Showing 1-20 of 20 results
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Mujeres y Mayans – Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 23 June 2011
Tapachula could be just another border town (when your Wiki page starts with “Tapachula is a hot, humid town…” it ain’t good), however, there are two standout reasons to stop. The first is Casa Mexicana, a boutique hotel with just 10 rooms each named for an iconic Mexican woman. Yes, Frida gets a room. Bt the hotel also pays homage to Doña Josepha Ortiz de Dominguez, known as La Corregidora, a privileged woman who lived in Querétaro and was one of the earliest agitators for Mexican independence.
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Coffee Culture – Finca Hamburgo & Finca Argovia, Ruta de Cafe, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 20 June 2011
Chiapas has the legacy of the Zapatistas, the many charms of San Cristóbal de las Casas, and some of the most vibrant indigenous cultures in all of Mexico. As if that weren’t enough to love, this state also produces outstanding coffee (not that we like Starbucks, but the mega chain gets a chunk of its supply of coffee from Chiapas). You can thank the Germans.
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Pits and Parrots – Parque Nacional Cañón del Sumidero & Sima de las Cotorras, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 17 June 2011
In many ways it was very hard to leave San Cristóbal de las Casas. But in one way it was very easy: it’s all downhill from there. Between San Cristóbal de las Casas and Tuxtla Gutiérrez the well-maintained road drops 6,000 feet via the non-pay highway out of town. We didn’t touch the gas for 20 miles. Heaven. Chiapa de Corzo & Tuxtla Gutiérrez Our first stop, once we reached the bottom of that massive hill, was the colonial town of Chiapa de Corzo which was charming but way too expensive for us (a festival was on so hotel prices were all jacked up).
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Zapatista Signs of the Times – Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 13 June 2011
The New York Times called the Zapatista movement “the first post-modern revolution.” The movement boiled to the surface on January 1, 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect–when mysterious balaclava-wearing Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos and Comandante Romona lead thousands of armed villagers in a surprise attack on the Mexican army which culminated in a bloody shootout in the main plaza of San Cristóbal del as Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. Fighting went on for years and the Mexican Army still maintains a very visible presence in the area.
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A Final Resting Place (finally) – Nahá, Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 5 June 2011
In 1951 Danish historian, anthropologist, explorer, art history teacher, archaeologist and oil man Frans Blom and his Swiss wife Gertrude “Trudi” Duby Blom, a journalist and mountain climber turned photographer and ecologist, founded the Na Bolom Center of Scientific Studies based in San Cristóbal de las Casasin Chiapas, Mexico. First wishes Their goal was to preserve the ways and rights of the indigenous Lacandon people and other indigenous groups in the region and it’s virtually impossible to overstate the impact their documentation, respect and support have had on these groups.
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The Last of the Lacandon? – Nahá & Metzabok, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 31 May 2011
The Lacandon Maya are the descendents of the Mayan who fled what is now southern Mexico and northern Guatemala in order to escape the Spanish. It worked and since that time the Lacandon have survived in the ever-shrinking jungle–what’s left of the millions of acres they once called home. Changing times Some Lacandon communities had no contact with the “outside world” until the mid-20th Century but things have changed fast since then.
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Church of Stone, House of Stone – Ocosingo & Toniná, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 26 May 2011
Ocosingo Ocosingo does not make a winning first impression. It’s dusty and run down and at odds with the Zapatista strongholds in the neighboring areas (some of the worst battles in the 1994 Zapatista uprising took place in Ocosingo). But there is charm in this town. For starters, there’s the daily Tiangius Campesino which is like a magnet for indigenous women (and only women) who bring their corn, flowers, chickens, herbs, tamales (and their babies) from miles around. The women’s hands never seem to stop.
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Never Stop Digging – Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 18 May 2011
The experts tell us that Palenque, which was inhabited from 100-800 AD with a peak around the 7th century, is smaller than, say, Tikal but it sure feels big. The structures are hulking and the area that’s open to the public (a fraction of the six square miles or 15 square km the city is believed to have covered) is full of nicely groomed trails which take you through the city’s “suburbs” so you can see where some of the people lived beyond the temples and main plazas and royal areas. When Palenque was flourishing it was a major political and creative powerhouse.
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Getting There – Bonampak & Yaxchilán, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 15 May 2011
Bonampak After two and a half hours on severely pot-holed pavement (which is even worse than pot-holed dirt) we were happy to park the truck at the ramshackle village-run welcome station near Bonampak archaeological site. Here you’re required to pay 71 pesos per person (about US$6) to the local Lacandon community. That pre-entrance fee entitles you to a seat on an old school bus with all of the windows missing for the 20 minute drive to the site itself. Almost as soon as the bus pulled away from the ugly mess of unfinished concrete at the ejido entrance station we entered another world.
