San Cristobal de las Casas

If I had a pound for everytime that someone told me to visit this beautiful town in the region of Chiapas, I'd have enough for a slap up meal.

Once we got off the 17 hour coach from Tulum and got in a taxi to our hostal, it was easy to see why everyone had raved about the place so much. The streets were filled with gorgeous multicoloured houses and markets. We also passed about three beautiful churches and plazas on our way to the hostal.

The other thing we noticed almost immediately about San Cristobal was how COLD it was ! It was bloomin' freezing compared to Tulum and we'd only been there half a day when it began to rain. Now, I had been commenting to Rob that I kind of missed the rain, well different weather in general as we'd been literally dripping with sweat for about two weeks, but as soon as it started to rain I realised that I would rather it didn't thank you very much.

San Cristobal is in one of the poorer regions of Mexico and examples of poverty could be seen everywhere that we looked. There were lots of people begging and even children shoe polishers in ragged clothes. However the town has been firmly on the backpacker trail for a number of years and the evidence was plain to see. Expensive bars and coffee shops jostled for space with tattoo shops and shops selling jewellery made from the region´s amber. However not once did I see a local in any of these places; it would have been interesting to know what they thought about their town being overrun with tourists and backpackers alike spending money in businesses they could no doubt find in their hometowns rather than in the markets and street stalls they owned.

San Cristobal was a wonderful place to photograph and walk around, but we were intrigued about the surrounding areas; there are a number of indigenous villages around San Cristobal which you can visit. Rob and I decided to visit San Juan Chamula... on horseback.

While I have a little riding experience, Rob was a complete novice. You think that paying for a travel agency for the experience would mean some guidance and explaination from the guides. You would be wrong. The guides only spoke Spanish and Rob was put on the horse, told not to pull the reins so hard and then was sent on his way. The first I knew of this was when Rob galloped past me on his horse, his face a mask of terror!
We managed to get to Chamula and back in one piece as you can probably tell... just!

No photos of Chamula though - tourists are forbidden to take photos in the town which is completely autonmous to the rest of Mexico - even down to having their own police force and no outside military or police are allowed inside.

Even though I'm very glad to have visited San Cristobal, I was very disappointed at how yuppyish the town had become. Everywhere we looked we saw travellers who had clearly put down roots in San Cristobal and were vying for trade with the indigenous locals from tourists, which to me basically means taking the food from their mouths. Even so it is a beautiful and much loved town in a very picturesque area and well worth a visit.

pn.