Mis Padres Come to Chiapas
My parents came for a week’s visit and we had a great time, as usual. It was nice to show them around Tuxtla Gutierrez, have them meet my students and go to a few different areas in Chiapas.My dad managed to fix everything that needed fixing in my apartment - the couches, rig the patio door so it wouldn’t slam shut in the w
ind, hang framed photos that my mom dug out from my storage boxes underneath her stairs and hauled to Mexico for me and patch other things here and there around the apartment.My mom not only hauled a bunch of stuff for me, but also a set of sheets for my co-worker, Erika. She also insisted on buying me several items for the apartment: sheets, a mirror, toiletries, groceries and towels. Why would one need more than two bath towels??
The weather was great – not too hot and certainly not cold. We rented a car and checked out the Canon de Sumidero after school on Friday.After much doubt, we finally found El Chiflon, some refreshing falls on the way that Erika and I took a dip in. Erika is new at my school and hadn’t been to Comitan, so she joined us, which was far more entertaini
ng that any of us had thought. It’s tough to explain her personality, but in a word…crazy. We also found out she has some indigenous ties… We headed to the Lagos de Montebello on the Guatemala border, but stopped to see the ruins of Chinkultic on the way. We hiked quite a ways up a hill to see the main a
cropolis, but it was worth the effort. The Lagos were beautiful and the food we snacked on made by a woman in a small and smoky hut was both tasty and unique.
We decided to return to San Cristobal de las Casas for the night instead of sleeping in a pretty rustic cabin setting in the middle of nowhere. On the way we stopped in the small pottery village of Amatenango, just outside of San Cristobal - these short stops are one of the many benefits of having a rental car!
We went horseback riding in San Cristobal, checking out the indigenous village of San Juan de C
hamula and being fascinated by the church, which is a cross between Catholic and witchcraft. There were no pews and about 50 shamans with anywhere from 10 to 100 candles lit while they chanted to bring luck or health to those who paid them to pray for them.
The horseback ride was misty and cool during and Erika was terrified of her horse and the route we took through the woods, so she and my mom returned in a colectivo while my dad and I rode our horses back to San Cristobal.
We had excellent meals and even better company – another successful international tour for my padres!