas
Our next stop on the Chiapas trip was the town of San Cristobal de las Casas- pretty neat name if you ask me. The town had a population of about 60,000, but it really had the feel of a small town. The Maya culture was VERY strong. In fact, we heard very little Spanish being spoken. Amongst themselves, the natives spoke Mayan. I had no prayer of understanding! Spanish and Maya aren't remotely close to being the same language. Luckily, most people spoke Spanish, even if they weren't perfect or fluent.
San Cristobal is surrounded by mountains, and the outskirts of town start to climb upwards! :) I didn't walk to the edge of town because I didn't really want to climb huge hills. I was content to strolled around and check out the downtown.
The town has 3 main markets, 2 artisan markets and one outdoor food market. My oh my were they fascinating! Robin and I first checked out the outdoor artisan market. Lots of clothes, toys, fabrics, shawls, scarves, souvenirs, etc could be found. Much of the stuff is woven in beautiful and intricate patterns. After checking that out, we headed to the Market of Sweets and Artisans. It was inside, and very nice. I bought a nice woven pancho-sweater thing for 60 pesos, which is like $4.50. Caleb bought one on the coast earlier in the semester for 250 pesos! Needless to say he wasn't so happy when we heard the price of mine! The sweater came in handy because San Cristobal gets chilly at night and in the morning, and a sweater was necessary! Gotta love the cool weather!
Finally, Robin and I headed to the food market. It was amazing. I felt absolutely ignorant when I couldn't identify 1/2 the fruits and veggies available! Inside could be found all sorts of things! Fruits, veggies, flowers, chickens (chopped up and live), and any other food you could imagine. Near one of the entrances were a bunch of chickens, alive and clucking, with feet tied up with ribbon- so they couldn't run away of course. And when someone bought one they would just sling it over their forearm and keep walking through the market, live chicken hanging at the side. Way different from Walmart and Hy-Vee. I bought some little finger bananas, which were delicious! They were only a few inches long and had an apple-banana flavor. Yummy! I want more now, but I'm not sure how available they are in Merida. I may have to check that out...
San Cristobal is surrounded by mountains, and the outskirts of town start to climb upwards! :) I didn't walk to the edge of town because I didn't really want to climb huge hills. I was content to strolled around and check out the downtown.
The town has 3 main markets, 2 artisan markets and one outdoor food market. My oh my were they fascinating! Robin and I first checked out the outdoor artisan market. Lots of clothes, toys, fabrics, shawls, scarves, souvenirs, etc could be found. Much of the stuff is woven in beautiful and intricate patterns. After checking that out, we headed to the Market of Sweets and Artisans. It was inside, and very nice. I bought a nice woven pancho-sweater thing for 60 pesos, which is like $4.50. Caleb bought one on the coast earlier in the semester for 250 pesos! Needless to say he wasn't so happy when we heard the price of mine! The sweater came in handy because San Cristobal gets chilly at night and in the morning, and a sweater was necessary! Gotta love the cool weather!
Finally, Robin and I headed to the food market. It was amazing. I felt absolutely ignorant when I couldn't identify 1/2 the fruits and veggies available! Inside could be found all sorts of things! Fruits, veggies, flowers, chickens (chopped up and live), and any other food you could imagine. Near one of the entrances were a bunch of chickens, alive and clucking, with feet tied up with ribbon- so they couldn't run away of course. And when someone bought one they would just sling it over their forearm and keep walking through the market, live chicken hanging at the side. Way different from Walmart and Hy-Vee. I bought some little finger bananas, which were delicious! They were only a few inches long and had an apple-banana flavor. Yummy! I want more now, but I'm not sure how available they are in Merida. I may have to check that out...
Palenque
The first stop on the Chiapas trip was the archeological site Palenque. After 7 hours of riding on a bumpy bus, we stumbled out of the van into Palenque. It was a very beautiful place! The ruins are nestled in a valley at the start of the mountains, surrounded by lush, beautiful forest. The ruins were very unique. Part of this is likely due to the isolation and inaccesibility because it is in the mountains. And it's quite a ways away from the Puuc region near Merida!
Some of the temples and buildings had tunnels inside, which is pretty rare for Mayan architecture. Most temples, etc are facades surrounding large piles of rubble- basically. So internal rooms and tunnels just aren't found in the ancient Maya world. I had fun exploring around inside the Temple of the Inscriptions, where Ahua Pakal's tomb is. We couldn't go to his tomb, but we saw one which is thought to be his wife's tomb.
It was quite hot outside, and because of the terrain there were lots of steps to climb. We found some nice shadey areas and rested for a while. We had plenty of time at the site, so we could sit and people watch, or iguana watch, as the case was. We climbed the HUGE Temple of the Crosses, and definitely had to rest after that. It as several stories worth of oversized, rough steps-with no railings! But the view was spectacular!
We wandered around a lot of the site of Palenque, and even saw a pretty little waterfall. Cole and I checked out the museum, which was really nice. Then we all headed for the hotel down the road for a relaxing night. We were all hot and tuckered out, so the air-conditioned rooms were a welcome relief!
