Trip to Chiapas and Yucatan

Over Christmas and into the new year, we travelled to the mostSouthern part of Mexico. This trip was planned to be and in fact was a cultural trip to get to know something about the ancient culture of the Maya. Chiapas, of Comandante Marcos fame, is the poorest state of the United States of Mexico (yes, that is what Mexico is officially called - losEstados Unidos de Mexico), but it is fascinating from various angles. First, there is the Spanish colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas; then we have the large number of indigenous people - the Maya,who over the centuries have stuck to their customs and traditions, their language and songs, but also their poverty. In Chiapas at least there is little evidence of full-scale integration, and indeed the government is only now trying to remedy this situation.There are bilingual (Spanish and Maya) schools, and it's quite something to listen to a school choir singing the national anthem - in one of the Mayan languages.
The Maya appear almost as a parallel society next to the general Mexican population, and this is particularly evident in San Juan Chamula, a small town just South of San Cristobal which is a magnet and market place for the surrounding indigenous villages. When we visited, it was market day, and the square in front of the church was a bustling, colorful place where everything connected with food was sold - including live cocks (but they were intended for the ritual sacrifice in the church).
The spectacle in the church was otherworldly - dark, smoky and with a heavy smell of incense. Groups of people - families - were squatting on the floor, surrounded by burning candles. They had brought along bottles of Pepsi (or Coke) and of course Tequila and were chanting in low, monotonous voices. The Catholic saints, in glass cases along the church walls, were dressed the Indian way - a symbol of syncretism of the Catholic religion and the indigenous faith. Of course, it was strictly prohibited to take any photo.

This also is Mexico.

Then we spent a day in Palenque, with the spectacular archaeological site of the ruins of an ancient temple city. The huge pyramids seem to be a trademark of the Mayan architectural style, since we also found them at Uxmal and Chichen Itza in Yucatan.

From Palenque we took the bus (by the way, the bus network is extensive and service is acceptable to good) to Merida by way of Villahermosa, cradle of the Olmec culture represented by their colossal heads cut in stone, and Campeche, an almost entirely walled-in colonial city. Merida, the capital of the state of Yucatan, is a large tropical city, seemingly prosperous, though the traditional source of this prosperity was the sisal (hemp) plant which has been displaced by the synthetic fibers, and the striking mansions of the former plantation owners are now housing banks, boutiques, private schools etc., and many are up for sale.

From Merida, we visited the archaelogical sites of Uxmal and Chichen Itza, ruins of ancient Mayan cities. Again, there were the ubiquitous temple pyramids, the famous ball court with its stone ring at a height of about 7 feet. Two teams of seven players each played a game and the challenge was to shoot the heavy ball with the hip, and the hip alone, through the ring. The winner of the game had also won the honor of being sacrificed!

I really must try to catch up on Mayan history which is synonymous with the pre-colombian history of Mexico, and I don't think that Michener is the authority on this subject I need. But his book on Mexico makes for easy and entertaining reading.

The rest of the trip included the small colonial city of Valladolid, and the mangroves of Rio Lagarto where a colony of pink flamingos has taken up residence. We had a two-hour early-morning (7:00 AM) excursion by boat to see the birds and other creatures wake up. It was good to see nature after so many ancient stones. Upon our return from the open sea, we had breakfast there and then: coffee, an omelette and fresh lobster.

By the way, this was the first time on our trips within Mexico that I was a victim of Montezuma's revenge - I suppose you know what I mean (upset stomach and diarrhea). I did not eat for a full three days, but in the meantime I have recuperated the pounds I lost during the ordeal!