Comitan, Mexico
We took a five and a half hour flight from Merida (which we both would like to explore more of) to Tuxtla with a carry-on for $219. We arrived at Tuxtla airport just missing France's first goal. Our primary concern should have been figuring out how to get to the bus station, 45 minutes away, to catch the bus to Comitan; but instead it was on the World Cup soccer game. We hopped in a cab and for $15, we headed to Tuxtla bus station, which just happened to be located next to a restaurant showing the game with outdoor seating. Wednesday's special was 30 wings for the price of 20. We made it in time to catch the next goal and the disappointment on all the locals' faces. Disappointingly France won and with full bellies and a few beers we headed to the station to catch the bus to Comitan.
Jim:
We departed and drove straight up for the next hour and a half. There was something special about watching the sun set in between canyons as the driver decides now is a good time to overtake that semi. On a curve. Going uphill. Oop.. here we go again, blind curve, getting dark out now, whew barely made that one. I look at Alisa who is engrossed in one of her shows, which is good that she is not paying attention. Mexican Bus by Floater came blasting through my headphones as we crested and slowly started to even out. Made it to San Cristobal de Las Casas -6,900 feet with 10 minutes to sunset.
We stopped at the San Cristobal bus station to let passengers off. Alisa went to the bathroom and I stretched my legs. She hopped back on and I followed a few minutes later. But as I boarded, something was different. The bus was nearly empty except for a couple sitting in our seats. No Alisa. I shamelessly turned around and boarded the next bus on the platform where I found Alisa laughing her ass off and of course watched the whole thing.
Wow, what a different road once you make it past San Cristobal. The road, although slowly descending, is littered with angry speed bumps every few blinks. Who goes to Comitan? Slowly as we leave probably the biggest tourist city in Chiapas, rural life unveils before our eyes.
And just like that the road becomes a newly paved asphalt speed bump free zone. Seems we're the only ones on the road spare the random Volkswagen bug sporting flashing red and yellow lights. Finally we arrived at the Comitan OCC bus station, which is very clean and safe. Our host picked us up even though it was only a five minute walk to his place. He spoke no English but had a heart of gold, genuinely friendly. Once settled he brought up some fresh tamales and delicious homemade desserts even though neither of us were hungry after scarfing down 30 wings, but we couldn't resist. They were absolutely worth being unable to sleep on my stomach that night.
Comitan’s Parque Central Benito Juarez was decorated so beautifully. I would describe it like something you would see in a Hallmark movie and being caught up in the Christmas spirit I decided I'd make homemade Christmas goodies for our host. After several attempts to find the ingredients for one of the seven recipes I could do with my limited baking resources I struck gold. I found festive sprinkles at a small shop on a side street that sold baking and art supplies. When I asked the woman if the sprinkles I chose were edible, she giggled and said yes. I am not that confident in my Spanish so I had Jim eat a handful to see, thankful they were.
Jim:
The main plaza in Comitan was decorated to the nines for Christmas. Even steps were lit, it was truly a sight to see. We walked past food vendors trying to catch a glimpse of what smelled the best.
A live performance of Marimba players began and as we sat and listened, a local named Emma joined us on the bench. She spoke as much English as I did Spanish, but we made it work. She used to live in Galveston, she was very proud of her country, especially her state of Chiapas, but longed for Texas. The chilly wind started to pick up so we told Emma adios and started walking back home. We took a side street to see more of the city and ran into this gem. (Herbie)
We could hear music blasting a few blocks ahead of us but the steep hill prevented us from seeing what it was. After huffing and puffing up this unreasonably steep street we were met with a full fledged Christmas parade. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes were blasting music and passing out candy. Santa's mixed with Grinches. People of all ages were clapping and dancing as the caravan slowly inched forward. We stood in the middle divider along with hundreds of other people cheering them on. It was controlled, community chaos……….
