Inquisitive Spirit

Tuesday, Dec 6

We went on our first adventure! An eco-tour to the Canyon ‘Sumidero’ (Canon del Sumidero).

 The canyon walls are over 1000 metres in places! We saw 5 crocodiles! I always dreamed of seeing them in their natural habitat and today that dream came true. I even spotted one that no one else saw.

Thank God for laser surgery :).

We saw a humungous iguana sunning itself on top of a leafy branch stretched over the river and numerous blue herons and a lot of carrion eaters – a variety of vulture. The people that live near call them the official river cleanup crew.

The canyon is incredible. It was nominated in 2009 as one of the 7 new natural wonders of the world.

There is this unbelievable  ‘Christmas tree’  formation made of rock, fungus, flower, plants and magic. It hangs off the the walls of the canyon and fine water sprays over it all . It was like something from another planet. So cool! 

The river that we were on is damned and the power plant supplies 25% of Mexico’s power, as well as a big part of Guatemala’s power needs.

We went 35 kilometres in a boat with about 8 other people. Everyone was in awe. The sad thing is that this river is 750 km long and passes through some big cities and accumulates a lot of garbage – mostly plastic bottles. They are constantly cleaning it but can’t keep up with it all. But feeling the clean moist air on our faces made up for the dirty spots. 

After the canyon adventure,  we stopped at the oldest town in Chiapas, called Chiapas del Corzo. There is a stone fountain and adobe church built in the 1550s. The town is built around a humungous tree.  Oh, the stories it could tell…

We were only there for an hour so we quickly jumped in a taxi and went to a nearby archaeological site. It is where they found the oldest tomb in Mexico- and in the midde of Mayan country – it had a burial mask of an Olmeca! With 3000 jade stones and many other gem stones as well.  I’ll have to research where they took the treasures to, it would be very interesting to see them. They found the oldest example of hieroglyphics inMesoamerica at this site as well.

A wonderful day – our faces hurt from smiling so much!

Imagine a place, so high in the mountains that you can almost touch heaven. And caverns so deep you feel the heat of Mother Earth’s core. This is Chiapas. A land of contrasts and startling beauty. And I get to explore it!!!

San Cristobal de las Casas was recently declared a Magic town by the Mexican government. And it really is magical. It is a city alive with history and yet modern at the same time. It is a young city – the average age is 20. Every corner has an ancient church surrounded with beautiful squares where people connect and share their daily lives. There are 86,000 people here but it has the friendliness and relaxed atmosphere of a small town. We have walked for many hours and have not yet discovered an area that we wouldn’t be delighted to live in. Exploring over the next few weeks will be so fun! 

the Cathedral

Today we showed up at a church square just in time to join a school presentation of dance & music & singing. The kids were doing traditional dance with fancy costumes – but they did it with humourous twist. Lots of flirting and fun.  Teens are the same everywhere; it was fun to watch them act just like they would at home.

The tourists here  are almost all  from Europe, mostly from France, Italy or Germany. The Chiapan people are really short so the foreigners stand out. Even I am tall here! You seldom hear English. Many young hippy kids come here and it appears that lots of them they stay. They appear in the standard dresscode of dreadlocks or partially shaved heads and ratty clothing, and many tote guitars or other instruments.

The main square

A high percentage of the  population is Indigenous and many speak dialects rather than Spanish. We bought a blouse from an older lady today who couldn’t speak or understand Spanish and she couldn’t count money. The illiteracy rate is very high here especially in the smaller communities. The primary schools are now bilingual, teaching both dialects and Spanish. Generally the children speak more Spanish than their parents do. The people in the small towns are lucky to complete primary school. There is still a lot of poverty and discrimination. Although it is against the state law for children to work, the municipality here gives the parents permission for their kids to work.   So there are kids that can barely walk selling souvenirs all over centro. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

 

Colourful vendors

We bought a pair of shoes for a snotty-nosed munchkin who was walking around in the cold with barefeet. She was scared but after I put a shoe on her little flat foot, she timidly stuck out her other one. The shoes fit her, and she gave me a shy little smile. I guess she must be six because she was missing her two front teeth. Later on we saw her running around happily in her new shoes!

Little salesmen

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but at least it didn’t die of boredom!

I love to explore, experience and expand my world, both inside and out, by travelling to new and interesting places. I am excited to share my adventures with you. I hope you enjoy the ride….

Sue Granados