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.
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.
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 ? |
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.
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.
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