January 1st 2021
It’s hard to take any time away from strolling the streets of San Cristobal de Las Casas, because we are so loving everything this mountain town has to offer. From fresh mountain air and mountains, to the indigenous populations, to the artisanal market, to live music and great food, to cobble stone streets lined with colorful Colonial structures and interesting murals.
However, after learning about the nearby deepest gorge in the world, and reading about one very unique church in the region, we have two “must do” day trips.
El Canyon del Sumidero. (Day trip #1)
Thinking that how we spend the first day of the year, sets the tone for the rest of it, we chose to submerge ourselves in nature.
On the first of January 2021, we therefore set off to El Canyon del Sumidero, a couple of hours drive away. The gorge stretches high up to 1000 meters and the only way to visit it is by boat. We leave the car and the dog in the parking lot and head to the boat dock to board one of the boats that operate through the canyon.
Chamula ~ a place like no other. Day trip #2
The nearby village of Chamula is well know for its unique church.
But for Ben, ever since he saw that super cool woolen vest worn by indigenous men at the market in San Cristobal, Chamula is primarily about going to the source and seeing from where this unique garment hails.
Where there are woolen vests, there must be wool And where there is wool, there must be sheep. A simple equation and one he is intent on solving.
And indeed, once in Chamula, we see several men in their beautiful creamy white, sleeveless belted ‘ponchos’…
And then… we find piles of soft wool, sold by the pound, at the local market outside the church in Chamula.
And, as Ben hoped… we find the sheep on the outskirts of the village! Victory. Ivory colored sheep. Grey sheep. Black sheep.
The market place
The market in Chamula, in the center square in front of the church is a subdued affair. Most likely because we arrive late and the market is already winding down. Vendors are assessing their sales and some are starting to pack up their stalls.
A nice surprise amongst the fruit, the wool and the gourds, are the flower stalls with a wide range of blooms.
The church of San Juan, Chamula
The church in Chamula is probably one of the most unique churches in Latin America. It is a unusual blending of two religious cultures. The Tzotzil speaking Maya population of Chamula practicing some of their ancient rituals within the framework of the second religious culture, namely, Catholicism brought to the area by the Spanish Conquistadores.
The external tile work on the church hints at “something different” here, but it is not until you step inside the church that you really get an understanding of HOW different.
There are no pews inside the church and the floor is strewn with thick dry pine needles creating a carpet of sorts. There are thousands of candles of all sizes, everywhere. The interior is dark and it takes a while for our eyes to adjust before we notice the walls lined with Catholic saint carvings, which locals have reinterpreted as Mayan gods.
We watch as people sit in small groups with Curanderos (medicine men), lighting candles and then using the melted wax to stick them directly on the floor in rows and rows of flickering flames. There is an atmosphere thick with faith, spirituality, the scent of pine needles, and copal resin incense.
We had read that congregants bring chickens to sacrifice inside the church and we are relieved that we do not witness this part of the religious practice. The medicine men diagnose medical, psychological or ‘evil-eye’ afflictions and prescribe remedies such as candles of specific colors and sizes, flower petals or feathers, or in a dire situation ~ the sacrifice of a live chicken. Coca cola is used in rituals, an apparent substitute to Atole (corn based drink made from black maize), and burping is an important part of the purging of illness or evil.
(Photos are strictly prohibited inside the church).
The amber museum
Back in San Cristobal de las Casas, we have one last place to visit before we hit the road to return to our home base in Oaxaca. We head to the amber museum, housed in a 16th Century convent. The museum showcases amber in all its forms, from fossil to jewelry and art. Chiapas amber is fossilized pine resin, around 30 million years old. The amber is known for its clarity and diverse colors.
Last lodging in San Cris
After our first few days with chilly evenings, we searched for a place with a fireplace and hit gold (or in this case, amber). Tucked behind a lush garden with mountain views, we find the perfect home for the balance of our time in San Cris. Every evening after dinner we make a cosy crackling fire which warms the place way into the wee hours of the night.
An unpredictable? end to our road trip
And so our 11 week epic road trip is coming to a close. It has been one of our most memorable trips ever. We have a ten hour or so drive to get back down to the coast of Oaxaca ahead of us. The road takes us through beautiful mountaineous scenery, with a last stretch that is steep and windy.
Almost on cue, our car delivers a final punch to our roadtrip. As we finish a particularly hair raising steep downhill thirty minute section of the drive, the brakes fail! Completely. Ben reacts quickly and thankfully manaages to coast to a stop at the first flat area after exiting the mountains!
