From a funky hippy town somewhere in Mexico….

14 Sep

San Cristobal… a little bit higher in elevation.  A little bit more multicultural.  A little bit easier to get lost in.  Still rains in the afternoon.  Still full of VW beetles.  Still full of churches.

I love this town.  There’s a nice energy around, and everything’s chilled and relaxed – and some of it is really quite odd.

First night out was Gaynor’s birthday – and a Saturday –  so we hit the salsa bar… now, I can’t dance salsa, but everyone I danced with seemed happy enough (although I think it was a bit of a struggle with our Cuban tour guide and salsa dancer.. Really nice evening out with the locals, although nothing gets started until 10:30.

We spent the next day touring a Mayan community… Ifell in love with one of their rugs, which depicts the Mayan world.  The town is in celebration most of the time, it seems, with a crazy market covering the square, the streets, and anywhere else you can fit a stall selling corn, bananas, shoes, spanners and anything else you can think of (and some more that you never even thought would be important)

They let fireworks off in the daytime here.. Holding the rockets in their hands.  First time it happened we thought the revolution had started.  Although we got treated to our own beautiful rainbow round the sun.

The church (no photos allowed) is a crazy mix of Mayan and Roman Catholic… the floor covered with grass and candles.  The shaman takes the supplicants pulse and then advises how many candles and how many chickens are needed for a cure.  The offering is always accompanied by Coca Cola (the drink of the dead).

The church is full of saints – four of them are in disgrace, having been rescued by a nearby church which suffered a fire and an earthquake – having failed to protect the church, they are second class citizens in their new home.  Mind you, all of them look somewhat surprised to be there.

I spent the afternoon doing some shopping, drinking coffee and eating at Emiliano’s Moustache (I saw the sign and had to eat there, a reference to Emiliano Zapata’s famous moustache)… and making some decisions about who I am and what I am doing with my life.  Tomorrow’s going to start tonight…..

But you know what… I reallydo love this town – another place I could choose to live.

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