Tzotzil Villages

Tzotzil Maya people still retain a lot of their old traditions so a day spent visiting two villages in the highlands of Chiapas was completely fascinating. First stop was San Juan Chamula. This cemetery was a very sobering sight; the black crosses mark the graves of elderly people, green adults and, sadly, white shows children and babies.



The church is beautifully decorated inside and out. Cameras are forbidden inside, which was a shame as we witnessed a healer performing a ritual and villagers worshipping on a pine-needle covered floor. Bizarrely, Coca-Cola is often used in everyday rituals because it induces burping, which is said to expel evil spirits.



We came with a guide as many local people are very wary of outsiders and it is essential to be sensitive when visiting the area. Manuel took us to a home where they have the honour of caring for a figure of a saint for the year. This arch marks the location. Inside we were encouraged to try some pox (pronounced posh), a very strong spirit that is used in a lot of ceremonies. For example, a herbal doctor will spit a mouthful of it over someone who is ill to cleanse them. Oh and it's also an essential part of all fiestas, of course!




In Zinacantán, Manuel showed us the traditional clothes worn by men. Although almost all women still wear the traditional dress, it is much less common to see men using it. Interestingly, the women's heavily embroidered shawls have changed over time; when the village started growing flowers such as lilies and roses to sell across Mexico, the women included these images in their designs.



Here a Tzotzil woman is weaving cotton using the back strap technique.



We visited a house where we saw the importance of maize, or corn, in Mayan life in the past and today. For many centuries the different colours of maize (who knew there were more than one!) have held different significances. White is linked with east and the god of rain, black with the west and god of death, yellow with the north and the god of corn and red represents the god of wind, who is believed to live in the south.




Maize is still the major staple in all Mexican, and especially Mayan diets. This woman made us some delicious tortillas straight from the fire. They had a much stronger taste than the ones used in places like taco stalls.



The children are incredibly beautiful and this shot has to be one of my favourite pictures from the whole trip.

Rachel x

UPDATE: There are many more really nice pictures from the Tzotzil villages; click here to view the whole album.

Adventures of the spade #12

The spade also felt the heat of the jungle, and was happy to cool off at the Agua Azul waterfalls. Here he's enjoying a (slightly reckless) ride down one of the smaller falls. Don't worry though, we were on hand to make sure he didn't get washed away!

Rob

Campeche and Palenque

It's getting close to the end of the trip now! We still have time to fit a bit more in though. Moving on from Mérida, we spent a couple of nights in Campeche, a beautiful colonial city on the Yucatán coast. The architecture is reminiscent of southern Spain, especially in the leafy, open central plaza where our hostel was located. We had spectacular views of the city at night.



Campeche was fortified against pirates by the Spanish and parts of the fortifications remain, such as the city wall and several of the 'bulwarks' or 'bastions'. These are miniature forts spread along the original line of the seafront (the seafront has since been moved by filling in new land), housing cannon and lookout posts for defending the city.



It was incredibly hot though: an almost unbearable 45°C (113°F) during the mid-afternoon. After a couple of days we couldn't take any more and headed for Palenque.



Palenque was inhabited from around 100 BC and flourished around AD 600-700. It has a fantastic setting surrounded by hilly jungle, making it a very atmospheric place to visit (despite the crowds of tourists). Above is the Temple of the Inscriptions.



Palenque boasts many well-preserved bas-reliefs, depicting major events and glorifying rulers of the city. The one above, which I am imitating, may be of a decapitation, while the scene below shows a soldier (looking left) with captive prisoners from another Mayan city-state. Other carvings around the site still show some colour on them (thanks to the long-lasting pigment made from squashed beetles).




One of the best things to see is in the site museum. A reproduction of the giant sarcophagus of king K'inich Hanab Pakal (who died aged 80 in AD 683), found inside the Temple of the Inscriptions, is displayed inside a special exhibition space that shows the size, shape and interior decoration of the original tomb. As the tomb itself is now sealed inside the temple following its discovery, it's a great way to imagine what's inside.



After the heat and humidity of the steamy jungle, a visit to the nearby Agua Azul (blue water) waterfalls is highly recommended. It's a series of cool freshwater pools which make for great swimming.



Rach always loves a swim (I think she aims for at least one a day if possible), and particularly enjoyed the refreshing dip here. Perfect for relaxing after a day's sightseeing!



Rob

Uxmal

The Mayan ruins at Uxmal are just an hour and a half from Mérida. On the strength of a recommendation from our friend (and Maya fanatic) Ric, we visited the site on a day trip.

Uxmal was home to the Puuc Maya, and has a very different style to other ruins like Chichén Itzá; the Temple of the Magician (above) in particular, with its rounded corners, shows just how different.



The buildings are covered with ornate and very well-preserved decoration, such as this snake. We had the whole site almost to ourselves, which was a nice change from Chichén Itzá, where tourists and people selling souvenirs fill the site.