We are very aware of how guardian angels and the Mayan gods were with us today and how we averted a potential disaster. Had the breaks failed just five minutes earlier….
We coast into a tiny little pueblo at the foot of the mountain, which has two hotels, two restaurants and ONE car mechanic. We leave the car with the mechanic and check into a deserted rather sketchy motel for the night, exhausted from our hair raising climax to the journey.
In the morning we find out that the mechanic did not have the tools necessary to do the job, and so he uses a hand clamp to give us “something” to get us back on the road, until the next mechanic. “Pero cuidado, despacio” he cautions us to go carefully and slowly. Ha. After an hour of painfully slow driving, willing the clamp to stay tight, we spot a sign on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, for a mechanic.
Our last mechanic of the road trip (or so we think!!!)
Finally we are on the home stretch, out of the mountains, back in the State of Oaxaca and now we are really excited and eager to be home! But with just under an hour to go, after we pass the Huatulco airport, the car literally and figuratively dies. Ben manages to steer off the road onto a side ramp just in time. Whew. Enough already! We end this glorious trip by hailing a cab and asking the driver to please find a mechanic in Huatulco who can come right away. We wait, in the unrelenting heat of the day on the side of the road, trying our best to stay good humored. So close, and yet, so far!
This last section of our road trip really illustrates for us the kindness and helpfulness of people that we have encountered and experienced literally from the start until the finish.
The cab driver returns, with two mechanics. (The 11th mechanic to work on the car.) The driver waits with us while the mechanics do a check. Our car is kaput for now… and will need a stay in the shop for a few days. The taxi will drive us for the last hour. We leave the car on the side of the road with the mechanic and give them the keys and our phone number. We transfer our bags and Esco’s bed and food into the taxi. We trust that once the car has been repaired they will call us and deliver the car to us at the beach. (And indeed a few days later they do!)
So instead of gloriously driving into Zipolite in our “art gallery on wheels‘ after over 1,000 miles on the road, the three of us “hobble” in…. Tired, hot and frazzled from this last breakdown, but oh so happy to be safely home after a trip of a lifetime.
Your heading of “dramatic” was indeed the best teaser yet. Got me FAST through the entire post to find out what the “dramatic” part was. I figured you both were safe otherwise there wouldn’t be a post (hey, I don’t have two advanced degrees for nothing). Now that I know your car was tired of driving you all over creation and back and gave you a clear message to take a brake (couldn’t help myself) I’m going back to reread and relook at those fabulous pictures you took along the way and while I do so will be comforted that all is well and the three of you are safe and sound.
Haha Judy, you have us both chuckling.
We intended the title of this post to refer to the day trips as well, which were pretty dramatic. But of course, that’s open to interpretation depending on the reader. And of course nothing is as dramatic as a near death experience. Whew the gods were with us!
That said, that was a close call! We still have the car but we have designated it as a local workhorse to be used only on very short distances and it’s been fabulous having it here for errands and the like. Long trips, those days are over for our art gallery on wheels!
Magnificent post. Thrills and chills.
Ok, so this church has a floor of dried pine needles and they use resin to stand candles in it. What could go wrong? Animal sacrifice indeed!
This is the most epic of your adventures. Bravo!
Sharon, thank you!
You have us laughing our heads off at your very astute observation about the church. We watched as some of the women, kneeling on the floor, brushed some of the pine needles aside with their hands so as to make room for their candles. But yes, point well made! Hahah.
Epic indeed!
To truly experience the world on its own terms, even better than your own terms…such is often only unveiled through an artists eyes for form, color, and function…to be seen through Peta’s eyes and Ben’s guidance always with love!
Thank you Steve for this beautiful prose and lovely compliment.
Thanks for reading us and sharing your words.
xoxo
What a way to end this fabulous trip! I would like to know how they get the citrus fruit to stand in pyramids at the market. It looks tricky.
I guess they know basic Mayan geometry. If they figured out how to build pyramids in the middle of the jungle, the stacked citrus fruit is child’s play for them 🙂
If the car had to break down at least you were in the home stretch. Thanks for sharing your 11 weeks with us.
Quite right Peggy, and not only that, it happened once the road had just flattened out. The three to four hours before were all steep curvy mountainous roads with precipitous drops every so often.
Thanks for reading along.
Peta
Wow, what an end to your journey! Especially having the brakes fail. Scary! 😟 😳
This post brought back some lovely memories of Chamula (which I found extraordinary!), San Cris, and the canyon – all reasons I love Mexico so much.
