The Long and Winding Road.

The next stop on our whirlwind tour of Chiapas was the archeological zone of Palenque. We had three options: fly, which is expensive and involves jetting north to Mexico City, then south again to Palenque, bus, which is cheap, but a long ride with lots of stops, and taxi, also expensive, but most direct. So we decided on a taxi. 

It's about a 130-mile drive, but since the road winds through the mountains, it takes a bit over five hours.

It was a lovely day and the scenery was beautiful. Perfect for a short road trip.

But before I talk about the long and winding road, I want to showcase some of the great street art in San Cristóbal.

It's everywhere. It 's weird and wonderful.

Of course, much of it riffs on Mayan art.

And there's lots of political stuff as well. This depiction of groups of locals includes the indigenous resident with Mayan hat with ribbons and a goat-hair vest and the narco/gang population, known locally as hormigas (ants). Very bad ants indeed.

Then there's the more fanciful and humorous pieces.

And the strange, mushroom-inspired stuff.

And now back to that road.

It is indeed very windy. Interestingly, though Chiapas is a very poor state, the road itself is in very good condition, pavement intact, new guardrails, excellent signage.

However, as if the twistyness of the road didn't make the going slow enough, there are many, many tiny villages to pass through, all protected by a phalanx of speed bumps.

That gives the local dogs time to come out to inspect you.

Other than the road itself, there's not much infrastructure. Every few klicks there's a gas station like this. 

Some of the villages advertise pay toilets to supplement their income. For five pesos you get a fistful of paper and a bucket of water to flush with.

At the summit, the road hits almost 8,000 feet, the begins a slow descent into the jungle.

Trying to make the best time, our driver drove as fast as possible between speed bumps, tires squealing around the many curves as he expertly passed the trucks, tour buses, and other slow traffic.

This did not set well with O's stomach.

Finally, she moved to the front seat, where she was able to recover.

Many villages are affiliated with the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional). The Zapatistas have reached an uneasy accommodation with the federal government, but the tensions from the 1990s are still active.

 

Zapatista school with goats.

The trip was filled with interesting sights, most of which sped by too fast to be photographed.

We reached the flatlands eventually. This all used to be jungle, but is now green pasture land. It reminds us of inland Belize, which is, after all, only a few miles away.

As the air grew hotter and more humid, the foliage got more lush.

Just before we reached our hotel, there was a checkpoint with a dozen or so well-armed soldiers. I think they're checking for migrants and drugs. We're quite close to the Guatemalan border here.

Our hotel is an air-conditioned oasis in this sweltering landscape. The Chacamax river flows through it. It turns out that A/C is fairly rare here. Our room is air-conditioned, but the hotel restaurant is not, and almost all of the restaurants in town are open air. Still, it's a beautiful place, quite a contrast from cool, relatively-sophisticated San Cristóbal.

P.