Agua Azul and Misol-Ha

This was posted in the wrong place. Should be before San Cristobal! Sorry!

Finally feeling better after a day of not eating beacuse my stomach was not doing too well, Justin and I took the tour that would take us to some beautiful waterfalls in chiapas.
The first one we went to was called Misol-Ha and it is a beautiful tall waterfall in the middle of the jungle. The park is really nice and there are rocks behind the falls in which you can walk to get to a waterfall inside the caves. After walking around and examining the beauty I decided to get in the water and swim behind the falls. It had been a while since I had swam in such huge waterfalls and it felt amazing to feel the power of the water over my beauty and to cleanse myself in such a great place. Many poeple went in the water, but I think most were afraid to go to close to the falls so I was the only one swimming and the place was all mine.

We then left to go to Agua Azul where we would spend most time relaxing, eating and looking at the beautiful falls. I was a bit nervous when heading to Agua Azul because the rainy season had just ended and locals say that with all the rain and the mud the water tends to not be azul after the rain. Luckuly it did not rain and when I got there it was more like agua verde than agua azul, but still a beautiful sight.

The falls are long and continuous with several places where you can swim and some where it is strictly forbidden since many have died. The place is very built up for tourism with several shops selling food and items for the visitors, but not in a way that takes away the magic of the place.

I walked around looking at the falls until I found a place where people were swimming. jumping of rocks and using a swing to jump into the water. There I played arond for a little bit, did a bit of sunbathing in the grass and ate my lunch. I talked to a few locals who explained that the zapatistas had taken control of a few other waterfalls around the area and were taking money away from the local communities for the entry fees to the parks. It seems like a lot of people in chiapas are very supportive of them, but many resent their presence and the violent methods they use to take control.

At the end of the afternoon we took the van and got dropped off in the middle of the jungle by the road to wait for the bus to take us to San Cristobal, I guess it was the best way to do it and not have to go all the way back, but it still left me a lit bit worried. After waiting for a bit, the bus came and when we got on we ran into a couple from NY that we had met in Tulum and they were also making their way to San Cristobal.

I tried to sleep on the bus, but instead I spent the whole ride watching sniper movies that were dubbed in spanish... great! It did not really matter since I was so excited to beleaving the jungle and making my way to the beautiful city surrounded by mountains

Oaxaca, Dia de los Muertos

After a really long bus ride from San Cristobal, sleeping in 800 different positions on the bus Tyler and I arrived to Oaxaca. We got into town very early in the morning and it was really great to walk around a city that was still asleep. Tyler had been there before and new his way around town a bit. We looked in the guidebook and decided to walk to one of the hostels. Big mistake. The place was far and uphill and when we got there we could only check in at 11 and they were charging way too much even though it was the low season. So we decided that even though it was a long walk that was not the hostel for us and with our very heavy backpacks with decided to find a new place. Its crazy how things sometimes work out so well and everything is in synchrony. We arrived at the hostel which is a very funky place, not in the best shape, but it felt good to be there and instantly we met a few other people who had just arrived and felt right at home.

The first day in Oaxaca we decided to walk around town, go to the main square and get to know the city a little bit. I could not be happier to be in Oaxaca at the eve of Dia de los Muertos. The entire city was decorated with gicantic sand sculptures around the zocalo, every home and business had built their altars and the marygolds where present at every direction you looked. Tyler and I had our minds set on face paint for halloween and went to the market to buy some food and see if we could find some paint to make it all come together. The market is indoor and huge and they sell all types of things from clothes, to vegetables, meats, cheeses, and even halloween costumes. We bought ourselves some food to cook the next few meal and were able to find the face paint for the night. When we got back to the hostel we decided that we would rally some other people we had met to face paint with us. Earlier that day we had met one of the most beautiful couples I have ever met. John and Marie and their beautiful baby Kai who is 9 months old. They have been travellign since Kai was 6 months old and plan on travelling as long as they can and maybe starting a hostel. Kai is such a fun mellow baby and gets along with everyone, it was awesome to get to play with him a little bit. So we decided we would see if they wanted to face paint with us and as it turns out, another sign that the universe really works for us sometimes, Marie is a face painter and also had a lot of paint. So that night after dinner we all got to drinking and painting each others faces to get ready for a wild night in town and celebrate halloween on a foreign land. Marina and Vincent also joined us and we had a nice group of 5 painted faces to go party in town.

