OAXACA

25 May OAXACA (Wa ha ca)
Caught the bus after another fine buffet breakfast at the Royalty, Joan records coffee, juice, fresh fruit, potato cakes, scotch pancakes, scrambled eggs and many other things as well, watched a student group go back and back for more but the girls if was mainly just coffee.

First across a fertile plain, then two to three hours through rain starved barren mountains with cactus and spiny bushes except for the deep river canyons below where there were green trees and small patches of cultivation where a few people made their living.

Finally winding our way down to Oaxaca where we took a taxi to the zocalo except that it had to drop us sooner because the centre of town was full of tents, and make do shelter under large plastic sheets, those without shelter had slept on the pavement on cardboard cartons with blankets. 

Hundreds and hundreds, men and women - some with children, with their necessities around them. There were portable toilets on the streets, small areas  of tables and chairs with meetings in progress, each group marked off with names and numbers from different regions, we had noted the dispute before leaving Puebla - but nothing like the scale of this. We learned they were teachers of government schools on strike we believe for more pay.

We had decided on Antonio's Hotel but could only reach it via this jungle, but arrived to find it a calm oasis, quiet inside painted in dark blues with red tiled floors, a small restaurant in the courtyard with a great waiter. 

ANTONIO'S DINING ROOM

Our room is one of five upstairs all built around the courtyard. It is colourful bright yellow with blue and white stripes with a traditional bedspread a large 6 foot bed with a lattice work headboard.

THE WINDOW OF OUR BEDROOM IN ANTONIO'S

On our initial recki we found Santo Domingo was a UNESCO Heritage site. A decent place to eat, somewhat expensive, in an inner courtyard and one of those typically overdressed Madonnas in the centre of a pool.

Joan couldn't help noticing the number of children begging in the street and she records giving a little money to a girl playing accordion, thinking of our Hazel, who plays the same instrument, and how lucky our grandchildren are to have such good lives.

Wed 26 May    INGLESIA SANTO DOMINGO

Beautiful as will be seen with a colouring similar to many other churches in town. Inside is a painted ceiling showing the family tree of Santa Domingo Guzman 1172-1221 who founded the Dominican order in Spain with vows of poverty, chastity, obediance and protection of Mexican indigenous people from colonist excesses. Lots of gold around the altar but not too ornate. 

Outside a wonderful patio with more of  those magnificent red trees.

Adjoining is the Dominican monastery which is now a museum with a beautiful stone cloister. The first four rooms are laid out with treasure, gold, silver, turquoise, jade, amber and pearls discovered in Zapotec tomb user by Mixtecs to bury their kings complete with sacrificed servants at Monte Alban in 1937 by Alfonso Casa. 

DOMINICAN MONASTERY

Some 17th century rooms with a beautifully ornate grandfather clock made in Paris. We watched a video reproduction of the funeral of Benito Juarez and marveled at the wonder of the simple elegant ankle length dresses and leg of mutton sleeves worn by 19th century ladies with small waists and big hats with feathers. 

We lunched at nearby Panini and had booked a trip around the adjoining Botanic Garden in Spanish at 5pm. Where the girl gave us leaves to taste explaining their medical uses. 

We liked the Gringo tree with red and white peeling skin like bark, 'Get it'! 

The huge round cactus was thought to be 1000 years star in a plantation of cacti laid out in a maze like structure. 

Thurs 27 May St ALBAN

We decided to take the offer of a guide speaking English and French who boasted he had taken Randolph Churchill around the site. He was very informative but Joan thought he gilded the lily a bit.

GUIDE TO US and RANDOLPH CHURCHILL

After lunch we went around on our own to the arts we had not yet visited. Around tomb 104 there were lots of beautiful wild flowers and a view over a very arid valley of buildings with silver corrugated roofs, an area where they brew the best Mexican Mezcal (tequila like) from the Maguey plant.

A man came to chat when Joan spotted what she called her Mexican Robin with a crimson head. He observed Mexicans thought that it was a sign of good luck when they showed their red side. He managed to sell us a terra cotta figure with a water pitcher,  on his back probably a con for it would have been illegal to sell anything found on this site.

