After four days in Puerto Escondido, we finally managed to pull ourselves away. It was by far our favorite beach hangout - cheap hostels, cheap things to do, good people. We once again said our goodbyes to a new group of hostel mates (this time from Quebec, Argentina, and Spain) and headed inland towards Oaxaca City.
The plan was originally to make it there in time to see Monte Alban - the first ruins on our route - and continue on. Unfortunately, the road was much more treacherous than we had expected, so we arrived late and spend the majority of our time in the city just looking for a cheap place to stay (Oaxaca ain´t cheap!). After wading through over-priced hostels and motels that charged by the hour, we finally settled on a small roadside inn 25 minutes out of town.
The next morning, we woke up early and made our way to Monte Alban, which is situated on top of a large hill in the center of three converging valleys. The civilizations that lived there actually set about flattening the top of this massive mount so they could build their city! It was amazing to think of the work that went into that site. And the view was spactacular - or at least it would have been had the air not been so hazy!
Moving East, we made a quick stop in the small town of Santa Maria del Tule - home of El Tule, a 2,000-year-old Sycamore that sits in the courtyard of the town church. It is boasted to be the world´s largest in circumference (you could fit a house inside this thing!). So we paid our 3 pesos, gawked awhile at the most imposing tree either of us had ever seen, and hit the highway once again, thankful that we were finally driving across plains again rather than through hills.
After making our first drastic wrong turn of the trip which cost us about 2 hours (we made it to Ayutla, look it up!), we pulled into Tehuantepec for the night, found a cheap motel, and got some much needed pollo asado. Then, with another early start, we arrived in San Christobal de las Casas around noon the following day.
San Christobal lies in the heart of the Mayan highlands in the state of Chiapas. The streets and central couryards are constantly filled with the local indians who trek from the surrounding hills to sell their crafts. It is also thus far the most beautiful city we´ve come across - white stucco walls, red brick roofs, 500-year-old churches, etc. Truly the first time that a city´s heritage has been so visibly on display.
We once again managed to find a hostel for $6 a night per person and settled in for two days. The first night, we took in Palenque Rojo, a Mayan production at the local theater. The performance was all in Mayan and told the story of the last King of Palenque - very interesting, but rather hard to follow. We had to relie heavily on our programs for the plot. We also spent much of our time wandering through the street markets - some of the best in Mexico - which offered all sorts of indian goods. It took a lot of will power not to take away much more than we did! Oh, and if you ever find yourself in this part of the world, don´t ever underestimate the power of the six-year-old Mayan girls to sell you more bracelets and belts than you know what to do with! We are walking away with 5 charm bracelets, which is 5 more than we needed or wanted. They are ruthless! Beware! But I did find out that my (Andy´s) name in Mayan in Tesh. Thai´s is Thai, as always.
Today we are set to move North to Palenque, home of more ruins and a jungle campsite which we´ve heard much about. Adios for now! We´ll write again soon enough!
The plan was originally to make it there in time to see Monte Alban - the first ruins on our route - and continue on. Unfortunately, the road was much more treacherous than we had expected, so we arrived late and spend the majority of our time in the city just looking for a cheap place to stay (Oaxaca ain´t cheap!). After wading through over-priced hostels and motels that charged by the hour, we finally settled on a small roadside inn 25 minutes out of town.
The next morning, we woke up early and made our way to Monte Alban, which is situated on top of a large hill in the center of three converging valleys. The civilizations that lived there actually set about flattening the top of this massive mount so they could build their city! It was amazing to think of the work that went into that site. And the view was spactacular - or at least it would have been had the air not been so hazy!
Moving East, we made a quick stop in the small town of Santa Maria del Tule - home of El Tule, a 2,000-year-old Sycamore that sits in the courtyard of the town church. It is boasted to be the world´s largest in circumference (you could fit a house inside this thing!). So we paid our 3 pesos, gawked awhile at the most imposing tree either of us had ever seen, and hit the highway once again, thankful that we were finally driving across plains again rather than through hills.
After making our first drastic wrong turn of the trip which cost us about 2 hours (we made it to Ayutla, look it up!), we pulled into Tehuantepec for the night, found a cheap motel, and got some much needed pollo asado. Then, with another early start, we arrived in San Christobal de las Casas around noon the following day.
San Christobal lies in the heart of the Mayan highlands in the state of Chiapas. The streets and central couryards are constantly filled with the local indians who trek from the surrounding hills to sell their crafts. It is also thus far the most beautiful city we´ve come across - white stucco walls, red brick roofs, 500-year-old churches, etc. Truly the first time that a city´s heritage has been so visibly on display.
We once again managed to find a hostel for $6 a night per person and settled in for two days. The first night, we took in Palenque Rojo, a Mayan production at the local theater. The performance was all in Mayan and told the story of the last King of Palenque - very interesting, but rather hard to follow. We had to relie heavily on our programs for the plot. We also spent much of our time wandering through the street markets - some of the best in Mexico - which offered all sorts of indian goods. It took a lot of will power not to take away much more than we did! Oh, and if you ever find yourself in this part of the world, don´t ever underestimate the power of the six-year-old Mayan girls to sell you more bracelets and belts than you know what to do with! We are walking away with 5 charm bracelets, which is 5 more than we needed or wanted. They are ruthless! Beware! But I did find out that my (Andy´s) name in Mayan in Tesh. Thai´s is Thai, as always.
Today we are set to move North to Palenque, home of more ruins and a jungle campsite which we´ve heard much about. Adios for now! We´ll write again soon enough!
2 comments:
I got your voicemails. Oh how I wish I hadn't missed your calls!!! I miss you guys and love you so much. I wish I was with you in person, as well as in spirit. Oh well.
One of those charm bracelets had better be for me, yo. J/K. Anyhoo, glad to hear you're still not lacking in the adventure portion of your trip. Even more glad to hear you dumped the weird machete-wielding weirdo. Onward and upward, my friends!!
Lots of messy kisses and tight tight hugs!
~K~
Oh, forgot to tell you I'm off Thursday, Friday morning (5/8 & 9 respectively)so if you can try to call me that'd be so awesome.
Ya'll are always in my thoughts.
Be safe!
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