You touched on 2 things important to me: Palenque, my favorite site— the setting to me is like Hawaii with pyramids. And SubComandante and the Zapatistas (though he's not specifically mentioned). The March of the Color of Earth he did was like a Grateful Dead road trip and it did go on. In QRoo we were all following his brazenness and cheering him on, though he didn't need it. The Maya, especially the Lacondon, have been stepped on for so long. He took it all to heart. They needed a hero and got one. The Ocosingro road is pretty dicey, for all the reasons you mention, specifically the closures and robberies, but I especially loved your mention of the tour driver, "Our driver only drove like he did a half line of meth (not the usual suicidal speed." Made me laugh. That summed up your whole post: The weirdness and the beauty and the poverty, yet the relentless hope. Good one!
Cheers Jeanine! You are obviously well-acquainted with the area and some of the stories that go along with it. And yeah, our van driver was pretty good but Asian standards. A couple of months back I posted an essay of mine about close calls on the road called "Terminal Velocity." Aggressive, speedy drivers are my least favorite thing about getting out htere.
Loved this story, Chris. I loved Chiapas and San Cris. We actually went to some waterfalls too but got stuck in a protest where the residents were blocking the roads in protest of a corrupt governor. They were kind to us when we tried to get through, but told us we had to go a different way (3+ hour detour) because they were making a point. respect!
I also got a pretty gnarly stomach bug there (which I guess is more common in Chiapas than elsewhere), hope you faired better!
Cheers for reading and commenting, Skylar. Yeah, that road is a crap shoot, so I was told, and when they're serious about blocking it off, you just gotta wish them luck and turn around. They're never threatening or nasty to visitors, their beef is with the greater authorities.
Hahah I did get sick from my time in Chiapas, though it didn't kick in until I got back to Korea a couple of days later. Pretty sure it was from the massive mouthful of river water I accidentally swallowed at that last waterfall stop. I've been taken ill from accidentally gulping water while swimming before. Remind me to tell you about China, 2008 when we finally meet somewhere on the road.
HORARIO DE LA CANTINA FELICES Y GRACIAS
Gracias a usted!
FELICES CANTINA HOURS PART 6
Not really the point of your piece, but nothing beats a michelada except maybe a picocita.
I really loved spending a month in Chiapas and hope to go back.
I have yet to make it Guatemala, but when I do, I'll surely indulge. Cheers!
You touched on 2 things important to me: Palenque, my favorite site— the setting to me is like Hawaii with pyramids. And SubComandante and the Zapatistas (though he's not specifically mentioned). The March of the Color of Earth he did was like a Grateful Dead road trip and it did go on. In QRoo we were all following his brazenness and cheering him on, though he didn't need it. The Maya, especially the Lacondon, have been stepped on for so long. He took it all to heart. They needed a hero and got one. The Ocosingro road is pretty dicey, for all the reasons you mention, specifically the closures and robberies, but I especially loved your mention of the tour driver, "Our driver only drove like he did a half line of meth (not the usual suicidal speed." Made me laugh. That summed up your whole post: The weirdness and the beauty and the poverty, yet the relentless hope. Good one!
Cheers Jeanine! You are obviously well-acquainted with the area and some of the stories that go along with it. And yeah, our van driver was pretty good but Asian standards. A couple of months back I posted an essay of mine about close calls on the road called "Terminal Velocity." Aggressive, speedy drivers are my least favorite thing about getting out htere.
I'll have to find that one. Look forward to the cheap thrills, haha.
Sorry, but I loathe micheladas...
Unsubscribed!
Evocative. We are ALL Zapatista!!
Yeah, when he said that I finally realized exactly what he was on about.
Thanks for sharing this journey. I might go there soon. When were you there?
2019. I doubt it is very different.
Loved this story, Chris. I loved Chiapas and San Cris. We actually went to some waterfalls too but got stuck in a protest where the residents were blocking the roads in protest of a corrupt governor. They were kind to us when we tried to get through, but told us we had to go a different way (3+ hour detour) because they were making a point. respect!
I also got a pretty gnarly stomach bug there (which I guess is more common in Chiapas than elsewhere), hope you faired better!
Cheers for reading and commenting, Skylar. Yeah, that road is a crap shoot, so I was told, and when they're serious about blocking it off, you just gotta wish them luck and turn around. They're never threatening or nasty to visitors, their beef is with the greater authorities.
Hahah I did get sick from my time in Chiapas, though it didn't kick in until I got back to Korea a couple of days later. Pretty sure it was from the massive mouthful of river water I accidentally swallowed at that last waterfall stop. I've been taken ill from accidentally gulping water while swimming before. Remind me to tell you about China, 2008 when we finally meet somewhere on the road.
The river water will definitely do it haha. I don’t think I met anyone who went to Chiapas and didn’t get sick. Looking forward to the China story!