Some of the temples and buildings had tunnels inside, which is pretty rare for Mayan architecture. Most temples, etc are facades surrounding large piles of rubble- basically. So internal rooms and tunnels just aren't found in the ancient Maya world. I had fun exploring around inside the Temple of the Inscriptions, where Ahua Pakal's tomb is. We couldn't go to his tomb, but we saw one which is thought to be his wife's tomb.
It was quite hot outside, and because of the terrain there were lots of steps to climb. We found some nice shadey areas and rested for a while. We had plenty of time at the site, so we could sit and people watch, or iguana watch, as the case was. We climbed the HUGE Temple of the Crosses, and definitely had to rest after that. It as several stories worth of oversized, rough steps-with no railings! But the view was spectacular!
We wandered around a lot of the site of Palenque, and even saw a pretty little waterfall. Cole and I checked out the museum, which was really nice. Then we all headed for the hotel down the road for a relaxing night. We were all hot and tuckered out, so the air-conditioned rooms were a welcome relief!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wanna be Chiapaneco
I'm back from the beautiful state of Chiapas, and I want to go back already! Like the title of this entry says, I want to be a citizen of Chiapas, a Chiapaneco. I forgot how beautiful the mountains are. It's definitely a lot different than the Yucatan. Gone was the hard, dry fields of bushes and stubby trees. Chiapas is full of lush forest, complete with banana trees and conifers. And odd combination, but it makes for a wonderful views.
The weather in Chiapas is quite different from Merida. We had a few days of cool, crisp weather, like Iowa in fall. The mornings and evenings definitely required a warm sweater, but during the day it was hot enough for short sleeves and shorts. It was a very nice change to see fog and shiver in Mexico!
I'll write more about what we did in Chiapas, but the 8 hour van ride from Palenque today just made me tired, even though I slept through most of it. Hasta luego!
The weather in Chiapas is quite different from Merida. We had a few days of cool, crisp weather, like Iowa in fall. The mornings and evenings definitely required a warm sweater, but during the day it was hot enough for short sleeves and shorts. It was a very nice change to see fog and shiver in Mexico!
I'll write more about what we did in Chiapas, but the 8 hour van ride from Palenque today just made me tired, even though I slept through most of it. Hasta luego!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Off to Chiapas!
The long-awaited Chiapas trip is finally upon us! We leave from Casa Central tomorrow at 5am, for an 8-9 hour drive to Palenque. Although the traveling won't exactly be fun, we're all pretty excited to go on this trip. In past groups it has been the best excursion by far!
Chiapas is the southern most state of Mexico. It's pretty high up though, in the mountain area. Within a day we'll be rising about 9,000 feet in altitude, from sea level to the mountains. We're really hoping nobody gets altitude sickness!
We're all looking forward to beautiful sites, cooler weather, and different culture that's found in Chiapas. Chiapas is a very indigenous state, with a large Maya population. It's also home to the Zapatista movement, which was a strong movement in the 1990s and early 2000s. Recently the Zapatistas haven't been credited with much activity, but they're still a strong organization- one which fights against the Mexican government for the rights of indigenous people. Don't worry- I'm not in any danger! We're actually going into a Zapatista community, so it's safe to be there.
Other than the Zapatistas, we have the chance to see some beautiful waterfalls and other scenery. I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I'm excited! Adios for 5 days! I'll be away from the computer, so don't look for updates for awhile.
Chiapas is the southern most state of Mexico. It's pretty high up though, in the mountain area. Within a day we'll be rising about 9,000 feet in altitude, from sea level to the mountains. We're really hoping nobody gets altitude sickness!
We're all looking forward to beautiful sites, cooler weather, and different culture that's found in Chiapas. Chiapas is a very indigenous state, with a large Maya population. It's also home to the Zapatista movement, which was a strong movement in the 1990s and early 2000s. Recently the Zapatistas haven't been credited with much activity, but they're still a strong organization- one which fights against the Mexican government for the rights of indigenous people. Don't worry- I'm not in any danger! We're actually going into a Zapatista community, so it's safe to be there.
Other than the Zapatistas, we have the chance to see some beautiful waterfalls and other scenery. I'm not 100% sure what to expect, but I'm excited! Adios for 5 days! I'll be away from the computer, so don't look for updates for awhile.
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Peaceful Week
The past week has been a week of vacation, which I always love! I spent it just working on things in the Central House and doing stuff around the city of Merida. It was really nice not to have to worry about traveling. During Semana Santa, many of the people here take vacation and head to the coast for the week. I could notice the difference in the city! There was a lot less traffic, fewer people were around, smaller businesses and schools were closed, restaurants were nearly empty, etc. It was a very calm and peaceful time to be in Merida. I'll miss the quietness- now the traffic has picked back up outside the house, and it seems like the city is returning to normal. However, some schools and places are still closed for Semana Pascua- Easter Week. Unfortunately, we still have class. :( But on Thursday morning ta 5am (!) we're leaving on a five day field trip to the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. So it's a short week for us, and we definitely have something to look forward to!
I'll have to write more about Easter and our wonderful Easter dinner later. I have to go prepare for Civ class now though. :(
I'll have to write more about Easter and our wonderful Easter dinner later. I have to go prepare for Civ class now though. :(
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