Friday 28 May, Visit OCTOLAN - Robbed again in Latin America 

Joan wanted to go to their Friday market but the hotel wanting payment meant I had run out of cash. So I withdrew 3000peso from an ATM near the bus stop (about £150 giving an exchange rate of 20 peso/£). I declined to take take half back to the hotel for safe keeping and put the lot in my zipped front knee pocket.

Leaving the bus I was robbed almost immediately. Joan remains convinced I was seen withdrawing the money in Oaxaca and the observer phoned ahead by mobile phone to set up the stunt, but I remember feeling my front pocket whilst descending.

OUTSIDE OCTOLAN'S MAIN MARKET

After looking briefly at a stall we walked into the crowded market following Joan when we were separated by the largest woman I have ever seen. She stopped me dead in my tracks, I thought she was so immobile as being unable to step aside and let me pass. Joan saw an equally fat man put his arms around me. The stallholder nearby gave not a murmur of warning, though he must have seen the man take the money and make off, quite possibly leaving him holding the cash. Meanwhile I was stuck, oblivious of having been been robbed by a well practiced trick, though immediately we passed her Joan asked if I was aware my pocket was unzipped.

What should have been a pleasant episode was ruined, 'the joy went out of the day' recorded Joan. Every turn seemed to confirm what a terrible place this was and that the police were little but a bunch of rogues, no friendliness even in the bar where we went for a drink. The first time we had felt unwelcome in Mexico. This is one place I would avoid.

Travellers be suspicious if you are unable to move in a crowd, the same was preliminary to the robbery by razor blade last year in Chicolayo market in Peru, and earlier in Palermo Sicily where I was held on a crowded bus, cautious of  dragging passengers off whilst descending wearing my big rucksack.

We went as intended to the Morales Gallery but only a few of the paintings really pleased, though they had a selection by Frida Kahlo, one self portrait with the head of Diego Riviera protruding from her forehead, and a selection of bright coloured pottery from the Aguilar family.

We walked to two of the Aguilar potteries, the first disappointed but the second had some nice pieces since painted by her son. A factory next door had a pit kiln in the yard.

On arrival back at Oaxaca we found the tourist office and reported the robbery they were very nice and called in a police woman to type her report in Spanish in case we should want to claim on our insurance - I doubt we bothered.

Sat 29 May, visit MITLA 

The catholic church was built on one of the pyramids to bury earlier culture and beliefs. Joan remarked that 'Some of the early civilisations were pretty brutal but the Catholic church wasn't much better'. 

Interesting site featuring mosaic patterns on the walls. She records the wall decorations were wonderful originally covered in red stucco, and that there were frescos on the inside. 

We very bavely grovelled into two open tombs, one with a huge stone pillar said to measure your life span J.E. it favoured those with large shoulders and long arms, 'as good as reading palms anyway'. In the scramble to the second tomb Brian's torch came in handy to allowing us to appreciate how the outer wall had been originally.

FOR SALE OUTSIDE MITLA SITE

Back in Oaxaca we found a queue outside the Italian Restaurant but were waved in by Gabriel and Paula to join them on their table for four. She spoke excellent English and she the addresses of them in Oaxaca and her daughter in Mexico City. More in importantly she told us a lot about Puerto Escondido on the coast and recommended the daily direct minibus route used recently by her son and explained where to find it.

Sun 30 May,  Our 25th Wedding Anniversary
Our hotel closes for breakfast on Sunday so we ate a block away, Joan records 'I will miss our friendly waiter'. 

Went to the home of Rufino Tamayo an artist who died in 1991, another house with a courtyard full of flowers. He had collected an array of early Mexican artefacts, one an almost full size woman seated cross legged and full size dogs with cheeky faces in terra cotta, apparently these dogs were once kept for food.  

We went for coffee at the restaurant opposite Santo Domingo and found it far better downstairs. Outside a troupe of girls dressed in traditional costumes carrying a pineapple, last night we had seen a parade of people carrying fruit and flowers with a statue and letting off rockets. We wondered if it was Harvest Festival.

For our Anniversary Dinner we went to the best hotel in town, the Hotel Catedral Oaxaca. Joan recalls 'A beautiful plate of seven fruits with a big pile of cottage cheese in the centre, a fillet steak in amarillo mole (sauce), and a desert of a rose petal and almond ice cream'. My choice was pumpkin soup, peppers filled with minced meat and chilli (not as good as yesterday in the Italian) and the same desert.   