Cascadas El Chiflón
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We chose the warmest day of the week’s forecast to visit the Cascadas El Chiflón. This was a lucky day for us, we made friends with Jose, got on the right colectivo, found that our Global Entry Cards work at federal checkpoints, arrived at our destination as planned, with no hiccups and saw the most beautiful waterfalls. I was also very thankful for the fact that we actually found a colectivo and safely made it home. Cascadas El Chiflón
Jim:
Much of our time was spent exploring the side streets and sticking out as tourists. At times it felt like we were the only tourists people had ever seen. We received curious looks from locals who were shocked and smiled when we'd give them a gringo greeting of Buenos dias.
One rainy night as we walked uphill back home, we kept noticing the cars were skidding downhill on the slippery streets. The roads were terribly slippery, we both almost fell a few times. After two cars almost hit each other. I just stopped walking and watched. Alisa said this wasn't a good spot to stop and kept walking. I was about to join her when a crashed motorcycle came skidding right at me, with a sliding driver shortly behind. Alisa jumped behind a wall and the bike came to a stop right at my feet as I put a foot on it. The driver jumped to his feet and played it off. We picked the bike up and he was able to start it and took off. I saw him later that night in a different part of town at a stop light, we exchanged thumbs up, glad he was OK.
Our host treated us to a traditional Comitan Christmas dinner, consisting of freshly butchered meat used as stuffing in a turkey, black bean spoon bread, fresh corn tostadas and delicious salsa. For dessert, Alisa’s delicious chocolate/peanut butter balls, covered in dark chocolate.
We both enjoyed our stay in Comitan. It was the first Christmas since we’ve been traveling that it actually felt like Christmas. Comitan made for a great base for us to explore the surrounding areas of the beautiful Mexico state of Chiapas and the Cascadas El Chiflón, which were the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen thus far. If you get the chance to travel during Christmas, I highly recommend Comitan.
As we said goodbye to our wonderful host Hugo, one of the beautiful reasons to travel, we headed to the OCC bus station a block and a half away, to catch the bus to San Cristobal doing our best to avoid our friend Jose.
THE SAN CRISTOBAL de Las CASA ......FIASCO
Our two and half hour bus ride from Comitan to San Cristobal de las Casas for a total of $8.00 went as planned. We chose San Cristobal as the place to celebrate our Anniversary/New Years. (It is definitely one of the livelier towns around). It was overcast as we exited the bus station and headed for our new home. I was a little nervous that I was in charge of leading the way since Jim’s phone decided to die. A short jaunt from the bus station….up hill, down hill, Jim found the lockbox to our street level home, which was a busy street for both walking and traffic.
As we opened the door it smelled like someone just cleaned…that's good right?
Thus far, we have been very satisfied with Airbnb and use them as the primary platform for our long and short term stays. Out of the 62 stays in 6 different countries, this is the first time we both agreed we couldn’t make this place work. (stress WE). This dungeon of a house had the ability to keep us warm but only if the small electric heater was right next to us plugged into the faulty outlets. This seemed safe as we tried to sleep.
And so the fiasco begins .....
Our first clue should have been when we tried to switch on the lights, no lights came on or did they? Only half the lights worked and there was no natural light... except for the bright white light coming from the frosted glass windows that act as walls between the notary republics next door and our downstairs small narrow living space. We could see people’s silhouettes on the other side, assuming that they could do the same. There was a dirty cleaning rag in the oven, you had to watch your head for cobwebs and there was mold growing above the door. I was sure one of us was going to get tetanus from the nail strips that were sticking out around the unfinished door frames. The second wrought iron stair at the top felt like it could break with any step. The sensory light in the bathroom randomly went off and on. The floor was dirty along with creepy crawling bugs that were both dead and alive. There was used soap in the shower. I hate that I can’t resist the temptation to always flip back the sheets in fear of what I will find. As I slowly turned back the bed sheets, they were ripped and lightly stained. On the flip side the bed was king size and very comfortable.
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| Mold above the door! |
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| The tree is 220 years old and has been partners for a century with the Temple of San Caralampio. |
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| We did get out and explore a little. |
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| Audios |
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| Just a little happy to be leaving San Cristobal. |
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