I'll try to catch up from the slightly more comfortable overnight bus ride from Zipolite to San Cristóbal de las Casas, a medium sized city in the mountains of Chiapas. I rolled off the bus at 8am (dramamine didn't work, plastic bags did) and shared a taxi with three girls I met at the bus station. The four of us (three Americans and a Brit) settled in at our hostel and signed up for a horseback tour to a nearby village the following day.
The "village" ended up having about 70,000 inhabitants. Fortunately, our guide was thoughtful and took us through forest and farmland on the way there so it still felt nice and quaint.
In any case, the town´s church held one of the more interesting scenes I've witnessed. The interior of the church was being renovated for a big festival coming up, so everything was crammed into the rear of the building. This meant the room was packed. Like, first 15 feet of a rock concert packed, with everyone working their way slowly to their destination, checking behind their shoulders for lost friends and children. The air was thick with smoke from bowls of incense and hundreds of candles stuck to every available surface. A dozen or so men played a very rhythmic, almost monotonous melody on accordians and homemade wooden instruments, including guitars, harps, and something that looked kind of dulcimer-ish. Women sat on the ground lighting rows of candles and securing them to the floor with melted wax. Men prayed loudly in front of various icons, and quite a few people were downing glass after glass of beer and coca cola.The next day we visited a Mayan medicine museum, pharmacy, and education center. The beer and coca cola thing made a lot more sense after we walked through the exhibits. Apparently burping helps expel evil spirits. Good to know.
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