     

 

  

PUERTO ESCONDIDO-BAHIAS de HUATULCO

May 31 2004
A comfortable ride on switch back roads with Topes (sleeping policemen) and rock falls through the mountains in the minibus belonging to Autotransportes Turisticos as advised recently at dinner. There were clear signs of the building of new water gullies to direct storm water away from destroying the tarmac surface. It took six hours instead of twice that by first class coaches, money well spent. We stopped half way at a little rose garden with good toilets (flushed by bucket filled at the tank outside).

On arrival at Puerto Escondido took a taxi to our hotel Arco Iris and although Joan expressed disappointment at the security of ground floor room, she was delighted by the gardens, the good sized swimming pool and the restaurant on a balcony overlooking the sea. International Surfing Contests are held in November on this beach. We strolled along the front, had dinner but our sleep was interrupted by an hour of a vicious thunder storm - we had obviously left the mountain road just in time.

PUERTO ESCONDIDO BAY FROM HOTEL BALCONY

Tuesday 1 June
The weather after last nights storm was beautiful. Pelicans were diving for fish at the point where the river flowed into the sea. We crossed the river, had breakfast and then followed the river to the harbour noting egrets, herons and spoonbills all fishing. 

PUERTO ESCONDIDO FISHING AND BOAT HIRE

We took a boat trip around the bay though learning it was the wrong time to see dolphins and turtles but saw frigate birds, with white breasts and forked tails flying around the light house. He took us around the local sandy bays, beautiful and reminiscent of Gower on a fine day.

BOAT TRIP AROUND PUERTO ESCONDIDO BAYS

On return we sussed out the buses for our onward journey and spent a long time talking to a Canadian girl from Sudbury Ontario, she had been taking a course in Spanish in Mexico City and was now travelling around before flying home. We met her again on horse shoe shaped Playa Carrizalillo with azure blue sea and flowering trees all around and purple backed crabs hiding in the grass after which the bay is named.

PLAYA CARRIZALILLO

JOAN UNDER PALM SHADE AT PLAYA CARRIZALILLO

There were coconut palm trees to provide shelter from the sun, under which Joan records a superb squeezed orange juice - the best yet.

BRIAN and JOAN at PLAYA CARRIZALILLO

Although the beach shelved steeply and it was difficult to get of because of the undertow we had two lovely swims, though she does record help from her friend (me?).

2 June Bahais Huatulco, Crucetita
In the garden just before breakfast Joan saw a brown humming bird, but is still waiting to see the beautiful iridescent coloured ones

Another grey rainy morning so we decided to move on to Bahias Huatulco by ordinary bus to Pochutla where we took a collectivo taxi to Crucecita picking up and dropping people on the route. At one point in front were the driver, a woman with a baby and another man with Joan and I plus another woman with a baby in the back. No one uses seat belts, although there is a sign advising their use.

CRUCECITA?

We had a beautiful light room with air-con, the best so far this trip, in the Hotel Plaza Conejo. The Port Cruz is a naval base, there was also a very smart looking one at Puerto Escondido, but all we saw at this one were three sleepy looking sailors gardening - Joan felt the rest must be away at war somewhere. We bathed at the port with bigger waves than previously but easier to get out and decided to stay a few days if the weather holds.

3 June, Cacaluta Bay, Robbery at Knife Point
A lovely day for swimming but first we took our laundry to the place around the corner and had a good breakfast at Cafe Oasis, on going to our room for bathers we found we had been moved as the doors were now off the hinge awaiting revarnishing.

We took a taxi to Bahia Cacaluta to the start point of a 3km walk down a path through the trees and mangroves to the beach. It was a magical walk with two deer who had come to drink at a large pool in the path, masses of wonderful butterflies reminiscent of the huge world famous festival of butterflies in Mexico also taking water at the edge of the pools, colourful birds one grey and white about magpie size, others were yellow and dark blue, some red and orange. 

DESERTED PATH TO BAHIA CACALUTA

Flashes of colour through the trees some yellow trumpet flowers with willow leaves, little yellow flowering cucumber type climbers with a green barbed fruit which ripened to a bright orange and opened as a fleshy flower but without visible sign of seeds. There were spiny trees and tall 10 foot thin cactus and some very tall green trees with three-part bulbous dark brown  fruits. 

