After spending some reasonably peaceful time in Oaxaca region, we started to move South and East toward the next state Chiapas. Being famous for its stunning natural beauty, waterfalls and rich culture, we were excited for our next destination. On the other hand, unfortunately we were hearing so many concerning news regarding safety in the region in general and also close to the border crossings with Guatemala. So every day we had to follow the news and updates from other travellers who were in the same area. The military presence was noticeably more as we were approaching south. But as always and even in tense situation, Mexico always has a way to surprise us in a good way!
We had a long day of driving and it was getting dark and the only option for camping was a public pool with possibility to camp and it was half an hour out of our way. It wasn’t a good option but it was kind of the only option so we headed there. The entrance was 5 NZD for both of us with access to pools and overnight stay behind the pool. We just got in and parked the car under some nice trees with lots of birds chirping and no view on the pools. In the first glance, it was quite a nice place to spend the night. It was a hot stinky and dusty day so we decided to go through the bushes and check the pools to see if we can use them or at least use the cold shower next to the pool, but we had zero expectations. There weren’t many people around but few families that were around had their load music with them, Mexican style 🙂 To our surprise, pools were actually the natural warm pools with white sandy bottom and crystal clear turquoise water and lush green tropical trees hanging over the pools. We couldn’t believe our eyes! We found such an oasis randomly when we were desperate to find a safe spot to park for the night. We quickly got changed and dived in. That was like a dream! So refreshing and relaxing with soft white sand underneath our feet and small fish giving us free massage 🙂
That stay just relaxed our bodies and minds and was a great welcome into Chiapas! For the next few days, we had few spots along the way to visit with the possibility to camp at the spot which was great. They were also close to each other so we could take a break from long drives on the Mexican roads.
The first stop was the “Cascada de Aguacero” nestled on the edge of a deep canyon amongst the pine tree forest. A great peaceful stay and a nice walk down the canyon to the bottom of the waterfall and back and even better, they had cold shower on site as well and there were no one around.
A short drive from our first camp spot was another natural wonder, a place called “SIMA de las Cotorras” an interesting massive sinkhole in the middle of forest that a big colony of small green parrots call it home. The main event apart from the spectacular beauty of the place is when all the parrots leave their home in the hole at the rush hour early in the morning and when they come back late in the afternoon. We were lucky to see them on their way back home in the afternoon when we set up camp.
Again, the place was prepared perfectly for tourists with clean bathroom, showers and even rooms to rent. All tastefully done with with organic material to blend in with the surrounding nature but again we were the only ones there.
That was a good start to our time in Chiapas and we were ready for our next destination, San Cristobal. A beautiful city in Chiapas and everyone that has been there, advised us not to miss.
We kept driving East toward San Cristobal. The big change that we noticed since we left Oaxaca city was a massive pilgrimage happening along the roads. We were in the area early December and it was around the time for a significantly important religious event called “Our Lady of Guadalupe“. Before and around the week leading to the main event, every small community, village or church in the area, set up a pilgrimage with a truck or a van taking all the pilgrims and the car normally escort one of the pilgrims who is taking a torch and the photo of the Virgin Mary and every few hundreds of meters the truck stops and another pilgrim continue walking. A lot of people just do the whole walk without an escort too but it is pretty much practiced everywhere. While it is beautiful to watch but it is at the same time makes driving in these mountainous area with Mexican road standard extremely hard.
It was a Sunday and we were going through some mountain passes and were hoping to reach San Cristobal before dark. From the road which was high in the mountain, we could see a lot of people down the road in a small town next to a lake and we could definitely hear all the firework too. We knew that we have to go and check. It was a little town called called Navenchauc, nestled down next to a lake in between mountains and the people had unique and beautiful clothing that we haven’t seen anywhere else in Mexico or even in the area.
The main plaza was packed with people, all of them had glamourous clothing on. The music band was playing modern pop Mexican music and in between some more traditional ones and everyone in the middle of dance floor had their beer. Every now and then a truck was unloading a group of pilgrims and they were running toward the church to pay their respect before joining the party. Each entrance was announced with the church bell and of course a lot of firework with the music going on in the back ground. Inside the church was almost empty but outside the main entrance was packed with people. As everywhere else, ice cream sellers were in high demand followed by other food stalls around the plaza.
That was really a unique experience and we truly enjoyed it. Mexico has done it again. It was hard to leave but we had to get to San Cristobal before dark so we moved on.
We got to San Cristobal on time and the architecture of the town was just beautiful. We set up camp in a well established camp ground in a great location in town and we were ready to explore!
At the first glance, we were surprised by the number of tourists in the center and then the fancy high end chocolate shops and restaurants. For the first time in Mexico we saw people begging in the street and also vendors pushing you to buy stuff. We never had it anywhere else in the Mexico. So it wasn’t a great first impression. Also due to the same religious ceremony going on, the fireworks were on through out the night so it felt like we were sleeping in the war zone so on the second day, we had enough. I found a nice camp spot in the pine forest next to a river just outside San Cristobal to have some peace and see if we want to get back to San Cristobal or not. We also had to do grocery shopping and fill our water tank to be ready for border crossing. Depending on which border we wanted to take, it could be few hours or few days from our border crossing and San Cristobal could be our last option to do all that.
After doing all on our to do list, we headed to our new camp spot and it was much better, more peaceful and much cheaper than the one in town so we stayed for few nights. Apart from all this, it was next to a stunning set of Grutas called El Arcotete. It is definitely worth a visit if you are in town.
Staying away from the town and in the nature gave us the space to think and evaluate the latest border crossing situations and finalise our safest route and the border crossing that works for us and started to plan toward it.
In the next post, we’ll starting driving toward Guatemalan border and see interesting things along the way and will see if our plans worked.
Till then enjoy life and take care.
