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Entry from:
Catemaco and
San Cristobal de las Cassas,
Mexico
Entry
Title: "From
Veracruz to
Chiapas"
Entry:
"During our stay on the
Costa Esmeralda we enjoyed many great times with a family from
Australia. Bev,
Dave and their three children are touring
North America for a year in a motor home.
Together we headed for Veracruz and a couple of nights along the beach at
Campamento El Rey on our way to Catemaco. Catemaco is away from the coast in the
Sierra de los Tuxtlas on the shore of
Lake Catemaco. The surrounding forest is tropical and lush. We explored the surrounding countryside with our Rav4, finding birds we had not seen before, Oropendolas, Tucans,
Ringed Kingfisher,
Brown Jays along with smaller Blue-grey and Yellow-winged Tanagers and
Aztec Kingfishers. PHOTO_ID_L=beautiful-falls-near-catemac o
.jpg] From Catemaco we went south to Chiapas and while on our way along the winding Cuoto (Toll
Road) from Veracruz to
Tuxtla Chiapas Ken suddenly noticed our towed was tracking to the right. Luckily there was a spot wide enough to pull off and we discovered although the car was attached to the Motrhome the tow plate on the car had broken.
Soon unhitched we drove each vehicle separately. That night we spent the night outside
Tuxtla at Hogar Infantil, a children's home operated by a
U.S. Non-profit Corporation of the same name. There we met
Daniel and
Helene from
Montreal who were also going to San Cristobal in the state of Chiapas San Cristobal is a beautiful city with lots of culture and interesting surrounding villages. We visited two villages,
Chamula and
Zinacantan, during a
Mayan festival, where the language most speak is Tzotzil.
Outside the community many speak
Spanish and often
English.
Left aligned photo tag: Each of the villages has its own dress which is worn all the time and during this festival we saw other ceremonial clothing. The only way to visit these communities is with a tour. Although we were told by the other tour company that
Mercedes wasn't touring anymore they neglected to say that her company still existed. Our guide, from Mecedes' company, provided an all day tour and was wonderful at explaining the customs, beliefs, ceremonies and the community gov ernment. In addition to Spanish, English and some
German he spoke Tzotzil and was known in the community. San Cristobal has many interesting shops and wonderful markets all within walking distance of
Bonampak Trailer Park .
The Park is attached to a lovely hotel of the same name. We bought and enjoyed fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood from the market. Nearby the colorful
Craft market, beside
San Domingo Church, displays beautiful embroidered and woven articles.
We are taking home a few pieces that we couldn't resist. While there were two groups that arrived with interesting vehicles. One group was driving
Vixen RVs, which were made in
Michigan in the
1980's.
The other was a huge bus with sleeping accommodation, cooking facilities and regular seats for 24 people. This bus is used by tour groups from
Germany. With the tow bar was repaired by a local welder and as good as new we were now ready for the drive to
Oaxaca. ."
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kbramblings/1/1204499940/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. "
Zocalo in San Cristobal"
2. "
Bell Tower on the San Cristobal
Cathedral"
3. "
Crowded streets of
Chamula Chiapas"
4. "Church of Chamula"
5. "We thought these cows had the right idea."
6. "Weaver in Zinacantan Chiapas"
7. "Weaving and Embroidery what a striking effect"
8. "Vixen Motor Homes
Vintage Late 1980's"
9. "Enjoying the Falls near Catemaco"
10. "
Beautiful Falls near Catemaco"
11. "At the San Domingo
Market San Cristobal"
12. "This Bus sleeps 24 and cooking facilities"
13. "
Lake Catamaco"
14. "
Emily's first facial"
15. "One of the many Nansiyaga statutes"
16. "
Lunch in Catamaco
Great food"
17. "
Cigar factory near Catamaco"
18. "
Botanical Garden outside Catamaco"
19. "
Around Lake Catamaco"
20. "HotelTepetapan campground"
21. "Very modern
Bridge of Mexico"
22. "
Main corner of San Cristobal"
23. "
Festival Day crowds in the town of Chamula"
24. "Crowds gathered for Chamula festivities"
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- published: 11 Dec 2010
- views: 639