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Best Campsite Ever (but the neighbors are kinda noisy) – Las Guacamayas, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 12 May 2011
Las Nubes The rough road that leads to Las Nubes in Chiapas, Mexico almost got the better of us, but we finally reached this collection of 18 wooden cabins and a nice camping area on the banks of the Santo Domingo River. The river drops here creating a series of rapids and swimming holes which are the main attraction. When water levels are normal the water is clear and blue and you can swim in the refreshing pools. During our visit we were afraid to even approach the bank and walking across a footbridge over the churning whitewater and tumbling rapids was heart-pounding.
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Water World – Lagos de Montebello & Cascadas el Chiflón, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 25 April 2011
Though coffee and Zapatistas might be the first things that spring to mind when you think of Chiapas, this high-altitude state in southwestern Mexico also offers sophisticated city fun in San Cristóbal de las Casas, the remains of Mayan cities with unusual architectural features and plenty of great ways to get wet–from tranquil lakes to rampaging waterfalls. Amatenango del Valle After extending and extending and extending our stay in San Cristóbal (we had our reasons) we finally packed up and headed toward Comitán, passing through Amatenango del Valle which is famous for its pottery.
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Booze, Blouses and Burials – Mayan Villages Around San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 23 April 2011
San Cristóbal de las Casas is fascinating, but you really should get out of town long enough to get a feel for the very different (but equally fascinating) Tzotzil and Tzeltal Mayan villages that surround this city in the Chiapas highlands. San Juan Chamula The most-visited of the neighboring villages has to be the Tzotzil town of San Juan Chamula just a few miles from San Cristóbal and home to a famous church. We arrived early on a Sunday (market day) and our truck was immediately swarmed by kids and not in a good way.
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Jaguars on the Loose – San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 20 April 2011
It all started with a painted Cow Parade in Zurich. Then the cow idea came to Chicago, then New York City. Before you knew it, cities around the world were getting artists to paint all kinds of giant animals (and other icons) and placing them around town. There were painted salmon in Anchorage, guitars in Austin, crabs in Baltimore, lobsters in Halifax, Nova Scotia and so on. During our Trans-Americas Journey we’ve encountered painted cows, elk, horses, pelicans, pigs, buffalo, moose and even bears. And now: jaguars.
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Just One More Day – San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 18 April 2011
That’s how it starts. You get charmed by the cool weather, gorgeous architecture, cosmopolitan scene and some of the most vibrantly alive indigenous culture in all of Mexico and you keep delaying your departure from San Cristóbal de las Casas “just one more day.” Named after Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican monk who lived in the area in the 1500s where he became Bishop of Chiapas and, more importantly, a dedicated and effective defender of the rights of the local indigenous communites. He remains beloved to this day.
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A Love Motel, Colossal Heads and a Brand New Pueblo Magico – Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 15 April 2011
Villahermosa, the capital of the state of Tabasco, is not the most attraction-packed city in Mexico but there are reasons to visit, including the chance to see some of the massive stone Colossal Heads carved by the Olmecs thousands of years ago (more on them in a minute). However, finding a place to stay in Villahermosa can be a pain in the butt–in part because Villahermosa is an oil town which means there are plenty of pricey options for the execs and plenty of dumpy options for the workers and not a lot in between.
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Photo of the Day: Jaguarte in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 7 August 2010
It all started with a painted Cow Parade in Zurich. Then the cow idea came to Chicago, then New York City. Before you knew it, cities around the world were getting artists to paint all kinds of giant animals (and other icons) and placing them around town. There were painted salmon in Anchorage, guitars in Austin, crabs in Baltimore, lobsters in Halifax, Nova Scotia and so on. During our Trans-Americas Journey we’ve encountered painted cows, elk, horses, pelicans, pigs, buffalo, moose and even bears. And now: jaguars.
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Las Guacamayas (Scarlet Macaws) – Photo of the Day
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 30 July 2010
We spent the past week driving around the the Carretara Fronteriza, a road in the far corner of Chiapas that follows the Guatemalan border. This road encircles the Lacandon Jungle and includes several national parks and the enormous and pristine Monte Azul Biosphere Reserve which is one of the most bio-diverse areas in all of North America. The region is also one of the last places in North and Central America that supports a thriving population of wild scarlet macaws.
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Checkpoints in the Jungle P.1
Blog: Say Yes to Tacos - 15 January 2010
One note to start: As I`m publishing this post, more is becoming known about the situation on the ground in Haiti, and the death count from the recent earthquake may be in the tens of thousands. Here`s a list of aid organizations working on the recovery effort; please take a few minutes to send some [...]
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El Panchan – Better In The Jungle
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 1 November 2009
All we had read was how Palenque Town was a polluted, stuffy, noisy place which existed solely as somewhere for the travellers to Palenque ruins to stay. Actually, I think that might be a little harsh; we had to go through Palenque Town to get the bus to the border (see the next post), and [...]
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San Cristobal De Las Casas – Backpacker Heaven
Blog: Viva Latin America! - 1 November 2009
http://vivalatinamerica.wordpress.com/files/2009/11/sumidero.jpg?w=300
Showing 1-20 of 20 results