Now looking forward to your airbandb stories! You’re on your way I believe?
It really was quite horrifying to even think how if this had happened just five minutes earlier it might not have ended so well. Talk about stressful and talk about protective guardian angels. I really do believe they were with us!
Yes, Chamula is quite unique and a terribly challenging experience to sum up in a blog post especially without the benefits of photos of the interior. Chiapas is so rich with nature and culture. Definitely a special place.
Thanks Alison, we are on our way. We leave the coast tomorrow morning bright and early. So glad to be caught up on our road trip on the blog.
Peta
That kind of drama is certainly not what any traveller would like to encounter!! In the mountains, no less!!
I’m glad you and Ben arrived back safely, if more than a little frazzled from the experience. The canyon in particular caught my attention. These are the kinds of places where no photo can truly do it justice!
Yup, that was certainly a source of stress but it definitely did not color the trip for us. Close call though..
Absolutely correct that a photo cannot capture the magnificent beauty of the canyon. Not even close. Our necks were sore from looking up to the top for such a long time.
Peta
What an ending to your incredible journey! I’m glad you made it back safe. It is so lovely to read stories about the kindness and helpfulness of strangers. Too often, we tend to dwell on the negative (theft, scams etc while travelling), but in our experience too, kindness and generosity far surpasses the bad stuff.
I may have told you that we had to cancel a trip to Chiapas a number of years ago due to a health concern. Your post reminds me that I’d love to visit this region.
Caroline, I hope you do get a chance to visit Chiapas. It is such a beautiful state and really something special. We look forward to the next opportunity to go back there.
The kindness and helpfulness we met everywhere we went was surprising as it was so consistent and genuine. One usually hears about Mexico being full of danger and so on, yet we never felt unsafe. The reality is so different from the perception. Yes of course there are dangerous areas, but that is true no matter where one goes.
Peta
xo
That valley was gorgeous! I’m so glad you made it safely home from your journey, especially after your brakes failed. And thanks for sharing your adventures with your readers.
Thanks Ann, we had an amazing road trip but we were happy to get back to our home base. It was tempting to stay in Chiapas but in the end the ocean lured us back.
Peta
Mountains, fresh air, indigenous populations, artisanal market, live music great food, cobble stone streets, tons of colour, gorgeous murals and Esco’s contageous smile — thank you for the morning uplift! 😀
Donna that sums it up very well indeed! We loved everything that San Cristobal de las casas had to offer.
I have a feeling that this comment was meant for the last post though 🙂
Peta
Well, THAT was a shocking twist to your travel adventure!! I am so glad you three safely arrived home. You have such gorgeous, rich experiences that it’s easy sometimes to imagine you have no challenging moments. But as fellow travelers (albeit, not anywhere near as exotic adventures as you embark upon) we know better. Scary and difficult things happen, but you manage with resilience and gratitude. And so you keep adventuring.
The church in Chamula is stunning and fascinating (rituals with Coca Cola!) and the amber convent museum is wonderful. Safe travels as you continue on!
Thanks Laurel.
Interestingly this road trip had very little scary and difficult things. It sure ended with the grand slam of scary, but other than car problems it was smooth sailing all the way! Resilient.. yes, we like that as an attribute!
Such an interesting combination of experiences in this region, and of course in non covid times, there is even more to experience. There is an annual indigenous festival where all the traditional clothing is worn. We heard about it and the timing was spot on! We drove to the town, but unfortunately due to the pandemic the whole festival was cancelled. All of it. Nada to be seen. Can’t imagine how disappointing it must be for the community who have been used to celebrating this way every single year for generations…
Thanks Laurel and to you too.
Peta
Wow, wow, wow. That darn car… I mean art gallery. Phew! I’m so glad you made it back home safe and sound after all these hurdles. That church looks incredible and, yes, different. Your descriptions of the inside remind me of an indigenous church we visited in the mountains of Guatemala ages ago. That road trip was epic, indeed! From one adventure into the next! With a few months of breathing in Zipolite in between. 🙂
Yup, just when we thought our car was in peak form after spending a few days with the mechanic in the Yucatan. Little did we know, that two more mechanics would be needed before we would make it home and that we would make it home without the art gallery on wheels!
The indigenous populations of Guatemala just across the border have the same roots in Mayan history as the populations here, so that is not surprising that one would find some equivalents there.
We had a good seven months of beach in Zipolite after our return and were quite happy to settle in for the next stretch of months while the pandemic flares around the globe. But one never knows what chapter might open up to new adventures. So here we go….