It wa great walking around with faces painted, everyone lookign at us like we were the strangest people they had ever seen. We walked to a clown show by the main cathedral and I guess they thought we were pretty funny with our faces painted and invited us to join. Pretty soon our group had taken over and was entertaining a huge group of espectators, so much that some of the clowns just sat down and watched the crazy foreigners. There were knives being thrown over our heads and we had a great fun time with them... although they kept all of the tips at the end of the show. After that we got to some local bars and after midnight we celebrated my birthday with a green shot that was on fire and together we made the entire bar get up and dance with us. It was great and there was so mcuh positive energy!!!! I could not have asked for a better birthday night!!

On my actual birthday we walked around town visiting more places and lookign at their day of the dead decorations and at night John who is a chef cooked us a delicious prawns and fish pasta. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant and not a run down hostel!

On actual day of the dead there were many celebrations in the cemeteries and I was able to watch a beautiful performace organized by one of the cultural centers. It was a mix of theater and dance all honoring the day of the dead and using the huge stone church as a backgraound, it was a very beautiful and dramatic performance.

The next morning Tyler and I made our way through a very long and windy road to the beach. Finally arriving in Puerto Escondido. ( which by the way is not very escondido)

San Cristobal de las Casas

We arrived in San Cristobal which is an old colonial city at night and I could not see very much of what the city was like. We decided to all stay in the same place and went to a small hostel that was very cute and looked like a very cozy home. The first thing I did was accompany Justin to the doctors because he had an ear infection and he did not speak spanish so he needed my help. When we got there the doctor told him he had a pretty bad infection and it was good he went to get it checked out and ended up giving him some antibiotics and other stuff. It all turned out to be very cheap in comparison with how much you would pay in the US and I was happy to have gone along and know what to do in case I find myself in a situation in which I should need to go to the doctors.

The next day we had breakfast at the hostel and went to walk around the town. San Cristobal is beautiful and surrounded by mountains. The town is full of small buildings all in different colors and tiny cobble stone streets with cars zooming by. We walked around town, visited some of the sights, went to the market, churches and just admired the delicate beauty of the city. San Cristobal is small, magical and full of culture. You walk around town and you just feel very comfortable, at home as if you could really live there. Women are walking around in traditional dress, with their babies wrapped around their bodies by cloth and breastfeeding as they run their daily tasks. It really is an amazing place and I felt like I could be there forever. I am also having a serious crisis of not being able to buy things to decorate my house because it wont fit in my bag. Everything is so beautiful!!

Here in San Cristobal I was able to taste some of the best tamales I have ever had and was very happy to eat such a delicious cheap meal. We then went to the open market and bought some food to cook for dinner.

The next day I got an e-mail from Tyler saying he would be arriving soon and I could not be more excited! Justin and I walked around town, visited some new places and got caught in the rain on the way back, and even though it was raining and I was wearing flip-flops and that was the coldest I had been since I had gotten to Mexico, there is something about the town that just makes you very happy to be there. We decided to spend the afternon in the hospedaje reading and waiting for the rain. A few hours later Tyler arrived and we went to the market to cook ourselves some delicious food. 1great thing about San Cristobal is that they have Churros filled with Cajeta and I was so happy to be able to eat some of that deliciousness!
The next morning we went to the Sumidero Canyons which are absolutely stunning! There is a river that cuts through huge rock walls making the canyon an amazing sight. They go up as high as 1000 meters and are also very deep. The tour is very beautiful and you go across the canyon on a lancha observing different shapes in the rock walls and looking out for wildlife, including a few crocodiles that we were able to see (quick question, does anyone know the difference between crocodile and alligator? i remember doing a project using zooboks about it,but it was a long time ago...)

Oh! very cool and I forgot to mention earlier is that on our way to the Canyon we met a great guy who was actually from Nimbim in Australia and it was great to chat with him throught the day and listen to him play his harmonica on our ride back to San Cristobal. It really was a magical beautiful day!

On my last dayI walked with Justin to a spanish school to help him with taking some classes for the next few days, and that afternoon Tyler and I took a bus to Oaxaca where we would be spending my birthday and Dia de los Muertos.