Mixed Activities

Friday, Apr. 1, 2011--San Cristobal de las Casas

After sleeping 9 hours, I was up and out early.  The air was still cool.  I wandered the streets trying to take photos of this beautiful city.  It was difficult, since the streets are narrow and the sun was at an early-morning angle.  I took what I could and just kept enjoying seeing the various sights.  Many tribal people from the mountains were in town wearing bright and beautiful costumes.  As I passed a museum, they were having a celebration with a band playing and many tribal people there.

I felt tired even with a good night of sleep.  I guess it is due to a combination of the altitude and to my low-calorie diet.  Anyway, when I tried to climb a small hill for a view of the city, I tired out and gave up.  I must admit, however, that the graffiti and the trash on the steps were discouraging, too.

I found a small restaurant where a family from an outlying village were eating.  The food looked good, so I ordered breakfast at noon and had it with a banana liquado.

Continuing to explore, I found interesting streets everywhere I went.  Even when I got away from the tourist area, there continued to be cobblestone pavements and old houses.

My opinion is that San Cristobal is probably the best of the colonial towns I have visited in Mexico.  It's old city covers a much bigger area than most, and the tourist district is bigger, too--probably 3 times the size of the tourist area of San Miguel de Allende.  Another positive is that the prices are reasonable here both for rooms and meals.  So why are places such as San Miguel, Taxco, Queratero, etc., better known and more popular?  Probably because San Cristobal is so much further from the other places tourists visit in Mexico and because it is not near an airport.  In my opinion, however, it is well worth the effort to get here.  I probably should have planned to stay here another day or two.

It rained in the mid-afternoon.  I had just returned to the hotel to relax for a while.  Because I have to be up early for my trip from here into Guatemala tomorrow, I just decided to stay inside for the rest of the day and to go to bed early.