Peta
Chiapas has been the perfect ending to this incredible road trip. Such a shame about the car issues, but it could have been so much worse. The brakes failure is so scary, particularly when you have been driving on mountain roads. Such an epic adventure.
I am now looking forward to your next chapter and all the places you are going to visit. Also curious about the Airbnb properties you will find along the way, I hope there will be some quirky ones 😄
Gilda, you put it perfectly. Chiapas was absolutely the perfect closure to our road trip. Such a gem.
One thing is for sure when we do another road trip, it will be in a way better car. One that is in good shape and also, while we talking about this, one with airconditioning! It was brutally hot some days of our driving in tropical heat sans air.
It has been a fun process selecting our Airbnbs for the first few months. We seem to always look for similar characteristics: charming, spacious, airy, comfy bed and yes sometimes quirky, as you well know. Coming up soon….
Peta
Oh my! What a hair-raising ending to a beautiful adventure! Well, the scariest moments make for good stories…if all ends well, and I am so glad that it did.
Deb
Whew I can do without this good story, moving forward. Just way too close for comfort. Interestingly we had forgotten about this big episode as the months went by. We only remembered all the magnificent Mayan ruins, the nature, the colonial cities, all the beauty. It was only as we write the blog, that we remembered the dramatic ending.
Next road trip, a different, more able bodied robust car. Lesson learnt.
Peta
What a hair-rising end to your adventure! I’m glad everything was sorted out in the end and both of you are sound and safe. Speaking of that church in Chamula, your story reminds me of Alison’s who went there a few years ago. It’s probably one of the most interesting churches in the world for its mixing of the local traditional belief and the highly-organized rituals in Catholicism. While photography is not allowed inside, I love the teal color of its facade.
Bama good to hear from you!
Hair rising end indeed. But hey, other than the stress of the car and that dramatic ending, we had a rather stress free, incredible road trip. Especially when you consider that it was in the midst of the pandemic.
Yes, we had heard about this church from a few people who had been there or read about it and it was certainly very unusual, but for us, temples in Luang Prabang with Buddhist chanting held us more captive. But yes, very interesting, for sure.
Peta
“The trip of a lifetime”… yet you are now on the way to ANOTHER lifetime thrill. Your photos brought me there with you. The women washing – I shiver – and I’m delighted by the flower shop that included gladiolas. In my family we always buy bunches of summer gladiolas in honor of our mom (her apartment was always full of them in August) but they are harder to come by here. Then, your perilous journey home with the traveling art gallery.
As an aside, I loved your comment in my post about ear piercing. But when I hit the picture/link from your comment, it sent me to a “greenglobal” site listing prices of different sites for $3,000 up. Whoops. Thought you’d like to know. xo
Pam so interesting to read about your personal family connection with gladiolas. Ben is also partial to them for their huge flowers and bright colors.
We have been so negligent re our blog, that we needed to finish catching it up on our road trip which brought us back to Zipolite in January. Well, now finally we are back on track again.
Thanks for the info re the blog comment and it taking you to the “old site” we will have to look into that. Gracias.
I love everything about your photos, Peta and Ben! In your post and Instagram! I am happy your “hobble” in meant safely home. These almost 3 months have been a trip of a lifetime, yet you have had many amazing journeys and destinations. As you say, this has been one of the most memorable. As I read and scroll through the photos, I keep saying wow, wow, wow! I cannot imagine the almost constant flow of mist and rainwater and how it affects the vegetation. Your photos transport me. This is the first time I have read the description “ivory coloured.” I can also see it on that gentleman’s poncho.
I get a real feel of family and family values in the photos. Interesting about the history of the church.
Oh, my gosh, about the brakes failing…the worst feeling. I love Esco’s huge smile. I suspect it was difficult to narrow down your stories and your photos for this wonderful post. A highlight for me. Thank you!
Thanks Erika! So glad this post resonated with you.
Honestly, it’s pretty easy to get great photos when you are in a land so rich with visuals. And now… we are honing our skills at video, so that’s a new skills set to develop…
I (Ben) am still thinking I should have tried to get one of those ivory ponchos. Not exactly useful in Zipolite at the beach, but in retrospect, we are gearing up for a few months of cool weather so that poncho would have been mighty useful. Might also have looked a bit funny wearing these in Southern Europe…
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B&P
What a fabulous trip you had. Glad you made it back OK, in spite of the car/art gallery letting you down. Love the picture of Esco at the end. xo
I read your post that is much informative.