BAHIA CACALUTA

Then before us was a vast beautiful shelving golden brown sandy bay with huge waves, sheltered at one end by a small island. This was a simply magnificent scene. Slowly we became aware of two men fishing in a depth leaving only their heads above watery. They were obviously working as a separated pair, presumably at either end of a fishing net dragging it forward. One man swam for fish with a large hook for catching octopus.

FISHERMEN WITH THEIR CATCH BAHIA CACALUTA

Next we noted them dragging a tyre with a net beneath up the beach. It was full of octopus and huge oysters and lots of spiny whelks and a solitary fish. They tipped their spoils on a huge wooden sign on the floor, presumably blown over in high wind. Its purpose still clear NATIONAL PARK  NO FISHING, rather ironic to be of such use for poachers we thought.

CLEANING FISH ON SIGN PARC NATIONAL HUATULCO

We watched them skin the fish, wash the whelks - literally bashed from their shells, the oysters were opened by a knife to reveal beautiful mother of pearl interiors. Brian took several photographs of the scene and all appeared friendly.

THE PAIR ( ROBBER TO RIGHT) CLEANING FISH ON SIGN of  PARC NATIONAL HUATULCO

They advised us it was quicker to walk back through their village on the Maguey beach to the main road directly opposite to the direction  to our arrival. They went ahead but we followed along a footpath in the trees. 

Suddenly they stopped, I wondered if we ought to walk back into open beach but decided to proceed, they demanded money but we had deliberately carried little as normal, just enough for the taxi back. The far younger man pointed his oyster opening knife at Joan's throat and  angrily took our our small day rucksack with both our cameras. As they walked away I pleaded for the cameras because of the importance to us of records of our holiday they reluctantly returned my far more valuable SLR (perhaps thinking it harder to sell/use), none of us then aware they were handing back the camera with several photographs of them. In the end taking only our cash, Joan's simple film camera and our torch. The older man waved when the other wasn't looking, signalling that we should retraced our path. He may have given earlier warning at the outset which unfortunately we did not read, but then we had no indication whatever of unpleasantness, Joan records she never thought of them as dangerous murderers, for my part it was just an opportunist attempt at robbery by poor hard working people hoping to get money.  

We walked 3km back to the road meeting only one other couple on the way a measure of the wildness and eventually stopped a passing taxi. On return to the hotel I had to ask the driver to wait for his fare whilst I went to our room for the money. 

That evening we found an excellent shop selling organic coffee, El Pacifico, and a reasonable breakfast menu. Next door we could hear shuttles flying and walked in to found four old wooden looms at work making cotton cloth, behind which they were selling table cloths, place settings and napkins presumably their own produce. We wanted to buy but in searching for the Post Office, opposite the Fire Station, we went past a sports ground with young people playing football, volley ball and basket ball making it seem a real town.

Joan had a good meal of camarones with avocado pair, tomato and cucumber in a bed of lettuce whereas I apparently settled for a steak.

Friday 4 June
Cloudy again but we went to El Pacifico for breakfast and found they were fourth generation coffee growers, having a big plantation 60km away in the hills where it is higher altitude and also humid. They grow Pluna Alta variety which has pairs of leaves between big berries which they regarded as in the world's best ten varieties. We had papaya for breakfast and he brought us honey from their hives on the plantation, a good combination to eat.  

His father still works at 70 and looked very fit and said we were too young to retire ( I was 69 at the time). They showed us a video of the whole coffee process and I think he ran trips there in the tourist season. The film showed the coffee pickers with baskets held around their waists by a backstrap thus leaving both hands free. The crop was tipped into heavy sacks which were brought to the processing plant in heavy sacks carried on their backs. Explaining a lot of hard work went into making their coffee.

Just another example of the individual welcome we regularly get as an independent travelling couple. One that Joan carefully recorded, vividly recalled as I write 13 years later. I might be tempted to record more of the ever increasing successful logistics behind our method of movement.

Since it was still raining we decided to book a ticket for an overnight bus to Tuxtla Gutierrez starting at midnight and arriving at dawn. We went to the post office to establish the price of postage where the man was very helpful but finding it would double the cost of the tablecloth we had in mind decided not to proceed.

