Independence Day Weekend in Chiapas

For those of you who know me well know that one of my major passions is Latin American history. This part of the world is so rich in history and culture it absolutely fascinates me. This past weekend I got to experience two aspects of Mexican history that indeed fascinate me: independence and the Zapatista movement. The Zapatista movement started in Chiapas in 1994 as a guerrilla movement against the government and the North American Free Trade Agreement. The leader of the movement known as Subcomandante Marcos is often compared to Che Guevara.The Zapatistas took control of some land and towns in Chiapas but it wasn't long before the military reclaimed the towns that had been taken over. Today, the movement is still alive and they still own some of their zones of control/rebellion, but were forced into the jungle. This weekend we traveled through some of these controlled zones.

We had an even longer weekend because of Independence Day so we decided to make the 10 or so hour journey to the state of Chiapas. Our first night we split up the driving and stayed in a small city called Palenque and stayed in a hostel on the outskirts in the joungle. I spent three nights in the Amazon Rainforest when I was in Ecuador, so I wouldn't say I am used to sleeping in joungles, but that experience definitely made this one a little easier.

The next day we made the trip to San Cristobal de las Cosas; a city high in the mountains of Chiapas, very rich in Mayan history and culture  and also where the Zapatista movement began. On the way though, we stopped at some waterfalls. Both of them we got to swim in and take lots of pictures! When we arrived in San Cristobal that evening we found our hostel (after a lot of driving around in circles) and joined in on the Independence Day party that was happening. The hostel is connected to the one we stayed at last weekend on Isla Mujeres, so there were some familiar faces of people traveling around Mexico. I don't know what it is about hostel's - maybe it's just the ones in Mexico (since I don't have experiences of hostels anywhere else...) but the people who stay there are so welcoming and open. We were drinking and hanging out with everyone like we had been friends for so long. It was such a great atmosphere. After our party we went to the Parque Principal for the mayor's address and the fireworks celebrating 201 years of independence. I didn't know what they were saying, but there was lots of 'Viva Mexico!'. After the ceremony we went to grab some pizza, and then off to a busy bar full of tourists and locals celebrating.

The next day (Friday) we spent most of the day shopping in the local market, exploring the city, and eating. We found this really cute Sushi restaurant along the main strip which was great because we were all craving sushi by this point in the trip. On Saturday we drove to the nearest town which was one of the strongest Zapatista controled towns during the movement. In the centre of the town there is this amazing little church that houndreds of people go to each day to pray to their Mayan and Christain Gods. Inside was like nothing I have ever seen. We were not allowed to take pictures, but the image of saints surrounding the walls, candles everywhere, and locals praying to these saints will forever stay with me. It was so amazing. After we made our way to a town called Chiapa de Corzo where just outside the town is a huge canyon that we went on a 2 hour tour of. To top the days adventures off we went to Toxla to watch a professional football game; Mexico City vs. Toxla. We were in the Mexico City fan section of the stadium which turned out perfect because our friend Fernando who had traveled with us has been a Mexico City fan his whole life.

On Sunday we made the long journey back to Campeche, stopping back in Palenque, this time to take a tour of the ruins. Fernando was telling us that only 20% of the ruins had been uncovered - which is amazing seeing as we saw several huge and amazing temples, tombs, and residences. On our way out of the ruin area we found a part of the jungle that had howling monkeys, and another amazing waterfall. The weekend was full of beauty, adventure, fun, and of course, shopping! A great way to spend a weekend in Mexico.