The ring in the photo above was part of the ball court, and was used in the Mayan ball game. No-one is quite sure exactly how the game was played, except that the ball was very heavy and could only be hit with the hip or shoulder. It's thought that points were scored by getting the ball through the ring, which was difficult - games could last all day. What is fairly certain is that the game carried great importance for the Maya. Ball courts are found in many Mayan cities, usually in prominent, central positions.



Uxmal was a fascinating and enchanting site to visit, made all the more enjoyable because it was so quiet. It's incredibly hot here at this time of year though - mid-afternoon temperatures can reach the mid 40s Celsius - so once again we scurried back to the hostel and straight into the pool!

Rob

Mérida and Chichén Itzá

We've spent much longer in Mérida than we expected. It's an attractive, if busy, city with a lovely Plaza Grande and a lot of life.




We met up with our friend from uni, Tom, who is living here in Mexico in a city called Villa Hermosa. We had a great time doing some day trips with him and hanging out in the lovely Nomadas hostel. The best thing about it is the fantastic swimming pool, which is essential after a scorching day with temperatures in the 40s!




Look at these incredible hammocks hanging over the water!



We went to the nearby Chichén Itzá Mayan ruins, which were very impressive.



At the hostel we've met lots of friendly people and a couple of them joined us for the trip. OB, from Denmark, and Matt, from Canada, kept us entertained throughout! Here they are with Tom and Rob at the Plaza de mil columnas or Thousand column square.



I loved the faces used to decorate the buildings.




The heat got to us in the end, though, and, after a few hours exploring the ruins, it was straight back to the pool!



Rachel x

Tulum

With the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico a few weeks ago, we thought that our plan to take in a little bit of the country at the end of our trip was going to be thwarted. However, with the situation now under control (and the Foreign Office no longer advising against all but essential travel), we're very excited about having the chance to see more of Mexico. We left Belize by road to the North, heading up to Tulum on the Yucatán coast.



Tulum (meaning 'wall' in Mayan) was a fairly significant Maya city in the Yucatán area. What makes it most attractive to tourists is its incredible location, perched on the cliffs right above the Caribbean sea. On the downside, its proximity to Cancún means it's ended up a little over-produced, and a lot of the ruins are cordoned off to visitors. We did our best to capture the stunning cliff-top location in a photo, but we couldn't escape the 'I could get a much better shot from over there if it wasn't for that rope/huge tour group' feeling.



The ruins are home also to a huge number of Green Iguanas. They lounge about the place, basking in the sun and seeming to observe the tourists. We think there's something faintly amusing about them, but can't put our finger on what that is.



We're looking forward to seeing some more of what the Yucatán has to offer, and hoping that perhaps we'll have it a bit more to ourselves as we head away from the coast.

Rob

San Cristóbal

The need for a new passport stamp (our permitted 30 days were coming to an end) provided a great excuse to make a flying visit to Mexico! We hopped over the border (well, an eight hour journey!) to the gorgeous town of San Cristóbal de las Casas for a couple of days.



We spent a lovely sunny Valentine's Day sight-seeing and appreciating the warmth after so long in chilly Xela. We visited several pretty churches, including two high up on hillsides, with stunning views over the rooftops.



You can't escape the Valentine's hype, even in Mexico, with love hearts and flowers everywhere. Mind you, at 12 pesos each, less than $1, the roses are certainly more affordable than back home!



For some reason, old VW Beetles are extremely popular in San Cristóbal (and maybe in the rest of Mexico, too) and we even saw them used as taxis and driving instructors' cars. Even I might be convinced to drive again if I could re-learn in a Beetle!




We also visited an excellent museum, Na Balom, which used to be the home of two European anthropologists. It's full of their gorgeous belongings, a fascinating photography exhibition and displays about Mexican indigenous groups. It's also a hotel where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera once stayed!



Oh and the town has a great market where I bought some souvenirs like this top!



The next day we took an excellent trip to Cañon de Sumidero, where we went on a boat through the gorge. The landscape was incredible; really stark and dry with enormous slabs of rock soaring into the air. It's hard to capture their size in the photographs.





Above is the Christmas Tree Waterfall. In the rainy season water pours down this cliff and, over the years, it's created these strange shapes. Kind of like a Christmas tree, I guess!



The real highlight, though, was the wildlife. We saw monkeys, an owl in a hole in the rock and loads of other birds. Oh and a good few crocodiles, too! As you can see, we got pretty close!



Rob's delighted as he thinks they're our best croc photos yet.



When we came to the end of the trip, we both agreed that we would love to see some more of Mexico. We're going to try to fit in another short visit soon or, failing that, we'll definitely be back sometime in the future. Only problem is, we'll have to change the blog to Central America and Mexico!

Rachel x