As I was using the internet at one of several terminals when I found the man at the next machine spoke good English and was in fact a tourist guide. We told him about yesterdays robbery and he called the tourist office saying we should report it to help stop further incidences of this type. An English speaking tourist officer arrived and took us to the police station in her car where we made a statement of five pages in Spanish which each had to be signed on both sides and the bottom making 15 signatures in all. She helpfully translated to ensure we both understood fully - but I seem to remember being pleased with my ability to explain the happenings in Spanish, I wish I still had that fluency!! Plus four photocopies of our passports. Unfortunately I refused to have my film processed in town for worries about the quality which obviously inhibited their attempts to follow up the matter - this was still the era of film not digital cameras so I couldn't even show them a picture!! Though I did return a copy of the photograph after returning home but without a response.

The police station was a big fairly new building but unfortunately the roof was leaking alongside the computers. It was still raining as we left, now we understand why the town has such a big central drainage system! 





 

 
.  














    

TUXLA GUTIERREZ and CANON del SUMIDERO

Sat 5 June TUXTLA
It is dawn with a beautiful pink sky as I write on the bus as it passes through the highlands of Chiapas State. At the high points a few Pine trees then descending through forests areas lower down with wild mango trees in fruit. At lower levels there are cultivated fields and a few herds of cattle, each one with a couple of Egrets with them - though I can't guess why. The cows are being milked by hand, as we saw in Peru everything is labour intensive.

We arrive at Tuxtla at around 9:30 a good time to find a hotel though the La Mansion favoured by travellers is no longer open so we settle for more expensive Hotel Regional San Marcos, not as good as we have become used to on this trip though clean and with a king size bed.

We breakfasted on a roll and coffee near the Iglesia San Marcos where 48 bells sound on the hour and a procession of figures go round on a turntable.

Joan was keen to visit the zoo said to be one of the best in Mexico so we located and took a bus. She describes a wonderful place with a plan and advice on the route to follow, unusually in English. The enclosure was a large natural pool with egrets, a spoonbill and a red/brown duck with terrapins and big lazy fish spending their days just getting ever bigger. There were several varieties of colourful king fishers, a weaver bird flying down then up to its best high in the bamboos which arched gracefully under their weight.
Two varieties of crocodiles with babies about  one foot long and an Iguana.

IGUANA ?

The whole zoo is built on a hillside of ancient natural woodlands famous for featuring the fauna of Chiapas with walkways leading to the pens of birds and animals. There were a pair in separate enclosures of the very rare Quetzal birds with iridescent green feathers and long tails, unfortunately too high to photograph well. Separated because they ate their first chick after 17 days, the next was artificially incubated but they didn't feed the chick and it too died. They have bred successfully since being separated.

There were beautiful parrots

and a huge high cage for the Guacamaya Roja who lives in the roof canopy in the rain forest, some birds of prey and wonderful varieties of turkey.

There were cats ranging from jaguars, pumas and ocelots to very small varieties not much bigger than domestic cats but beautifully marked of ginger and slate grey.

A big heavy tapir with an elephantine snout.

In a glass .... were spiders, snakes, cockroaches 'cucuracha', and some beautiful lizards - though the biggest and best was in an outdoor enclosure, very fierce looking with spines all down its back and tail.

The spider monkeys had just been fed with fruit on a slab, the wild birds flew down to join in the feast which gave me as much pleasure as the zoo cages. I saw a humming bird on red flowers m an enclosure for birds of prey and the same white tailed deer we had seen on the walk down to Cacaluta Bay.

In the evening we went to the Jardin de la Marimba and a watched people dancing in the open air. I seem to remember taking part with learning from a man how to express the pauses in the Latin rhythm. It was a free concert so the seats were full with the overflow sitting on the fences listening to a ten piece band, I apparently bought a record - must have a look! And so to bed in a hot room with less than good air-conditioning.

6 June CHIAPA de CORZO, CANON (Canyon) del SUMIDERO
We took the local regional bus to Chiapa de Corzo inhabited since 1500BC (later used as a settlement by the Spanish called Chiapa de los Indios) but were too late recognising the stop and had to take a combi back to the centre of town. The centre piece was a brick based colonial built fountain said to be inspired by the crown of Los Reyes Catholiques which had been restored a few years earlier.

From there we found our way down to the river which is now part of a dam large hydro generation scheme supplying electricity to Southern Mexico with some even exported. Because of the dam the Canon of Sumidero is now navigable being part of a 25 km long reservoir. 

