Backpacking
Eight Months On The Road
By David Rice
Eight Months On The Road
By David Rice
| San Cristobal de las Casas Backpacking in Central and South America Eight Months On The Road |
San Cristobal De Las Casas
The overnight bus from Oaxaca arrived in San Cristobal De Las
Casas in the morning and I booked a hostel for two nights in the
nice colonial town with narrow side streets and a medium sized
town square.
The indigenous people dress in colorful clothing hand made in their
villages and come to the old church where they set up indigenous
markets and the people come streaming in from the countryside to
sell everything imaginable including medicinal herbs. There is
an excitement about the place and a difference. This place has an
atmosphere of uniqueness.; this is no ordinary place but a place
truly different.
Perched as it is on the edge of the Lacandon jungle and feeding
the watershed of the Usumacinta River, San Cristobal has been for
millennium a way station for travelers hauling goods from the coast
bound for the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Earlier times would
have seen Olmecs hauling shell and jade from their outposts on the
Pacific coast.
Today San Cristobal is a watering hole for backpackers to the
cascades of Agua Azul and backpackers to the ruins of Palenque
and for viajeros like me heading to Guatemala and points south.
Photos
I was planning to make photos along the way, particularly if I
reached Antarctica, so I was carrying my Nikormat SLR that I have
had for many years. This trip would prove too much for the
venerable old camera and it quit working in Ushuaia Argentina.
I had a stash of 50 speed Fuji Velvia and 100-speed Provia and
some Kodak 64 and 100 but I only had used half of the film when
the camera went down. I later replaced it with a Canon digital
Powershot model and the photos in these pages are a
combination of the two.
Borders
From San Cristobal, I headed to Guatemala on a local bus,
reaching the border town of La Messilla. From there, highway 190,
the Pan American Highway, took me to Guatemala City. These
borders can be at times crowded, at time deserted, and at other
times unevenly regulated and amorphous. Here is where US
dollars in small denominations and stashed in an easily reached
pocket come in handy. The dollar, God love its fading value, still
has clout most anywhere in the world and they still recognize the
US dollar even in the jungle where people speak languages known
only to a few. At the borders, I paid for the passport stamps with a
few dollars in change and was able to get the needed papers and
visas.
Passport Stamp
I like that passport stamp, it can be a badge of courage not easily
earned at some crossings but I like to get them nevertheless. The
stamp becomes more than fancy when the authorities check your
papers and look for the official stamp that tells them that you
entered through an approved checkpoint and that you paid your
visa fee.
Once off the bus and in a strange city, I carry only a backpack and
keep both hands free to fend off the unexpected. You never know
when you will need both arms free to duck under low hanging trees,
to steady yourself when dodging potholes, to get to your cash and
papers, and to fend off the occasional petty thief.
Speeding Through Central America
I have backpacked through Central America so many times that on
this trip I wanted to pass through as quickly as possible and spend
my time in South America; therefore, once I left San Cristobal I
would make a quick run through the Isthmus. I would not spend
more than one night in any of the cities until I reached Columbia.
The obsession to move can get so strong that I will endure much to
be near the next bus station. In Guatemala, I checked in to the
Paris Hotel, a faded place as old as they get with original furniture
from a century ago. It is across from a bar that had hollering and
music until three in the morning but I booked it regardless because
it was two blocks from the bus station that would get me to the next
city.
I can put up with a lot of inconvenience if it gets me near the next
bus.
The overnight bus from Oaxaca arrived in San Cristobal De Las
Casas in the morning and I booked a hostel for two nights in the
nice colonial town with narrow side streets and a medium sized
town square.
The indigenous people dress in colorful clothing hand made in their
villages and come to the old church where they set up indigenous
markets and the people come streaming in from the countryside to
sell everything imaginable including medicinal herbs. There is
an excitement about the place and a difference. This place has an
atmosphere of uniqueness.; this is no ordinary place but a place
truly different.
Perched as it is on the edge of the Lacandon jungle and feeding
the watershed of the Usumacinta River, San Cristobal has been for
millennium a way station for travelers hauling goods from the coast
bound for the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Earlier times would
have seen Olmecs hauling shell and jade from their outposts on the
Pacific coast.
Today San Cristobal is a watering hole for backpackers to the
cascades of Agua Azul and backpackers to the ruins of Palenque
and for viajeros like me heading to Guatemala and points south.
Photos
I was planning to make photos along the way, particularly if I
reached Antarctica, so I was carrying my Nikormat SLR that I have
had for many years. This trip would prove too much for the
venerable old camera and it quit working in Ushuaia Argentina.
I had a stash of 50 speed Fuji Velvia and 100-speed Provia and
some Kodak 64 and 100 but I only had used half of the film when
the camera went down. I later replaced it with a Canon digital
Powershot model and the photos in these pages are a
combination of the two.
Borders
From San Cristobal, I headed to Guatemala on a local bus,
reaching the border town of La Messilla. From there, highway 190,
the Pan American Highway, took me to Guatemala City. These
borders can be at times crowded, at time deserted, and at other
times unevenly regulated and amorphous. Here is where US
dollars in small denominations and stashed in an easily reached
pocket come in handy. The dollar, God love its fading value, still
has clout most anywhere in the world and they still recognize the
US dollar even in the jungle where people speak languages known
only to a few. At the borders, I paid for the passport stamps with a
few dollars in change and was able to get the needed papers and
visas.
Passport Stamp
I like that passport stamp, it can be a badge of courage not easily
earned at some crossings but I like to get them nevertheless. The
stamp becomes more than fancy when the authorities check your
papers and look for the official stamp that tells them that you
entered through an approved checkpoint and that you paid your
visa fee.
Once off the bus and in a strange city, I carry only a backpack and
keep both hands free to fend off the unexpected. You never know
when you will need both arms free to duck under low hanging trees,
to steady yourself when dodging potholes, to get to your cash and
papers, and to fend off the occasional petty thief.
Speeding Through Central America
I have backpacked through Central America so many times that on
this trip I wanted to pass through as quickly as possible and spend
my time in South America; therefore, once I left San Cristobal I
would make a quick run through the Isthmus. I would not spend
more than one night in any of the cities until I reached Columbia.
The obsession to move can get so strong that I will endure much to
be near the next bus station. In Guatemala, I checked in to the
Paris Hotel, a faded place as old as they get with original furniture
from a century ago. It is across from a bar that had hollering and
music until three in the morning but I booked it regardless because
it was two blocks from the bus station that would get me to the next
city.
I can put up with a lot of inconvenience if it gets me near the next
bus.
| San Cristobal , Backpacking Page Three |
Oaxaca , David Rice Photo
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