San Cristobal

San Cristobal is a beautiful little mountain village. It has several lovely churches, little shops, restaurants and a few markets.

While here I have taken three yoga classes in the posada genesh hostel I am staying at. All the classes were great and very relaxing. I have also been walking around town exploring the nooks and crannies.

We walked to two view points where we were able to get fantastic views of the entire village.

We also took colectivos (local communal taxis) to nearby villages which were furthermore remote. They were fascinating. The first named San Juan was very busy, poor and manic.

Little children came up to us begging. If they saw us holding food or lose change, they would plead for it. I felt so sad, these little children were so adorable, young and innocent. Yet they had been given the task by the parents to beg. It’s a viscous cycle. When they get money from tourists, their parents think it is a success and send these poor children out again to get more money. If you do not give them money, will they suffer more? It’s very hard to know what the right thing to do is.

The next village we visited was called Zinacantan – a taxi ride away. It was surrounded by lush green mountains. It was beautiful. The citizens wore local clothing in both villages. Both slightly different. There dresses were elaborate, home crafted and unique. This second village highly contrasted the first. It was tranquil, slow paced and very quiet. You could hear the birds chirping, children playing and roosters calling. Although it was economically poor it was naturally rich, with a stunning mountain backdrop.

In the evening our hostel receptionist took a few of us to another mountain village. Here was a little shop type thing which sold posh (local alcohol). It came in vats and we got many tasters.

It was great. The alcohol was then poured into old plastic bottles and sold by litre or half litre. Half a litre of this tasty, strong liquor was less than one pound. An absolute bargain. No tourists knew about this place. It also gave us an insight into another culture. This family who were there lived off selling this cheap alcohol. While chatting to them we soon realised the level of education they had – unsure where Scotland was and unaware that you couldn’t drive from England to Mexico. I am sure they would have thought I was uneducated in the alcohol business. While travelling I have realised that the degree of knowledge varies in different

Tomorrow I am heading to Pelenque for a yoga retreat in the jungle. I am not entirely sure what it will be like but if I fall in love with the jungle hut I may stay there a week maximum – so no WiFi or blogging for a week! I’ll make sure to still write a diary. Hasta luego amigos