A two hour boat trip was spent with 14 other people, six of whom got off at the dam to walk in the forest. Birds seen included egrets, brown cormorants, king fishers and pelicans, with black vulture like birds flying above. We were shown  now dry waterfall descending the cliff face which in the rainy season is called the Christmas tree the several tiers each being covered in bright green moss the whole being suggestive of a pine tree. 

We saw a spider monkey and in a sandy cove a 14 ft crocodile whose kept its mouth wide open looking for is dinner though it gradually slipped into the water as we approached, a little anxious of our safety in this small vessel though remembering people we had seen washing clothes and swimming not far away.

There was a lot of debris in the water and Joan all but slipped from her seat a on impact with a log just before seeing the crocodile.

A wonderful ride through the gorge where in 1528 the Chiapas Indians facing inevitable defeat after defending themselves bravely against the Spanish Invaders hundreds of themselves, men women and children, preferred to throw themselves from the 800 metre high Penon de (Gopetchia?) into the raging river Rijalva below rather than surrender to the invading Spanish.

After the boat trip we had a memorable lunch of shrimps and avocado salad (unsurprisingly these being two of her favorite foods  Joan recorded it as 'the best yet'). 

Entertainment was provided by two men playing a marimba, a large traditional wooden frame instrument which predates the modern zylophone. It was the very first time we had encountered this music traditional to the south of Mexico. Marimbas produce a wonderful pleasant soothing syncopated rhythmic sound played which I got to enjoy a great deal usually drawing on the easy listening Great American Songbook of Irving Berlin and co..   

On returning to Tuxtla Gutierrez we paid a return visit after dinner to a big band playing at the bandstand in Jardin de la Marimba where being Sunday evening dancing was in full swing it. We both joined in.

The atmosphere of travel in southern Mexico will never be forgotten as one of the most relaxing, pleasant, stimulating parts of our nearly 25 years of world 'backpacking' travel 1989-2012. This day was perhaps the start of the high point.
   

   

SAN CRISTOBAL de las CASAS, PALENQUE

Monday 7 June 2004
Sky again blue after evening of rain bought tickets for the 9am bus to San Cristobal. a wonderful drive through tall wooded hills with fertile plains below. Rain was to restart by the time we walked to the zocalo, so leaving Joan in a cafe with a coffee and our rucksacks Brian set out in the rain, normal fall back style, to find a suitable hotel

The Hotel Pasado San Cristobal was a lovely old building with huge en-suite rooms with tiled floor and large black beams overhead, old wooden furniture and a patchwork bedspread. 

Lunch was served on the table on a charcoal grill to keep warm a mixture of meats, cheese and bacon with tortillas and a jug of papaya juice. Luckily by the time we had finished the rain had stopped and we wandered out to the zocalo found the tourist office and got a street map and found.

JOAN PLAYING MARIMBAS in THE GARDEN

There was plenty of interest so we started by visiting the museum in what had been the San Dominica Convent. Such conversion and restoration of buildings and gardens into museums is a common theme since the dissolution by Benito Juaraz 130 years ago.

SAN CRISTOBAL

Then as planned we went to go to the small cinema showing one-off DVD films at 8.30 to see Canoa a recent real life Mexican tragedy. It painted the scene of communist uprisings by students in the universities of Mexico city and Puebla, strongly opposed by the Catholic Church. A red flag had recently been put in a church in Mexico City.

Canoa is a small village not far from Puebla where the local priest had spent time building up a religious fervour, convinced that communists would invade, kill them and takeover of his authority. 

Four students from its university visited the town in 1968 with a view to climbing Popocatepetl,the very same idea we had recently (in fact they aimed to climb the fourth highest volcano in the region). They arrived in heavy rain and looked for hoping to stay free in the church. Accommodation was refused until someone who had just returned from a spell helping build the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City took pity and welcomed them rooms and food in his grandfathers large family house. 

Meanwhile a meeting of the church elders and others came to the conclusion they were evil communists who wanted to place a red flag in their church. Determined to thwart them they dispersed to find arms including guns, machetes, axes and flame throwers. The priest ignored what was happening and the deputy mayor/ policeman failed on an agreed precaution to contact the police in Puebla by phone asking for further information/advice.

