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lilacassady

Mar 31, 2005, 2:35 PM

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San Cristóbal de las Casas

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After studying Spanish in Oaxaca for a couple of months, I'm planning to take a first class bus to San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas in approx July-August. I'd be very interested to hear about people's experience in San Cristóbal de las Casas and the surrounding areas (I will be studying Spanish at the Instituto Jovel, living w/a Mexican family, and taking a few day trips to Palenque, etc.). I'd love to hear about the general layout of the town, special places to check out, any experience w/Instituto Jovel, good tours and good tour guides, availability/recommendations for internet cafes (and whether I can download pics from my digital camera onto my travel website at these places), and any anecdotes or travelers tales. Also, has anyone ever taken the Oaxaca-San Cristóbal bus, or the bus from San Cristóbal to Merida?
Thanks!
--Lila

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Mar 31, 2005, 4:13 PM)

Bubba

Mar 31, 2005, 5:15 PM

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Re: [lilacassady] San Cristóbal de las Casas

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There are direct buses Oaxaca-San Cristobal de las Casas. Unless schedules have changed, two buses leave Oaxaca in the early evening from the first class terminal on Calz. Ninos Heroes and the trip takes eleven to twelve hours. For me a better way to do it is to take a bus to Tehuantepec from the same terminal and spend the night there, continuing on to San Cristobal later. There are 12 departures a day to Tehuantepec and the buses take four to five hours. There are a couple of nice motels and really funky hotels near the Plaza at 250 pesos a night with air conditioned (you'll need it) or 150 pesos with fan.

The big festival in Tehuantepec is the 25th of July starting 9 days before. It is a matriachal Zapotec society. We got there on a festival day, the women have wonderful clothes and jewelry, lead the procesion and offer mescal to everyone - same glasses for the whole town! The men are relegated to a meeting in a corner. It is interesting since the Zapotec villages around Oaxaca have very different customs. There the women are the one's doing all the work during festivals and the men are the ones leading the show.

Tehuantepec is friendly and prosperous , the ex-bishop of Ajijic is now assigned there.

The super deluxe dresses of Tehuantepec are the black embroidered skirts and huipiles with lots of lace, it is strange in the heat to have a velvet costume but really pretty.

From there you can take a bus for San Cristobal the next day. While in Chiapas be very respectful of the indians in the various villages and do not take pictures of anything without inquiring first. Some villages do not want any pictures taken of anything including fields without any humans in the picture some others will let you do it. Take combis to any of the villages it is cheap and you will be able to speak with some of the locals who in turn may introduce you to others in the village. The Mayas have beautiful weavings (not cheap) read up before going there.
The roads are good , better than in Jalisco as the army uses them extensively. Some villages are friendly and some others are not. The trick is to connect with some of the people and you will have a wonderful time if you do.

San Cristobal is a fun town full of restaurants and mostly European tourists. While there take a trip to Comitan and to the Lakes of Montebello near the Guatemalan border. Stay at the Hacienda Santa Maria in Santa Maria between Comitan and the Lakes. There are also some ruins in a beautiful jungle full of orchids.
Going towards Palenque stop in Ocosingo and go and visit the ruins at Tonina , there is a small ranch near the entrance of the park where you can stay and go on to see the waterfalls, etc. on the way to Palenque.

Be aware that there are still bad feelings between catholics and various protestant sects and stay clear of any political or religious conversations.

The headquarters of the Zapatistas is at the entrance of San Andres so do not be surprised if you see their billboard and their armed camp before you get to the entrance of the village.
On the way from Tuxtla to San Cristobal you should visit the town of Chiapa
de Corzo and visit the museum and the Sumidero canyon. There is a lady there that teaches lacquer making as well as embroidery another excuse for classes...

Do not worry about internet cafes, there are plenty of them.

Relax and have a great time.

Brigitte

(This post was edited by Bubba on Apr 1, 2005, 8:04 AM)

raferguson

Mar 31, 2005, 5:27 PM

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Re: [lilacassady] San Cristóbal de las Casas

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San Christobal is a very interesting town. It is surrounded by indian villages, lots of indians on the streets and in the markets. We took an interesting tour of the villages from Mercedes, not sure if she is still doing tours. Probably not a good idea to wander through the countryside without a guide or local information, the conflict with the Zapatistas was never resolved, and there are social problems. Make local inquiry before visiting surrounding villages, don't photograph Indians without permission, etc. Given that it is a troubled area, the rules against night travel, even by bus, apply double. In other words, be more careful in the area than you would normally.

We remember fondly our visit to Chiapas, one of our favorite Mexico trips. You will have lots of opportunity to practice Spanish there, as English is not widely spoken.

For what it is worth, the Tuxtla Gutierez zoo is great. We enjoyed the Canon de Sumidero tour by lancha from Chiapa de Corzo. Palenque is wonderful, probably a weekend trip.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com