The Travelling Teacher: México - High Churches and Higher Canyons

July 13-14

Hello everyone!

Following on from Oaxaca was a 12 hour overnight bus journey to the state of Chiapas. The weekend spent there certainly had peaks and troughs.

Sumidero Canyon

The main street in San Cristobal de las Casas

An admission at this point: I spent most of this weekend either:

Incredibly tired and dazed
Drunk
Hungover

I therefore probably didn’t appreciate some elements of the cute mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas as much as I otherwise would have.

There are a few nice craft beer places in San Cris

The second day here was an important football occasion...

Any hangover cure from 'hair of the dog' was mitigated
by how dull the first half of the football was

Of the 31 states in the country, Chiapas is possibly one of the more interesting. Somewhat off the beaten track, it is known as one of the poorer regions, yet it’s also one which has retained a lot of its pre-Hispanic heritage. Other languages than Spanish are regularly used, for example.

Our route from Oaxaca to San Cris

The main indigenous communities are called Tzotzil and Tzeltal

As has been stated before, Spain tried to impose Christianity - specifically Catholicism - on its new western subjects. This obviously clashed with many of the previous traditions and rituals which were practised before the 16th century. Occasionally, the result was a unique mixture.

The main squre is a buzzing market on a Sunday - this was a Saturday

Construction was finished by 1545

This is most evident in the village of San Juan Chamula. It has a church but one that is not recognised by the Vatican. It’s fair to say that what happens inside that church would never be seen in Rome. You’re not allowed to take photos, so you’ll have to believe me when I tell you that:

There are thousands of candles lit (normal for a church)
The floor is covered by dried pine needles (less normal for a church)
Worshippers are on the floor drinking local spirits and Coca-Cola to burp out evil spirits (far less normal for a church)
Someone was being ‘cleaned’ by her face being rubbed by a live chicken (likely to have never happened in a church)

You can see a glimpse here of the candles on the floor -
there are no pews, like in a traditional church

Simply put, it’s another world to the other churches I’ve seen in Mexico. It also appears to me to be a huge fire risk. I asked our guide how it has never burnt down. “Divine intervention, I guess,” was his pithy response.

The colourful entrance to the temple

The Coca-Cola line in there is actually quite important. Water isn’t drinkable up here for a variety of reasons, so the locals turned to another easily accessible liquid. Unfortunately they weren’t warned about the sugar content, leading to this state having the highest rate of diabetes in the country,

The average local drinks over 2 litres of soda a day

Drinks like Coca-Cola are commonly advertised

Part of the reason that San Cristóbal de las Casas has grown is NEGOs beginning to establish themselves to help the indigenous communities in the local area. Even with that, visitors have been steadily increasing since the 1990s, when armed resistance groups started fighting with the government. Outside of San Cris, it’s not known as the safest of states.

A statue in Chamula called 'Monument to my Breed'

Panoramic view of southern San Cris,
which has a population of about 220,000

The town itself, however, is geared towards visitors, with its pedestrianised central boulevard playing host to a wide array of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. The wine bar, charging less than $2 for a decent glass of red with a free tapa, was particularly dangerous.

The main street becomes louder and more populated as the day progresses

Many streets around the square are car-free

A vibrant, colourful fruit stand

At the eastern end of this street, as the road inclines, is the Iglesia de Guadalupe, an imposing church high up on a hill. Reaching it involves climbing a lot of stairs. When the town itself is 2200m above sea level, it can leave you breathless. Luckily, the view from the top does likewise.

I remember hearing this is 79 steps

I ran up it on Monday morning

I’m going to pretty much copy and paste that as the next paragraph. At the western end of town is the Iglesia de San Cristóbalito, an imposing church high up on a hill. Reaching it involves climbing a lot of stairs. When the town itself is 2200m above sea level, it can leave you breathless. Luckily, the view from the top does likewise.

This is apparently over 200 steps

I ran up it on Monday morning. My heart felt like
it was going to vault through my ribcage...

In between these two domineering churches (no chickens inside) is a charming little town, albeit one that doesn’t reflect the poverty of the surrounding areas. Heading a little bit further out, however, takes you to one of Mexico’s natural wonders.

Not as varied as Oaxaca, but San Cris also likes
the plastic flags above some of its streets

Welcome to the Canyon!

A small waterfall in Sumidero Canyon

This is Sumidero Canyon. Stupendous Canyon, more like. Sheer rock faces soar almost 1000 metres up from the river below. Some caves, formed over history, have stalactites hanging precariously from their ceilings.

We were travelling on the Rio (River) Grijalva

The canyon spans across over 54,000 acres

Even with a hangover, this was an incredible, diverse experience. Within minutes, we had seen a crocodile slinking silently into the water. Later, we saw a group of spider monkeys hanging out on low tree branches. Pelicans also popped over our heads to say hello.

This croc was less active than the first one we saw

Pelican

The canyon was created at a similar time to its Grand neighbour in the US. I’m not sure whether that one has a religious shrine within one of its caves, or whether it has something resembling a Christmas tree.

This is called the 'Cave of Colours' as the rocks have different pinkish hues

If yu squint at the picture above, you'll see this statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe

The Arbol de Navidad, or Christmas tree, is a waterfall with mossy rocks

Sumidero Canyon is an incredible place, at times evoking Lord of the Rings and others seeming like the setting for a future Jurassic Park. It’s a beautiful natural wonder which was worth the long overnight bus - and just about waking up in time for after a boozy day - to experience.