The students learned of the attack initially thinking the noise was fireworks and then realising it was a lynch mob. The man from Mexico City was axed and shot dead, the climbers were beaten, in all five men died and several were badly injured. Finally an ambulance and the police were called. Several men were charged and tried, just two were released, but some had jail sentences of seven years.  
                            What a film!

8 June Na Bolom (the name a play on Jaguar House in Tzotzil, and their name Blom) 

Frans and Trudy

Danish archeologist Frans Blom (1893-1963) and Swiss anthropologist and excellent photographer Trudy Duby-Blom (1901-1993) bought this beautiful 19th century house and garden in 1950. 

VIEW from NA BOLOM'S BEAUTIFUL COURTYARD

They were both obviously very rich, even owned their own plane. It is now a museum with a impressive large formal dining table/meeting room.

Also a restaurant and fourteen rooms for rent (Joan intends to stay here one day). It is also an Institute for the Study and Preservation of Chiapas' Indigenous Cultures. 

One Page from their Notebooks

They both had a deep interest in the indigenous people of Chiapas. The Lacandon people, who lived in the cloud forest jungle, were only discovered in the 1920's. 

Their life's work was to befriend, live with and record their lives. As might be expected the house was full of their documents, handwritten, sketched and photographs. But also the clothes and other belongings especially of Trudy who lived to 93.

We left with many unanswered questions but very glad not to have been taken around rapidly by a guide, non was available, and so left to explore at our leisure.

SAN CRISTOBAL

AMBER - a Specialty of the Area
A very interesting museum but we had already learned a good deal yesterday from a friendly owner of a specialist shop. Joan would have liked to buy some although it was very expensive. He told us to beware of the many plastic forgeries available on the street, distinguishable because they would not burn - whereas real amber does with a smell of resin. Any Takers!

It is surprisingly light in weight with a range of colours from pale yellow to red often with insects inside.

Most of the world's amber comes from pine resin but here it comes from a deciduous tree and is mined in drift mines about 30km below the surface. These mines are only active in dry periods for fear of rock falls.

9 June San Juan Chamula
We had hoped Mecedes Hermandez Gomez, a native of Zincantan, would lead the tour but she was not in her usual meeting place but the man taking her place spoke excellent English. Both villages were built using traditional techniques with Shaman healing and Mayan beliefs. Unfounately Brian didn't carry his camera so we have no pictures to show.

Maya believe believe three artistic gods made the world in one day, the gods being a sculptor, a moulder, and a painter. They divide it into sky and earth with the massive tall saber trees of the rain forest supporting the sky.

Whilst being lectured to Joan observed a woman her daughter and an even smaller son all in traditional costume moving heavy logs by carrying them in bundles on their backs with the weight suspended from straps around their foreheads as we had seen fifteen years ago in Nepal. Even the small boy carried a single log, the daughter about ten and the mother sixteen.

The solid church building with a colourful exterior was a mixture of Catholic, Maya and Shaman traditions. Their were candles inside. There were only windows on the male side which was therefore light and considered day and positive, day side of the church leaving the other female side being blank, dark considered night and negative. Two small family groups, seemingly out of place in church, were sitting on the floor chanting with bottles of coke and fanta. They offered us a taste of Posh a strong tasting flavoured sugar cane distillate but we did not try it until Zincantan.

 Catholique ceremonies were held only for marriage, baptism and death.

We were told there were some 180 cooperative communities in the village which shared resources meaning food, seeds, tools. their basic foods were squash, maize plants interspersed with runner beans which grew twirled around to support them, a technique we later saw in Chilean small holdings. Pretty flowers were of great significance. Marriage outside village boundaries was discouraged and required special authorisation. On death of a land owner his plot was shared among his eldest male children, hence reducing their size. A leader elected afresh every year represented them in the town hall along with four senior leaders elected by the government. 

Zinacantan the second village had an area set up for tourists featuring backstrap weaving looms and cooking on an open fire tortillas made in balls and then pressed flat rather like Welsh Cakes. They were filled with chilli and cheese for us to taste. Next came the medicine round, small pots full of  Posh spiced with cinnamon or hibiscus flower or neat spirit.

We were shown a traditional sauna large stones heated in the fire are splashed with water to create the steam. This is used by women (during?) and after childbirth for several days.

Back in town we spent the late afternoon in what had become our favourite coffee bar, full of locals not tourists, notable for the stack of free newspapers and leaflets in Spanish but especially for the chess boards and sets which were widely, enthusiastically played giving a great social atmosphere. It was here we first met Edgar Egill a Norwegian jazz enthusiast, one time professional goalkeeper and journalist/photographer. Brian had lots of correspondence about  with him about jazz over the years, always in envelopes covered with slogans recommending JAZZ in bold capital letters,  to help source British publications and articles for his intended jazz museum. At that time he ran a music shop full of new CDs, my recording of Bill Evans was sent by him as a present in thanks for one unsuccessful attempt to source some out of date journals.

In the evening at 8:30 we went to that same minority interest cinema to see a French film with subtitles in Spanish. (Wow! writes Joan) But first for dinner in the adjoining restaurant, great tasting soups, lasagna and chocolate cake a tequila sunrise for Brian (too sweet for our tastes) but a dependable rum and coke - the only way I can take coke writes Joan.   

The film by Varda explored very types and ages of gleaning, cleaning up after the main harvesters have gone. Milletspicture in the Musee d'Orsay and aother by Jean Breton. An interview of a lady demonstrating gleaning as performed by her grandparents and pointing to the house where she was born. On to modern day gleaning, picking up the potatoes too large or too small or too misshapen, to sell in supermarkets, or apples or grapes ripening after the main harvest had passed. Down to modern day 'down and outs', some doubtless alcoholics, picking through rubbish bins and sleeping in old caravans and cars. A man who went round the n markets in Paris living vegetables and fruit what they had left unsold. People who had made a house of scrap with dolls bodies creepily built into the walls. Not to mention the attitude of local authorities clearly opposed to people taking from the unwanted rubbish disregarded by supermarkets. A thought provoking film writes Joan.

Thursday 10 June PALENQUE
An excellent five hour bus ride to Palenque mainly through hills and pine forests with some land cleared by slash and burn methods used predominately to grow maize but with some beef cattle, some sheep mainly black, chickens and turkeys. The costumes of the women were changing including those of small girls. Many women wore hair in a bun at the front of the head as we had noticed yesterday in the traditional villages.The main event however stood out when the bus came to a halt rather than run over planks of exposed nails. These has been put in place on either side of the carriageway by a small group of men carrying large Zapatista banners, this being the name of the armed rebellion in this part of southern Mexico and Guatemala in the 1960s which was by now well passed its zenith. 

ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA LIVES ON in SAN CRISTOBAL

One man came onto the bus talked to the driver who announced the fee expected per passenger and distributing leaflets. So they were obviously still collecting funds, untroubled by the police in spite of a strong presence of the Mexican military. As usual we were using a local scheduled bus and payed up like the rest in good humour, but the we saw the following mini bus tour parties rucksacks being searched. There are many attractions in travelling this way with the locals, it sure paid off here.

We stayed at a small central hotel Pasada Aquila Real and walked around the town and convinced ourselves this was simply a stop over other for visiting the ruins. The usual talk of time spent internetting so obviously I kept good electronic records that way for the first time instead of in written notebooks and the forget to consolidate them on my return.

Friday 11 June Palenque Ruins then Overnight bus
Breakfasted at the hotel, then packed our bags and left them in lockers at the bus station ready for the overnight journey to Vera Cruz. Our minibus transfer to the ruins was fast and we were soon surrounded by people selling cold drinks, postcards and every kind of trinket. We decided against having a guide so making our visit more leisurely, though missing some of the background. 

PALENQUE RUINS

A fantastic site again full of pyramids, the rewards for climbing 40 or fifty very high steps were the view of the rain forest, which gave real meaning to the term cloud forest, and the welcome breeze once on top. There were a few stone carvings and stone pillars but raised a recurring questioning of over restoration, at least one magnificent carving looked new and seemed to have been protected by resin. 

Joan recorded there were several tours going round and she was glad not to be part of one as the magic is being alone, unhurried, without a barrage of unneeded information. After four hours we 
made our way down a steep slope of rocks which had once carried a waterfall, then to current waterfalls and pools and watched three German boys jump in from a suspension bridge far overhead to the museum. The museum was great but  dripping with sweat we couldn't wait to get out into the cooler outside.